GO LISABON

By  Katrine Salomon

Lisbon is like a hidden treasure, with its beautiful old labyrinthic town center. The city is beautifully situated on the Atlantic shore, dominated by Praca do Comercia.  The food in Lisbon is excellent, and it’s a great place to bring children. Lisbon is less expensive than other European capitals and surrounded by wonderful beaches. It’s a peaceful city with a relaxed atmosphere offering great walks and lots of cool places to hang out. A nice sea breeze keeps the temperature tolerable even on hot summer days.

OH - NO GO

The newer part of Lisbon.

Avenida da Liberdade, which is the local Champs-Elysées.  It runs as a dividing line between the old and the new part of Lisbon. All the expensive brands can be found here, if that’s the kind of shopping you’re looking for. But don’t waste your time here. It is a little dull. 

GO AREAS

Alfama and Graca

The oldest part of the city and not to be missed. The best thing you can do is to enter the winding alleys and allow yourself to get lost. You can spend hours here, discovering the most wonderful little plazas, which you will never find again. Old churches, paved streets and cozy little restaurants.  On your way up to Alfama, you will come across the square Largo das Portas do Sol, from where you have a panoramic view over the river Tejo.

Baixa

Baixa means the lower area, and is a popular shoppingdistrict. It begins at Praca do Comercio – a magnificent square on the waterfront – and runs up towards Praca dom Pedro IV, also known as Rossio. In the middle of Baixa you will find the parallel streets, Rua Augusta, Rua do Ouro (gold street) and Rua da Prata (silver street).
The gold- and silver traders have been residing here forever. You will find gold and silver, diamonds and cheap shoes here. It is fun to window shop, but actual shopping is definitely much better in Chiado.

Chiado

Modern buildings with all the big chains, like H&M and Mango lie side by side with old, small delicatessens. All the hip shops are here and the area is easily the trendiest one in Lisbon. Great cafés and lovely shops. In the southern part of Chiado you will see some of the most beautiful facades in Lisbon. Most of them decorated with the famous Portuguese tiles: Azulejoss.

Bairro Alto

Bairro Alto is where you find nightlife in Lisbon. Rua da Rosa is the central starting point. Small boutiques and a few cafés can be found here if you go there by day, but the area really comes to life after 8 P.M.

Lapa

Lapa is synonymous with expensive housing, beautiful facades, foreign embassies and flower-decorated streets. A nice but also very quiet area for a walk.

Belém

Besides being a very beautiful area with a view over the river Tejo, Belem is also a visual reminder of the times when Portugal was a great maritime nation. A lot of monuments have been erected in Belém to commemorate Portugal’s past as a mighty maritime nation. In the midst lies Centro de Belem, a modern centre for culture built in several levels facing the Atlantic Ocean.

GO SEE & DO

Take a trip on a tram. Catch line 28 from Praca Largo de Camoes in Chiado going towards Alfama. It is often crowded with locals, but try to get hold of a seat in the right side of the car. Watch out for your pockets!  Line 28 is also known as the pickpockets’ favorite line.

Lisbon’s finest museum: Museu Nacional Do Azulejo.

The museum exhibits 500 years of Azulejo art. The classic Lisbon tiles, Azulejos, are beautifully painted, glazed tiles with blue drawings on a white background. Inspired by Oriental porcelain from the Ming-dynasty, they came into being in Portugal and were named Azulejos. The blue tiles. Azulejo derives from the word azul, which means blue. They can be seen everywhere in Lisbon, inside and outside buildings. At Museu Nacional do Azulejo you can see more than 1200 different tile pictures. One picture made from tiles, ”Panorama de Lissabon” from 1730, depicts Lissabon before the 1775 earthquake that left the city in crumbles.

Muceo Nacional de Azulejos,
Rua da Madre de Deus 4

Castelo de Sao Jorge is a castle with an amazing view over the city of Lisbon. No high heels since it’s quite a walk up there!

The Jeronimus cloister in Belém

In Belem you can find the impressive Jeronimus cloister. Inside you will experience the wonderful cloister garden in which you should treat yourself to a peaceful walk. And when you’re in Belém, you should also visit the great park and enjoy the fabulous view of the river Tejo. Nothing will block you view.

Elevador de Santa Justa: An enormous elevator designed by a student of Eiffel. It actually resembles a small Eiffel Tower and the trip takes you 32 meters up from Bixa to Carmo and Bairro Alto.

