Roman Catholic Europe at its best. You have to be at least somewhat into Western ecclesiastic sculpture and architecture to appreciate Portugal – being an enthusiast of beautiful landscape and secular built environment may not suffice. This place is as good as Italy, only more melancholic, defeatist, and poor. It comes in small forms and in vivid color, its comically low price tag a plus, its food a question mark, to be explored more fully.
The Detail. Most cities and towns here are saturated with exceptional detail. The impeccably preserved old signage of the highest calligraphic standard, even where the underlying establishment is long out of business. The omnipresent and famously nuanced ajulejo tiles, inside and out. The eye-popping baroque interiors. The contrasting patterns of calcada pavements. In visual detail, Portugal stands on its own and apart from the rest of Europe.
The Topology. The space-bending topology of most Portuguese cities is impressive but follows a similar pattern everywhere – the upper town, crowned by a sanctuary, a monastery, a fortress, a castle, or some combination of all four, a few belfries, domes, and a sea of undulating red tile roofs below – on account of sagging roof structures as much as sloping streets – visible from multiple points around the city.
The Limitations. My short list of a few cities can easily be doubled, without significant loss of quality, and if you get a feeling that you want to stop at every point marked on the map, you are not alone. The countryside here is exceptionally varied despite Portugal’s bite-sized dimensions – from isolated rocky beaches in the South to rolling hills of the center, to intimidating mountains of the wild and beautiful Douro valley, to the green of the North – and lends itself well to unplanned exploration. A spontaneous decision on where to get off the highway or what to do next can be rewarding here.
I will skip recommendations of museums and specific churches – many are quite good but you can figure those out on your own – and limit my list to a few low-conviction restaurant suggestions and highlights of the spirit of place an idle wanderer might appreciate. Separately, for a pastry/coffee/chocolate trail that maps out suggested cafes and those to avoid in key cities, check out my post https://inspiredsnobtravel.com/2018/04/25/cafes-and-pastry-shops-of-portugal-a-delirium-of-cream-and-custard/ – it is social commentary disguised as a fundamental pastry guide through Central Portugal. Verbose and unwieldy but easily tamed by the Ctrl+F function when you know what you are looking for.
Porto:
- Portugal’s capital of cool is grimy and gritty: the white stone of Pombal’s Lisbon, azulejo tiles or calcada patterns not easily found here.
- With no earthquakes, tsunamis and great fires of the 18th century, and no attendant reconstruction, Porto’s center retains its narrow, primitively built, awkwardly proportioned, cantilevering pre-Pombaline facades, their grey and black granite dwarfs other colors, it cannibalizes the mosaics and the whitewash alike, aside from the colorful island of the Ribeira waterfront. Grey dominates in Porto, one exception is the red of its tile roofs: deprived of headroom and too shallow for meaningful occupancy, they add greatly to the skyline.
- This place is nevertheless exceptionally panoramic, dynamic, and increasingly cool, full of character and surprising architecture, and offers significant vertical drop and great viewing angles – I wouldn’t mind getting reassigned to Porto for a few weeks.
- Palacio do Bolsa (guided tour only, worth the 30 min), check out N’o Mercado, the upstairs lounge in a converted market on the square.
- Avenida dos Aliados – wants to be Champs Elysees, Prague’s Wenceslas Square and Antwerp’s Leystraat, and, despite meaningful shortcomings, manages to outdo each of the three on some of the counts (only relevant if you are a lifelong student of architecture).
- Bay windows. Towers. Turrets. Spires. Domes, as many as 15 along each of the two sides. Dormers. Chimneys. Symbolic statuary of first rate quality. The dual walls of six or seven story high facades that frame this place are newer than they seem (during WWI and into the early 1920s, and the city hall on the far end 1930s-1950s).
- Their eclecticism combines every imaginable nuance in the toolkit of a historicist design architect but is not gaudy or over the top, it almost classically restrained, and does not offend the equestrian statue at the foot of the square in front of the Intercontinental entrance, refined and masterfully sculpted – the quality of execution of many monumental statues across Portugal is on par with Europe’s most ambitious art cities – as the school seeded by the Second Rome spilled beyond the confines of the capital.
