On a personal note, I've combined Lisbon and a conference before,
neuroscience conference as it happened, and it was fantastic. There was
more than enough to keep my wife happy while I was at the conference
(she's definitely the more cultured of the two of us), and the city
itself is amazing!
The only two things I'd offer from my experience is, don't walk
anywhere: everything is uphill (both ways) and the cobbles are very
slick making it a bit of a slide rather than saunter, and don't (for the
love of $deity) drive: not unless you have nerves of steel, and know
where your horn is!