Rua de Santa Justa/Rua da Ouro.

GO EAT

Lisboans like to have three courses for both lunch and dinner. Lunch is served in the early afternoon and dinner starts at around  9 P.M.

As opposed to many other European countries you are actually allowed to smoke indoors, so you can have a cigarette in between your courses.

Fish is a must-eat in Lisbon!

But there are a lot of other local dishes to be recommended. For starters: Salade de polvo: squid salad with fresh coriander. Ameijoa de bulhao pato: clams in a duck bouillon. Main courses: Porco de alentejana: pork with clams. It may sound like a strange combination, but it is absolutely wonderful. Or Bacalhau a lagareiro. It is pretty much Lisbon’s signature dish: Oven baked cod in olive oil with small potatoes. A solid but wonderful dish.
Dessert: Mousse de chocolate. It may sound banal, but it is characteristic for Portugal and it’s delicious.

Portugal produces amazing red wine, go for Esperao Reserve.

Pasteleria Suica

The Portuguese are frequent patisserie goers. The oldest and best ones are to be found by the Rossio square.
Sit at the terrace of Pasteleria Suica. The Rossio square is packed with tourists and tourist busses, but also local shoppers, street musicians and residents. Order the Lisbon cake Pasteis
de nata. A small cup of puff paste filled with vanilla cream and cinnamon on top. Have a bica with this – the Portuguese espresso – while people-watching on the beautiful square.

Pastelaria Suica
Rossio, 100

Alfama

I would choose to have lunch in Alfama.
Do not look for a small picturesque restaurant, since the best ones aren’t picturesque at all! Walk around the narrow streets of Alfama around 2 P.M. when all the locals have lunch. Go for the small places with big tiles on the walls – and I’m not talking about the pretty Azulejoss. These places will look like nothing from the outside, but open the door and if it’s packed with Portuguese people, step in. A lot of the small places almost look like cafeterias, but don’t let yourself be fooled since the food is wonderful. It is another good sign if the menu is in Portuguese only.

Tasco da Se

My favorite restaurant in Alfama is Tasco da Se. It looks like nothing from the outside. But hidden behind the green metal doors is a wonderful restaurant, most often packed with people. Tall, dark wooden panels and small tables with light green cloths lend ambience to the place. On the wall, a church is depicted in the famous Azulejos tiles. 
The cover is served immediately: Sardine pâté, cheese paste, delicious thin slices of smoked ham, cheese and bread. You can satisfy yourself with looking. You only pay for what you eat.
They serve a wonderful starter: shrimps in garlic. Yummy! Little grey haired Portuguese women dressed in black, chatting and giggling over lunch, will catch your attention.
The waiters are extremely nice. And they are willing to guide you on to the next wonderful place to have lunch. Their Porco de Alentejana (pork with clams) is fabulous!! And usually I’m not big on pork. For dessert I can recommend grapes or melon cut the Lisbon way – a snack which locals eat standing in one of the city’s many bars. A bica and the almond cake of the house make a perfect ending of a wonderful meal.

A Morgadinha de Alfama

Adega Zé da Viola,

Lautasco

A small restaurant located in a backyard in Alfama, with small colored lights in the trees. Sit under the gum tree and enjoy the delicious little starters – petiscos. After these try their grilled fish. 
Lautasco, Beco do Azinhal 7-7 A

Fado restaurants

Fado is a typically Portuguese, melancholy song, which is usually sung accompanied by three or four guitars. There are a lot of Fado restaurants in Lisbon, in Alfama as well as in Bairro Alto. The best one is Senhor Vinho in the Lapa area, but I like Lisboa à Noite and O Faia as well. You shouldn’t get there before 9 P.M. You are not allowed to talk during performances but during intermissions the lights come back on, and you can talk and eat all you want.

Fado at Senhor Vinho

A pleasant room with the traditional blue and white Azulejoss frieze, lit up by the many candles on the tables. The ironed white tablecloths and the amount of wine glasses on the tables give the impression of an upscale restaurant. Upon arrival, the cover is served and you have to pay for it here, even if you don’t eat your codfish cake, tuna pâté, bread, olives and the small, red marinated sausages.
People arrive little by little and around 10 P.M. the light is dimmed. Four men with small guitars walk in and sit in a circle of chairs in the middle of the room. A woman enters wrapped in a black shawl, which she uses for gesticulating while singing. She begins her melancholy song with her eyes closed. I don’t understand a word, but I get it all. The pain and the intensity of her voice fill every crevice of the room.
After a few songs there is an intermission – the lights go up and you can have dinner and talk. It may sound very touristy. It is not. It really is very moving and one of the best tips I’ve received from a local.