- But this monumental square is missing something very important and essential, specifically – it will come to you after a short while and with minimal effort – life itself: this impeccably designed and exceptionally proportioned place is devoid of all commercial activity with the exception of a rundown terrace or two along its W edge, and with the redesign of its central island lawn into what amounts to a subpar parking lot, seems to have lost all hopes among the locals.
- No need to go further than maybe a block (the first one has tree-lined sidewalks, wider distance between opposite sides, and facades that are one story shorter, out of respect for the patrician Intercontinental), maximum two blocks deep into the avenue, starting from the Intercontinental – proceed up its central axis, with your head up high, past the exquisitely sculpted equestrian monument to Dom Pedro IV – as long as you somehow end up at the far end for a look back down, at the avenue’s skyline and the old town roofs below, from the city hall steps.
- The Bolhao market and surrounding streets offers a change of pace and impressively local flavor, the eponymous confeitaria across is a great place to hang out, observe, and taste.
- I would avoid the ultra-touristy café Majestic where for NYC prices you will be sitting at best in an opulent but empty room surrounded only by decked out waiters – any local café or padaria, like Mengos across the street, will do a better job, pop in, even if it does not look appealing at first sight.
- Do not miss rua Sa da Bandeira, it sneaks up on you shortly after Avenida dos Aliados leaving the Sao Bento station below on your right, check out the Leica store and gallery, a separate post https://inspiredsnobtravel.com/2018/05/10/leicas-iberian-flagship-store/
- Other areas – the pedestrian rua Santa Caterina with its busy but equally pedestrian if not outright mediocre shopping scene, the cheerfully touristy Ribeira, the not so obvious Baixa b/t the University, the Clerigos Tower, and Avenida dos Aliados, and the increasingly depopulated old center from the Sao Bento station down to the river – are best discovered in the context of eating and drinking establishments, forget obligatory landmarks or must-see destinations. Porto impresses with the ubiquity and efficiency of its Uber service, a female drivers appear to be the rule not the exception.
- If you are looking for the place to be – it is not a secret, and stands, rather sits, in plain view at the bottom of the faded and shabbily propped up pedestrian streets that fan out below the San Bento train station – it is praca Misericordia. Its concentration of beautiful and high end – by local standards – restaurants and café terraces is inspiring. Try to find excuses to walk by it more than once, it is a great place to camp out for tapas at the Traca terrace by day or for a drink at Pharmacy and a dinner at Ristorante LSD by night. Ecuadorian Chocolate across the street, towards the market and the Palacio do Bolsa, is high quality but not that unusual when visiting form NYC.
- Long, commercial streets from the 18th century – like the axis formed by rua dos Clerigos and rua de 31 de Janeiro – with opulent churches at its ends and completely hidden perspective of Avenida dos Aliados at its center to the left or of praca Almeida Garrett and the station to the right may be the most tempting. But it would be a mistake to stay away from obscure narrow lanes, the winding old streets cutting through dark sloping sections of the old center are different in character and offer a number of treats, at the obscured far end and along the way.
- The area between National Theater and the Cathedral Se do Porto is full of color and character, as is the maze of streets between Jardim da Cordoaria in the N and rua Flores and praca Misericordia in the SE. Pajaro Malandro, a custom tea shirt place on rua dos Caldeireiros, a dark, narrow lane running through the maze, where they make you one to a design you pick while you wait – preferably at Sandeira do Porto, a wine and open faced sandwich bar across and slightly diagonally down the street – is not to be missed. Across the center and on the other side of Baixa, do not miss the stunning the side by side churches of Carmelitas Cescalcos and do Carmo. On that side of the park, praca Fernandez and praca Carlos Alberto are also worth some face time.
- Half a dozen gourmet and foodie restaurants, all within a radius of a few blocks include Cantinho do Avillez – does not disappoint, offers a view of the kitchen and chef’s counter – and Typographia Progresso – a repurposed old printing shop – plus the LSD and DOP restaurants.
- Best views from the Clerigos Tower, down from the City Hall steps, up from the entrance to Intercontinental, with your back to the Sao Bento station, and from miradouro by the Cathedral. Take the narrow rua da Pena Ventosa down past the shabby blocks between the Cathedral and Igreja de Sao to Cerca Velha – this hole in the wall is a great place to stop and enjoy a minimalist menu, and can be surprisingly tourist free – the sloping streets of the old town are a courtyard and a narrow lane away on the other side.
