Lisbon is Portugal's capital and largest city with a population of almost 600,000, not including the metropolitan area. Lisbon is one of the most important cities in the world and also one of the oldest.
It is a very cosmopolitan city with many attractions like museums, bars, restaurants, as well as historical landmarks like the Elevador de Santa Justa and the Belen Tower.
The Portuguese capital has increasingly become a renown city as more tourists are pouring into the city, making the city one of the top tourist destinations in Europe. The Portuguese capital also offers a low cost of living and thus hotels, shopping and dining are cheaper than other cities in Europe. This attracts other Europeans to come here, especially Brits. This may explain why so many Lisbon residents speak English. Lisbon has so much to do that you can’t see it all in day but it is a very walkable city, like most European cities. In this blog I will show you what I got to see in five hours.
Lisbon's Metro
The Jardin Zoologico Metro Station, near the Sete Rios Bus Terminal.
On my way coming up from the Chiado Metro Station.
The Estatua de Antonio Ribeiro, this statue is a couple of feet away from the Chiado Station. Ribeiro was a famous Portuguese poet.
Views of Largo de Chiado, a mini praca where the estatua de Antonio Ribeiro is located in.
Below are pictures of areas surrounding the largo.
My sister asking for directions in a polite New York manner.
I wasn't going to take this picture at all but I was interested in the earrings.
Rua Serpa Pinto
This is a side street off of Rua Garrett, one of Lisboa's main commercial streets that I will mention in a bit. On it, is Largo de Sao Carlos.
A couple walking along R. Serpa Pinto
Another typical European sight. In Portugal, as well as France, it is common to see motorbikes parked like this on the street. Keep in mind, Europeans don't believe in using the car as the average American does. Therefore when Europeans are on public transport with a serious or even gloomy look on their face you could find them with a serious or even gloomy look on their face on their motorbikes. Just kidding! Europeans love their motorbikes so you could see they are more happy in a motorbike than on a Metro bus.
Largo de Sao Carlos
As an American, I only know of town plazas or squares. It seems that the Portuguese are more sophisticated than us when it comes to plazas. Not only do they have pracas (which is a plaza or square), they also have largos. I wonder why that is.
Largo Picadeiro
The restaurant in the photo above is Cafe No Chiado, across the street from the lago. Even though the restaurant looks upscale the prices do not reflect those of another upscale restaurant.
This is one of my favorite things about Lisboa, you could eat at really nice restaurants that offer so much in aesthetic beauty and fine dining.
And the best part is you only pay a fraction of what you would pay at an upscale restaurant in the United States.
It seems the Portuguese are not as worried and greedy as we are.
More shots of Largo Picadeiro
Even though it is called a largo, Picadeiro is more of a street than a plaza or a largo like Largo de Sao Carlos.
Tram along L. Picadeiro
Rua Garrett
This is the most upscale commercial street in Lisboa. Before I arrived in Lisboa, I thought that Rua Garrett was going to be a long street since I read it was an important street. However, it really is just a couple of blocks long. Still it is filled with the most high end boutiques as well as outdoor restaurants. It is a cobblestone street, like many streets in historic Lisboa.
Parocia dos Matires (Parish of the Martyrs)
This is a very beautiful colonial style Portuguese parish. It was originally built in the 12th Century but was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1755. The church was rebuilt in 1769.
Unfortunately I was advised by a multilingual sign in the front that I could not take pictures of the inside of the church and since I am a scrupulous law abiding citizen, I could not take any.
Desculpe!
McDonald's is in Chiado!
Views of Side Streets from Rua Garrett
Armazens do Chiado
This is a small mini mall at the foot of Rua Garrett.
Below are pictures of the interior of Armazens do Chiado. It is a rather simple mall for an elegant area like Chiado. Still I would recommend walking around the mall for at least a few minutes. You even get to see a nice view of Baixa here from one of its stores.
A view of Baixa from one of the stores, looking to the right of the city.
Rua do Corno
Rua do Carmo, one of Lisbon's main commercial streets. Lisbon is a very hilly city if you don't like climbing or if you don't want to use an elevator to get from one part of Lisbon to another (we'll get to that in a second), this is the road to take. Plus this street is filled with boutiques and is basically an extension of Rua Garrett.
A vendor that sells inexpensive toys, like the ones you find near the Eiffel Tower. I don't see anyone buying them and I have seen three of these along the main commercial streets of Lisbon.
Elevador de Santa Justa
Lisbon is a very hilly city, therefore making it a very hard city to navigate at times. The Elevador makes it easy to travel from lower Lisbon to upper Lisbon.
Rua 1 de Dezembro, connecting Rua Aurea and Rua Carno, where we were just at. It is funny how this street resembles more like a tiny square than an actual street.
Baixa. If Chiado is the chic neighborhood of Lisbon then Baixa is the historic heart of Lisbon.
Above are pictures of Rua Area, looking eastward. To the left, is the Praca do Dom Pedro.
A nice view of Rua Aurea, looking south
Below are pictures of the street near Praca Dom Pedro IV, also called the same, as well as the praca, or plaza itself.
A newsstand in Lisbon. This is the only news stand I saw in Lisbon.
Then again I was only in Lisbon for less than a day.