Senhor Vinho,
Rua do Meio á Lapa 18
www.restsrvinho.com

GO SHOP

Most shops open between 9 and 10 A.M. They are closed between 1 and 3 P.M. and close at 7 P.M.
In Baixa you will find a lot of cheap shops selling shoes, t-shirts and children’s clothes.
Luxury brands are all found in Avenida da Liberdade.
Concentrate on the area Chiado. The easiest way to get there is from the central square, Rossio, which is located in Baixa.

From Rossio you walk up Rua do Carmo, a good shopping street.
The street is up hill, and on your right you will soon find an amazing little glove store, which looks like something from another era, when ladies had their leather gloves custom made.

Luvaria Ulisses

I am a perfect 7 and a half!
It almost looks like a small peach colored phone booth with golden edges. At no more than 25 square feet, Luvaria Ulisses must be Europe’s tiniest glove stores.  The exhibition cases on the walls display gloves in soft pastel colors like pink, peach, mint green and light blue. You can find gloves in bright colors; red, orange, purple and turquoise. Laced gloves, leather gloves and driving gloves. Funky black gloves with narrow white stripes, black gloves with multi colored buttons, gloves with small bows or windings. The details make the gloves pure little masterpieces.
The sales person asks me to show him my hand and affirms with a serious expression that I am a size 7.5.
I pick a pair of beautiful red gloves, which will light up my winter wardrobe. A pair of gloves in the softest leather are fetched from a box in the back, and he takes out a pair of tongs. The gloves have to be prepared before you try them on.

With the tongs he expands the fingers of the glove one by one. He holds the palm of the glove and gently massages it with his fingers. He blows talc into the glove with a little round pump. Now the glove is ready, but I’m not. He asks me to rest my elbow on a little red tapestry cushion on the counter. Gently, he pulls the glove on and the beautiful red leather glove sits on my hand, fitting like a glove! Then he brushes off the talc with a beautiful little antique brush. The gloves are wrapped in tissue paper and besides walking away with the gloves, I have experienced feinschmeckerei at its best. You rarely get to be taken this much by the hand while shopping.

Luvaria Ulisses
Rua do Carmo, 87 A

Ana Salazar

On the same side of Rua do Carmo you will find a store that carries one of the leading Portuguese designers Ana Salazar.
In Portugal, she is considered very avant-garde.
Ana Salazar
Rua do Carmo, 87

Almost at the top of the street is Osklen; a Brazilian shop that you will find in few European cities – a fusion between quality beach wear, street wear and sports wear. They have a fun selection.
Rua do Carmo 9 - 11.

Ouriversaria Alianca

Turn the corner of Rua Garret. At number 50 is one of the most beautifully decorated jewelers in Europe. You have to know what you’re looking for, since they don’t make a show of their goods. Ask for Art Deco silver and see their beautiful hairbrushes and hand mirrors.
Ouriversaria Alianca, Rua Garret, 50

A Brasileira do Chiado

If you need a rest and a cup of coffee, sit down in the café A Brasileira do Chiado. It’s a must. Outside in the terrace you can share a table with one of the greatest Portuguese poets – there is an entire museum in the city dedicated to him -  Fernando Pessoa. He is cast in bronze, but he is there nonetheless – and the view over Praca Largo de Camoes is lovely. The interior decoration is pure art nouveau.
A Brasileira do Chiado, Rua Garret, 120.

Mousse

Close to Praca Largo de Camoes is the concept store Mousse. Orange glasses, beautiful dresses in particular styles and great interior design make up this trendy store.
Mousse, Rua das Flores 41-43

Conserveira de Lisboa

Walking from Baixa towards Alfama, go by Rua dos Bacalhoeiros. At the corner of Rua da Madalene is the most wonderful and almost grotesque shop selling canned sardines. A very old store with stacks of the Portuguese favorite fish in different beautiful cans. You will feel like buying all of them – even if you don’t like sardines.
Conserveira de Lisboa
Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, 34

Eastpak Store

Rua do Norte, 12
Eastpak backpacks sold in an amazingly decorated store. The walls are hundreds of years old.