- An avoidable but helpful experience – if your kids like to read, and you like your kids – is Livraria Lello the world famous bookstore that inspired JK Rowling to write, culminating in Harry Potter – slow, bureaucratic intake control via separate ticket entrance and mandatory backpack check is more than offset by the store’s interior they would remember for a while, and maybe a renewed interest in reading.
Douro:
- Easily one of the oldest, most beautiful, and most remote, wine regions in the world. Wines/ mostly reds: within 30-60 km E of Porto, the area is world’s oldest wine demarcation from mid-1750’s, some wineries like Vallado have been around for 300 yrs, info on wineries highly limited, even locally, best to schedule a visit in advance due to rigid hours and long driving times.
- Include lunch at Quinta de la Rosa, a trendy restaurant and wine bar in Pinhao with a terrace overlooking the river bend and the mountains, a refreshingly pricey lunch but quite enjoyable ad worth the premium. Leave plenty of time for exploration between the tastings, past places with names like Quinta do Popa.
- Keep in mind Douro’s signature look of terraced vineyards and picturesque topology mean challenging driving terrain, most of the time on steep, narrow ledges with no semblance of a curb. While the chance of facing a car, truck, or tractor headed towards you on a single narrow lane is highly limited here, best to plan around daytime hours to be back by sundown avoid unnecessary aggravation with driving at dusk on unlit and barely marked serpentine roads.
- Peso da Regua has a cool museum of the local terroir but on balance reasonably sad looking and avoidable unless you have extra time. For art and architecture, consider Lamego, an artful city of known for its Baroque Sanctuary, Renaissance art, and Gothic Cathedral not far from Peso da Regua, especially if the more famous Braga in the neighboring Minho province is not on the itinerary.
- Plan for a quick stop at Villa Real, an uncharacteristically ritzy small city in the middle of Douro, on the way back from Pinhao, after a long haul across the spectacular but unfathomably endless overpass.
- If port rather than wine is of interest, skip the drive to Douro and limit to warehouses of Villa Nova de Gaia across from central Porto – the picturesque sister town across the Douro river is a great place for wine/food/outdoor terraces with a view.
- If you are searching for a bit less commercial – albeit somewhat less picturesque – wine experience, consider other producing regions, most notably Dao, Portugal’s second most mature demarcation, Alentejo, its South-Central and perhaps most artisanal region, and Minho, the home of Portugal’s one of a kind Vinho Verde and much of its small scale production, whether in industrials or consumables. Wine regions have exploded across Portugal in the past decade or so, in quality and fame, and many nontraditional places produce increasingly good and original wines – keep in mind if the steepness and remoteness of Douro suddenly seems daunting, and keep an open mind when ordering wine at the table.
Minho, Braga and beyond to Santiago de Compostela:
- A trip further N, to Spain’s Galicia, is a quick upgrade to the food quality and variety – if all that egg yolk custard of Portugal’s sweets, the blandness of bacalhau and potatoes, and the offensiveness of fishcake croquettes become too much.
Aveiro:
- This is where you can take a break from churches and chill in a perfectly secular environment of small scale Art Nouveau facades, back streets fully covered in tiny azulejo mosaics, and spend a couple of hours enjoying confeitarias and tea shops lining canals and squares. No destinations, just grab some tea to go and walk around.
Coimbra:
- A city of deep contrasts, inhabited by students and the elderly, and therefore devoid of any sort of upscale dining or other grown up experience, it is nevertheless one of Portugal’s most interesting and user-friendly destinations. Irregular open spaces, medieval lanes, massive churches, arcaded cloisters, and an occasional straight street tend to present themselves unexpectedly, and from a short distance.
- The lower town b/t the town hall and largo da Portagem, both its common and patrician areas, is run down to say the least, but in a friendly, picturesque way. Think Genoa minus the world class art & architecture. A sad, impoverished look is conveniently offset by some of the cheapest shopping anywhere (not 50% or 25% of the US prices but tens of times cheaper), compelling viewing angles, faded but authentic look, and several nice cafes with their local characters.
- Don’t shy away from the most in your face cafes, they are surprisingly good.
- The part of the old town E of the central rua Ferreira Borges links the lower town with the upper town, and is more interesting, explore its narrow alleys while taking a circular way to the top.
