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The Five Newest Foursquare City Badges Stretch from Guimarães to Ghana

They just keep on coming! (Not that we're complaining). FIVE more international city badges on location-based social network Foursquare have just dropped, in time to get you even more psyched for upcoming fall travel.

These newest city badges go to: Vienna, Austria; Casablanca, Morocco; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Guimarães, Portugal; and Kumasi City, Ghana.

How to get the badges: First, follow 4sqCities, and just to be safe, it wouldn't hurt to also follow the individual city lists: Vienna (list), Casablanca (list), Kuala Lumpur (list), Guimarães (list), and Kumasi City (list). Then travel to the cities and clickety-click to check-in to the places on the recommended lists. Five places earns the badge.

BONUS: Las Vegas also just released SEVEN other resort-specific badges with perks attached. Check those out over on our sister site, VegasChatter.

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Two Minutes of a Tilt-Shifted, Time-Lapsed Lisbon, Portugal

Confession! This member of the Jaunted team has visited every Western European country except Portugal and Denmark. Yes, even the little ones like Andorra and San Marino are checked off our list. Still it seems we need to correct this and get to Portugal before the wanderlust imparted by the video above wears off.

This is the cutest 2 minutes and 49 seconds you will possibly have today. Utilizing time-lapse, tilt-shift techniques and HD, the short film from Mario Rui Fernandes is a vibrant, happy look at the lively public spots of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. He jumps from tourist hotspots (we want to go stand on that map mosaic!) to scenes from local life, such as a commuter train station.

Keep your eyes open for our particular favorite moment involving a lone snorkeler. Happy Friday!

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Where to Find the Best Euro-Driven Travel Discounts

We've emphasized before that, especially if your travel plans are flexible, you should strongly consider going to Greece. The economic turmoil has caused tourism to plummet, and prices have declined accordingly. But Greece's problems are the Eurozone's problems, which means that there are also macroeconomic issues driving the Euro down relative to the dollar.

Not to be too callous on the point, but Europe's woes are creating some fairly interesting options for American tourists. Portuguese hoteliers have been sending up red flags about the state of their tourism industry, and even government officials have begun to pay attention. The exact same logic holds for Italy: dependent on tourism, and in a broad economic slump that makes it highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the Euro. And by "vulnerable" we mean "welcoming," and by "fluctuations in the Euro" we mean "tourists."

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Eat 'n Sleep Lisbon :: Restaurant Nilo and Palacio Belmonte

Our Eat 'n Sleep feature profiles a restaurant in a random city and a hotel nearby. It's kinda like that old show "Dinner and a Movie" but you know, with restaurants and hotels. And better jokes.

When in Rome, right? So when you're in Lisbon you might as well eat like the Portuguese. Those in the know say to head down to Restaurant Nilo for some of the best bites this coastal city has to offer. This little charmer of an eatery is located downtown, near the Rossio and Praca da Figueira, in close proximity to 20 other restaurants. But we can't figure why travelers would choose anywhere else, since Nilo's menu includes national dishes at a decent price.

You'll find delicious rice with seafood, codfish or one of the typical dishes of the day like cozido à Portuguesa or feijoada à transmontana. And last, but not least, don't skip the delicious Portuguese beer, Sagres.

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New New Destinations: Style Supplants God in Portuguese Town

How do you know a destination is about to explode onto the international travel scene? When locals stop going to church and start opening spots that attract the Wallpaper* set. At least, so says the latest report from Aveiro, Portugal. New York Times writer Sarah Wildman spoke with a local specialty food shop owner who has the scoop:

Ten years ago if you walked around Aveiro on a Sunday, you wouldn't see a single person -- everyone was in church! Now that's no longer true.

So what does everyone do in Aveiro, if they're not praying rosaries? Hanging out in coffeeshops and design shops at Mercado Negro, it sounds like:

An entire neighborhood in and of itself, filled with smart boutiques, a bar, a coffee shop and several great rooms just for chilling out.

Mercado Negro may be pushing out the Church, but God love 'em for having a blog!

[Photo: Susanna Raab]

Related Stories:
· A New Culture Takes Hold in an Old Fishing Town [NYT]
· Hotels in Aveiro [HotelChatter]