Praça de Dom Pedro
A young couple crossing the street in front of Praça de Dom Pedro.
Rua de Betega, exiting Praca de Dom Pedro
Rua Augusta
This wasn't on my itinerary but I am glad I went here. This is one of the busiest commercial streets in Lisbon and it is closed off to vehicular traffic. Rua Augusta is lined with boutiques as well as chain stores and outdoor waiters. Waiters are inviting you to come to their restaurants showing you a menu in their hands, street performers come here while crowds look at them with amusement or with a curious look on their faces, and both young and old come here to people watch, sightsee, or shop or dine in Augusta’s many shops and restaurants.
Casa Brasileira (Or Brazilian House in English). This is a famous bakery in Lisbon.
A view of the Elevador de Santa Justa from Rua Augusta
Another "cheap toy" vendor in Lisbon.
A street performer dressed as if she was some type of gothic vampire.
Portuguese girls, possibly spending time in Rua Augusta to shop in many of its boutiques.
The tram. Tram 28 stops by but you have to catch the tram on the side street as Rua Augusta is a pedestrian mall and as such no tram runs through the actual street.
The arcaded structure outside of the Supreme Court of Justice
A view of the Praca do Comercio from Rua Augusta
This is O Supremo Tribunal de Justicia or the Supreme Court of Justice of Portugal.
You see a lot of these equestrian statues throughout Europe. I don't know why Europe is so crazy about them. I looked up info on this statue and it is the statue of King Jose I.
Cais das Colunas
This is the waterfront of Lisbon and is right next to the Praca do Comercio.
More shots of Praca do Comercio
Back to Rua Augusta
Below are pictures of Rua da Conceicao. Rua da Conceicao literally means "Conception Street" in English, possibly owing to Portugal's Catholic roots as it is most likely referring to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. I love the Virgin Mary, with her intercession she has healed me from many misfortunes. This is the street you take to get to the trams. One such is tram 28. I would strongly recommend taking this if you want to take a look at more of Lisbon's historic scenes and hilly roads.
But please be advised. Tram 28 gets filled up during rush hour. We must have waited for three trams until we gave up and walked to Bairro Alto instead, which really was not that far from us. I will mention Bairro Alto next.
Praça de Luis Camoes
Praça de Luis Camoes is like the dividing line (or square, however you want to see it as) between Chiado and Bairro Alto. Fashionable Chiado is to the right and the bohemian Bairro Alto is the right.
This may be very well the best and famous praca in Lisbon!
A tour group on the left touring Praca de Luis Camoes
Praca de Luis Camoes can get very crowded.
Bairro Alto
As you head left, the neighborhood changes dramatically. No longer do you see chic boutiques, outdoor restaurants, and well maintained buildings. Instead you see bars, young artists of the Bohemian crowd, and buildings that aren’t that well maintained, many littered in graffiti. Think of this as the Lower East Side of Lisbon or what East Village looked like in the 80s.
Barrio Alto is the nightlife and artistic capital of Lisbon. There are many bars, restaurants, and nightclubs here, including A Capela and Silk Club.
This is also a great place to listen to great Fado, a traditional Portuguese genre of music, in many of its bars and restaurants.
Rua Trinidade
(A better shot of Rua Trinidade compared to the second one on the right)
The pink building on the left is the Teatro Da Trinidade. The billboard on top of it reads "A Pior Comedia Do Mundo" (The worst comedy in the world). One trait that stands out about this theater is that both well known and new actors perform in this theater. This stands in contrast to Broadway where you have to be big or at least be seen with a lot of potential to even set foot acting there.
More shots of Trinindade
Couple walking along Rua Trinidade
The side streets of Bairro Alto
Native Portuguese walking along the gritty yet colorful streets of Bairro Alto.
Cervijeria Trinidade on the left
Nice artwork! Graffiti on a bright yellow building.
A cobblestone street in Bairro Alto
This was a great Portuguese restaurant in the hip Bairro Altos section of Lisbon. There was unfortunately a person who gave me wrong directions there but luckily I managed to find it because I knew I was on Rua Trinidade and it was on the next street over.
From the outside, the restaurant did not look that great or impressive.
However as I entered, I really got a full European dining experience. I entered a beer hall, I almost felt like I was in Munich.
Our waiter, Jorge, was a really great waiter. We told him we only had a couple of hours to take our bus back to Fatima and he told the cooks that we need to leave early so the food needs to made as soon as possible. I gave him a generous tip because of that. He was also helpful in sharing information about Portugal and directions to the nearest metro station.
I ordered the fillet mignon and it came with cheese on top. I do not get great Portuguese food back home like this and I live not too far from the Ironbound, which is possibly the most famous Portuguese speaking neighborhood in the United States.. The french fries that I tried were nothing like any I had in even the best Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound. The bread was also very delicious. Even the bread I had in Portugal is nothing like the Portuguese bread you get in the Ironbound or Kearny, another Portuguese enclave two towns next to Newark. As this was a Portuguese meal, I of course washed it all down with Sumol (Pineapple flavored).
As this is a beer hall, they also make their own beer.
My mom ordered shrimp as she was not too hungry. My sister ordered Bacalhau a sao bras.
Suprisingly enough, Cervijeria Trinidade hosts fado performances. I did not know that even beer halls in Portugal have fado events.
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