- The upper town, refined and regal in character is indeed centered on world class palace and church former royal complex. Monumental, detailed, fully restored, and regal – an absolute highlight and a rare example of secular eye candy in Portugal – this complex of several buildings and courtyards is worth a visit.
- Since the 1500’s used by the university, itself one of the world’s very oldest, it hosts Biblioteca Joanina, one of Europe’s richest historic libraries, in terms of content of collections and opulence of interiors. Panoramic views in every direction – over the river, the skyline of rooftops and belfries, and the nooks and crannies below, from the arcaded miradouro viewing platform of the Museu Nacional Machado de Castro, university patios, steps, galleries, and corridors – will blow your mind.
- Botanical gardens at the top, along with Jardim da Sereia, praca Republica and nearby residential streets, and younger population complete a positively enjoyable scene and a much more pleasant picture than the lower town.
- At least three ways to get to the upper town, explore each of them separately.
- One leads through porta de Barbaca, an archway accessed from the central street right above praca do Comercio, and continuing up a somewhat touristy steep alley – far from touristy in the traditional sense, plus tourists are generally additive to the desperately poor Coimbra – stop at Tapas nas Costas on the steps of rua Quebra Costas on your way up to a maze of semi open spaces surrounding the monumental churches and palaces of the upper town.
- Multiple levels of the upper town’s maze lend themselves to one of my favorite activities – losing myself in an old city, to slow exploration, observation, and offers frequent excuses to get hydrated and caffeinated at some of the terraces.
- Across the river.
- Quinta das Lagrimas, a great historic hotel provides a place to stay overnight in style and comfort rare for Coimbra.
- Go past Convento Sao Francisco and up winding streets to miradouro Santa Clara, a belvedere viewing platform at the top, for an inspiring view over the center with its lower town and upper town.
Nazare:
- A surfing capital and home of the world’s biggest waves, it can be quaint and almost N African in its vibe, and would echo some of Portugal’s beach towns in Alentejo further S. Together with surrounding residential communities, it forms a very scenic and dignified place to admire and enjoy, at least for an afternoon.
- The calcada-lined promenade stretching along the wide, sandy beach, the eateries serving fish or gelato, the narrow lanes and back streets lined with whitewashed one story houses, the pine trees, the historic funicular common to many places in S Europe easily set it apart from the rest of C Portugal.
- Do not miss the view from the top over the beach and the town, it is priceless and more important than overthinking food options, a basic fish restaurant is all it takes.
- Kids may appreciate soccer goal nets planed along the sandy beach – you can buy a ball, of sorts, at one of the numerous stores along the beach promenade – a decent way to work out all that sugar and calories after a stop at the delicious, dirt-cheap, and happily ocean-facing Gelatomania.
Alcobaca and Batalha:
- These places are known for the singular medieval architecture of their cathedrals, their location and a taste of small town life are worth a quick stop on the way to Tomar, rich in topology, landmarks, commercial life, and Jewish history.
Obidos:
- This is a consensus favorite, pretty, overly cute, touristy, popular with Portuguese visitors and foreigners, it is artsy, detailed, and nuanced, and that may be enough to forgive its otherwise commercial character. Worth a stop for a few hours, and a strong along its two lengthwise streets and the ancient fortified wall towering above the center.
- Known for its ginjia, cherry flavored liqueur served in edible cups made of chocolate, it’s selfie friendly and Instagram worthy appearance is superficial but if mindless chilling rather than deep learning is your priority, park your car here for a few Do not miss the
Mafra:
- Only 15-20 min from Sintra going N towards Alcobaca, Batalhia, Nazare, and Coimbra. After Sintra, which offers a picture perfect, easily consumable toy of a palatial setting, Mafra, a huge monastic and palatial complex, built by the kings – to surpass in size the Spanish Habsburgs’ Escorial, it is Portugal’s largest and most impressive – will most likely refuse to be tamed by your camera viewfinder into a single full image.
- If this complex looks like it was lifted from Bernini’s and Borromini’s Rome or Guarini’s Torino and transported to the countryside around Lisbon, it is because in practically happened. This exceedingly handsome Mafra complex will recenter your opinion of the country’s artistic legacy and historical significance. Its well-proportioned and thoughtful design, by Rome’s best, remains the pinnacle of Portuguese baroque at its finest, the epicenter of Lisbon as Second Rome, a purposeful, top down, and largely successful, effort by the king to spend the wealth of Europe’s richest country of the early 1700’s on the built environment.