Feira da Ladra

Feira da Ladra,  ”The pickpockets’ market” is Lissabon’s famous flea market. You can make a bargain or be ripped off! Since 1882 the market has been held on Campo da Santa Clara and it’s open on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Campo da Santa Clara
Best on Saturday mornings.

GO NIGHT

The Portuguese go out dancing late – the clubs don’t get in full swing until three in the morning. So you are strongly advised to start your night out in Lisbon, bar hopping in Bairro Alto.
The bars are lining the streets Rua da Rosa, Rua da Barroca and Travessa do Poco da Cidade. That is an excellent place to down some booze and get in touch with partying Portuguese before you continue out on the town.

Lux

The night club Lux has almost become an institution in Lisbon’s nightlife. Lux is located in an old hangar by the river Tejo. The interior design is carried through with large chandeliers and plastic sun beds. Upstairs there’s a lounge and downstairs you can find the huge dance floors that DJ’s fire up with different kinds of electronic music. But be prepared; you will not hear any cozy house music here! If you get too hot you can cool off on the roof terrace of the club, from where you have a fabulous view of the Tejo.

Lux,
Avenida Infante Dom Henrique
www.luxfragil.com

Paradise Garage

Paradise Garage is a lively musical venue for most of the week. You can hear some of Lisbon’s most sought-after DJs here, as well as local and foreign bands. The weekends are mainly appealing to young people who want to dance all night long. 

Paradise Garage,
Rua Joao de Oliveira Miguens 38-48
www.paradisegarage.com

GO SLEEP

York House Hotel  

From the outside, the little hotel with the dark pink facade doesn’t look like much. But behind the walls a little treasure is hidden: An old nicely restored monastery and its courtyard paved with black and white tiles. This is where you eat your breakfast in a restaurant so good that the hotel asks you to book a table if you want to have dinner here at night.
Room 404 has a window to the courtyard so you can fall asleep in the big white bed to the sound of mumbling voices from behind the white curtain. The tub is nice and big and the cream colored bathroom is ornamented by the famous blue and white Azulejoss tiles. The hotel has many lovely places where you can hang out, the atmosphere is nice and homely, the courtyard is wonderful and the location is perfect, right by the ocean and a ten-minute walk from Praca do Comercio.

York House Hotel,                                       130 €
Rua das Janelas Verdes, 32
www.yorkhouselisboa.com

Bairro Alto Hotel

This posh five-star hotel is located in a restored building from the 19th century and was formerly Hotel de l’Europe. The hotel reopened in 2005 and the owners have tried to recreate the elegance of days gone by. The rooms are large and spacious. Try to get one on the top floor, where they have balconies with a view of the city. Bairro Alto Hotel is a member of ”The Leading Hotels of the World”.

Bairro Alto Hotel                              250 €
Praca Luis de Camoes, 8
www.bairroaltohotel.com

Lisboa Regency Chiado

A lovely four-star hotel with a great location in Chiado. The interior design is a mish-mash of new and old stuff and different styles, creating a nice and comfortable atmosphere.

Lisboa Regency Chiado                   105 €
Rua Nova da Almada, 114
www.lisboaregencychiado.com

Lisbon Poets Hostel

A pleasant hostel that makes a cheap trip to Lisbon a reality. The charming four-storey building is characteristically 17th century. The rooms are clean and the English-speaking staff very kind. Poets Hostel also has a new branch in Porto with the same virtues. Good quality at a reasonable price.

Lisbon Poets Hostel,
Rua do Duque 41
www.lisbonpoetshostel.com

TRANSPORT

Getting to and from the airport

The trip from Aeroporto da Portela to the city center is a pleasant and short one, since the airport is located very close to the city. It is actually possible to be at your hotel less than 30 minutes after you’ve picked up your luggage.

The taxis are lined up outside the airport and the trip into town shouldn’t cost you more than 10 Euros – depending on how far you’re going of course. Ask for a receipt, just to be on the safe side.

The bus lines 44, 45 and 83 are also waiting to bring  travelers into the city, and if you’re not carrying too much luggage, it’s the cheapest way to get to the center. But if you brought big suitcases and land any time between 7.45am and 8.45pm, jump on the airport shuttle, AeroBus 91, that will take you to the city for around 3 Euros. You buy the ticket from the driver.

Travelers for Cascais and Estoril should be aware that there is an hourly shuttle service from 7am to 10pm.