- A unique library assembled 400 yrs ago and an exhibition dedicated to architectural history of the complex (you have little choice but to walk through it) will stand out, as well as the church itself, and the courtyards.
- Mafra also served as royal apartments for a period of time, concentrated it the outer pavilions, but that is not its most impressive part, if informal and interesting, unlike other parts of this palace, it requires your expectations managed to avoid disappointment.
- Pastelaria Fradinho, the bakery across from the complex, is one of the country’s best and not yet taken over by tourists but do yourself a favor and limit to dark chocolate, nuts, pastry, save your caffeine intake capacity for somewhere else.
Sintra:
- This is the tourist epicenter, everybody who’s anybody comes to this place in search of an unusual, pretty, user-friendly – and fake, made up, gimmicky, uninspiring, and somehow exhausting – sightseeing and selfie taking experience. Royal but not regal, it seems like a site of a hostile takeover – by tourists, of course – and claims to have its own unique climate, the Atlantic ocean is visible from the Moorish castle, its highest points. This mountain, its parks and gardens are hiker’s paradise. Its terrain and topology are great for two hour long walks between the landmarks.
- Nearly 100% of the characters around you are tourists, and anything that is recommended exists for the sole purpose of catering to tourists (not that touristy places are of low quality, just makes the experience a bit strange). Most of the tourists are on a day trip so stay the night, an overnight stay here is not the silliest idea but avoid high end properties like Tivoli Palacio de Seteias – drive by instead, it hosts a shamelessly overpriced but convincingly pretty 5 star hotel visible from the road, ridiculous for an otherwise comically affordable country – and aim for a bed & breakfast instead.
- Food options highly limited at the palaces and on the mountain between them, in quality and quantity. For lunch/dinner or wine/coffee/cake, head to the small, family run Mourisca Bar, an out of the way pastelaria and restaurant in the back streets of the parish of Sao Pedro de Penaferrim, which recently joined Sintra, for authentic and respectable lunch and great desserts, and – out of character for Sintra where they seem basically absent. It is discoverable only inadvertently, once lost. A rare place where you will be in good hands and in the company of locals. Another great option for an afternoon tea is Queijadas da Sapa.
- At least 5 palaces/castles, enough to fill an entire day, even if starting early and staying diligent. Palacio National de Sintra right in the center is the least impressive, skip, limit to the garden terraces overlooking the town and the mountain slopes.
- The Pena castle at the very top is a bit like the Wittlesbacher castles of the Bavarian countryside, a fairy tale used briefly as a royal residence but pretty, offers tens of climbable surfaces also perfect as backdrop for your camera. Start with Pena first thing in the morning – parking available for free along the roads leading up to the parking lots when those are full – to minimize exposure to the selfie stick. Enjoy the air and the views, and the enfilade of the formerly lived-in and ceremonial rooms.
- Do not miss the Moorish castle, really a handful of remaining stretches of the formidable walls fully built out and equipped with ramparts, steps, lookout windows, a climb up the narrow walkways along the interior of the walls is a good filter, this near tourist free zone makes for one of the most scenic places in this part of Portugal, the views of the town below and palatial villas scattered along the slopes of the mountain are stunning (digital storage is cheap, almost free, so no such concern now but the richness and quality of views on offer makes you wonder how did they optimize the available film before the advent of the digital camera).
- Monserrate is another villa, and less popular, palace, built by a British industrialist in the 19th century, the symmetry and detail of its eclectic but informal interiors only matched by the spectacular gardens.
- Quinta da Regaleira is a highlight, leave for last, it belonged to a Brazilian coffee magnate, also in town, at the bottom of the mountain but just above the commercial center. The most mind blowing in its detailing and topology, the park is a perfect place to relax and enjoy the views.
Queluz:
- A barely known and rarely acknowledged masterpiece of 18th century palace garden, this is a highly ornate royal residence that somehow fell off the cliff of the mass tourist’s itinerary, eclipsed by Lisbon and Sintra. Its existence is not kept a secret but it manages to remain almost completely unattended and barely visited. Be prepared – depending on the time of say and day of the week – to be enjoying its palace and gardens alone, or just about. Only 10-20 min from the capital, you can lose yourself in the sculptures assembled from several international schools, including a singular batch of lead statues procured from England as well as more conventional works in marble, bronze, sandstone. That is if you pay attention and do not miss the barely visible sign on the side of the road.
- Several small interconnected garden terraces – with their fountains, statues, alleys, and all the exquisite appurtenances and fine accoutrements of royal grounds – far surpass in interest and quality anything the palace itself offers so look for the first opportunity to sneak out through one of the latticed floor to ceiling French windows, and do not worry even if the door gets locked behind you, a 30 min inspired walk through the gardens’ sculptures back to the entrance is not the end of the world.
Lisbon:
- One of the most impressive cities, despite the size of 500k, it is massively varied, scenic, colorful, and invigorating, at least by Portugal’s melancholic standards. The diversity of neighborhoods and their vintages, the artistic and plastic qualities of its churches and their interiors, the variety of its building stock, and the quality and character of its signage and street furniture are stunning.
- Lisbon’s brand new and shiny Time Out Market – not the publication – deserves as much to be a fixture on the must-see lists as Alfama, Graca, or nearby Chiado, Bairro Alto, and Bica, or as much as as Baixa did before it lost its unequal battle with mass tourism or. This market offers the gastronomic value of a neighborhood. A highlight it its own right, it stands out from the ultra-cheap but indistinguishable eateries, cafes, confeitarias, padarias, and other local establishments serving barely palatable fare. Stands out in its centralization, scale, signage, well-thought-out design, and superb quality. Expect this upgrade to be anything but free, designer burgers come at a steep price tag of EUR12 a piece, and ceviche even higher. A walk down to the waterfront in this part of central Lisbon, from Largo do Chiado or further back, is quite pleasant, and should be on the agenda by itself.
- Baixa is infinitely more touristy now – as far as downtown areas go, I prefer Rossio and nearby streets and squares – but as Europe’s earliest example of centrally planned grid and impressive Pombaline construction, Baixa is still instructive and makes for a great walk, especially if early, and especially around the edges: on the W close to Chiado, on the E bordering on Alfama, on the N next to praca Rossio and praca do Figueira, and by the arch of rua Augusta next to praca Comercio, praca do Municipio and Calcada Sao Francisco a special treat – patterned cobblestone pavements only get more elaborate along Avenida Liberdade. The tow monumental squares on either side of Baxia – Rossio and Comercio – are great, Rossio throughout the day, Comercio in early light before it gets busy, each of them a real gem of Portugal’s monumental sculpture and architecture, and – if you ask me – Second Rome in its purest form.
- I would avoid any eating establishments in Baixa and would be selective on the Chiado–Bairro Alto–Alfama circuit. All restaurants with no exception will be touristy, overrun with and catering to tourists, I would not expect locals at Lisbon restaurant that shows up on Facebook or Google maps, plenty of languages will be spoken at tables around you, Portuguese likely not one of them. Locals shove sardines in their face standing at the counter of their neighborhood tasca, you will run into those just walking around, in outer areas mainly.
- With that being said, Café Sao Bento, a great traditional stake place, a bit further afield, in a lived-in area on the far edge of Bairro Alto overlooking a small park behind Assembleia de Republica building, is highly recommended. Best meal we had there (but only as good as the Brazilian places in midtown on 46th b/t 5th and 6th), great service and wine list. Tapisco, not far, is another convivial choice for tapas, in the same general area b/t Parque Eduardo VII and Jardim da Estrela where generally walk-ins based on real time observation when walking by should not result in disappointment.
- Rua Garrett–Largo di Chiado– rua Loretto are hard to avoid, so don’t, join the crowds, this is the central stretch where buildings, church interiors, storefronts, outdoor kiosks are all more beautiful than anywhere else in this city. The elegant area around two theaters in Chiado – at least three if you count those on the other side of Largo di Chiado – is a compelling concentration of establishments with high standards in food and wine, the world’s oldest functioning bookstore. Belcanto, the OG of Lisbon’s Michelin stars is in this area. Steep streets between rua Loretto and the water are cool and less crowded (check out the ice cream and casual lunch place overlooking the river near Cais do Sodre station), core Bairro Alto is full of surprisingly good wine bars and small dive joints but busier, a stroll through the nooks and crannies of upper Chiado East of Misericordia is interesting day and night.
- Docas de Alcantara used to be a happening area full of restaurants, bars, night clubs, super vibrant until at least 6am towards the end of the week, not sure what this stretch of converted warehouses along the river W of the center offers during the day but another option if you have extra time.
- Lisbon is all about aerial views of rooftops and scenic viewpoints – multidimensional and reciprocal, from hilltop miradouros, penthouses, hotel rooftops, elevators, and tops of monuments, often offering very different views over same areas from different or opposite sites – and becomes four dimensional when its scenic platforms with their parks and kiosks are incorporated into the walks. I believe the city offers a total of 38 of them, officially. The best observation points – Miradouro San Pedro de Alcantara (this park is hard to miss, access either up rua Misericordia from Largo de Chiado or up a series of steep steps from the W side of Rossio), Miradouros Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol in Alfama, Miradouro Santa Catarina, Miradouro Santo Estevao in Alfama, Miradouro do Castello Sao Jorge, Miradouro de Graca (officially under a full name of Sophia de Mello Breyner Andersen), and Miradouro Monte Agudo. A separate viewing platform is naturally presented by Parque Eduardo VII with its central view – it is a great cab ride destination and a start of a walk down Avenida Liberdade – Lisbon’s main drag, near-fascist at the top, elegant in its central portion, then monumental towards the bottom – and onto the upper Bairro Alto to the West and the colorful neighborhoods to the East of the avenue, between praca Sao Domingos, Campo Martires da Patria, and Mouraria area.
- But the best views are often from rooftops – try Entretano piano bar lounge and terrace in Chiado with its Eastern exposure over Rossio, Baixa, Alfama and the waterfront from its commanding position at the intersection of rua Garrett and rua Nova do Almada. Supplement this with a NW facing panoramic view from the top floor restaurant bar at Altis Avenida hotel where praca Rossio meets praca dos Restauradores overlooking the monumental inner section of Avenida Liberdade and the civic monuments below – and from purpose-built free-standing observation platforms.
- A platform with a singular location and history is that of the arch of rua Augusta at the head of praca do Comercio, Pombal’s mid-18th century masterpiece and the epicenter of a city that ruled over Europe’s richest country. The terrace around the base of the dome of the National Pantheon in Alfama is equally pleasant and less crowded.
- The most amazing views are from Elevador de Santa Justa. Don’t even think about standing in line on the Baixa side of the structure – a passage directly above, near the ruins of the Carmo Church, destroyed in the earthquake of 1755, leads directly to the top of the lift via a bridge walkway spanning across pedestrian rua do Carmo, the main link between Baixa and Chiado’s old commercial center on rua Garrett, the top platform of the Elevador is by a narrow spiral stair, however the view opens up as soon as you step into the skyway bridge, it simply improves as you move in.
- Bica – take the funicular down or walk on the stepped sidewalk alongside its tracks and take the winding back streets up, past the starting point and all the walk up to Jardim do Principe Real, the views into side pockets and over the skyline of Estrela and Bica are worth the effort. Narrow lanes and smart streets coexist with open areas, the undulating topology adds to the effect.
- Don’t make the mistake of limiting the funiculars to that of Bica, it may be the closest, but Ascensor de Lavra behind Coliseu concert hall near Jardim do Torel and Elevador da Gloria roughly from Rossio station in praca dos Restauradores to upper Bairro Alto are equally worthy of your attention and effort. Effort that will be rewarded – like in Genoa and other hilly old Roman Catholic cities – with access to a whole new neighborhood, and sometimes a view, opening at the top of the funicular.
- Alfama is great, especially if you broaden it beyond the obligatory – and uber touristy – Sao Jorge castle to also include the nearby Graca, Sao Vcente, and Mouraria neighborhoods, forming all interconnected maze of winding streets and character. Don’t miss Teatro da Garagem on the other side of the castle, a beautiful eatery and café full of artsy display of kitch, it comes with a one of a kind view through a panoramic wall of windows that runs lengthwise through the entire place overlooking the hills of Mouraria. The section of Alfama along rua dos Bacalhoeiros at the bottom of Alfama hosts a couple of dirt-cheap but surprisingly palatable cafes with good breakfast selection. Do not miss the Eastern section of Alfama with its two Pantheons, the Royal and the National, climb to the top, and admire amazing views. Before catching Uber back to the center.
