The lounge area of Portas do Sol, September 2010

Amazing views overlooking the Alfama rooftops and the river Tagus! After visiting the nearby  São Jorge Castle (the Castle of St. Jorge),  this is a place where you can sit down, chill out and enjoy the beauty of Lisbon.

Entrance Porta do Sol cafe, bar/cafe and restaurant, 1000 m2 terrace

This cafe/bar and restaurant is located just near the famous Portas do Sol Miradouro (viewpoint). above a public car park. It has direct access on the tram 28 which is the more touristic of the Lisbon trams.

Enjoy a drink and the spectacular views.

It’s a lovely spot to sit down and relax with sofas and soft lounge-music, a place during the day where you can hang out and have coffee and snacks. They serve wines, cocktails, champagne and menu’s. Live music with a DJ on Fridays and Saturdays. Beautiful bar with crystal chandlers and chairs in art deco and romantic style (250m2).

Open daily from 10am to 12pm. Fridays, Saturdays and nights before a public holiday until 2am.

Website Portas do Sol. Cultural agenda? email to: mailto:ola@portasdosol.biz . Address: Largo das Portas do Sol, Beco de Santa Helena, Tel: 218 851 299

Portas do Sol ‘s  terrace/lounge area

Seen from the nearby famous viewpoint with the same name, a very popular place for locals and a famous tourist attraction. One of the most beautiful places in Lisbon!

Viewpoint (Miradouro) Portas do Sol Alfama Lisbon, by night

The Belvedere Portas do Sol is a balcony space that all people of Lisbon are proud to have at their disposal. Magnificent view of Lisbon and the typical Alfama district that spans several narrow, winding streets to the river Tagus.

View from the nearby small terrace

Located in between several highlights of Lisbon (like the viewpoint of Santa Luzia) , the Portas do Sol miradouro is the terrace that every person living in Lisabon would like to have at home…..

Statue of São (Saint) Vincent, Portas do Sol

There is also a statue of Saint Vincent holding a boat with two ravens, the symbols of Lisbon. Saint Vincent of Saragossa, better known locally as Saint Vincent of Fora, is the patron saint of Lisbon.

Largo das Porta do Sol, and the former city palace, Museum of Decorative Arts

In this wonderful 17th C. former city palace of the Count of Azurara, currently houses the Museum of Decorative Arts. Anyone interested in decorative arts in general and the Portuguese Empire in particular will find this collection fascinating. Beautiful azulejos (tiles)!

The popular tram 28 (video) stops near the Museum and the viewpoints

If you wanna get a good impression of the historical city of Lisbon, a very good idea is taking this typical little trolley, ‘eléctrico 28′. This legendary tram 28 is a tourist attraction in itself. It goes all around town. Of course you can hop on and hop off.

The nearby viewpoint Miradouro of Santa Luzia

Various small gardens along the edge of the walkway are filled with beautiful local flowers during the spring and summer months.

Viewpoint Miradouro de Santa Luzia by night

This is a very popular look-out point from the Alfama area of Lisbon, next to the Santa Luzia Church.

Viewpoint (miradouro) Santa Luzia

On the wall of the church are two beautiful tile panels (azulejos): one of Lisbon’s majestic Square Praça do Comércio before the earthquake in 1775, and another one showing the Christians attacking (the nearby) Castelo de São Jorge (Saint George’s Castle) in 1147.

Miradouro Santa Luzia

Azulejos (tiles) have become a typical aspect of Portuguese culture. This place is a wonderful tile treasure!

Restaurant ‘Miradouro Sta Luzia’ near the viewpoint, a very popular tourist place.

Authentic 3-bedroom apartment for rent in the historical part of Lisbon

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Portas Largas, March 2009. 

Lisbon Gay Guide  - Overview of gay clubs, discos and parties with address and maps.

 Picture: Rene van Gijn

Looking for a vacation apartment to stay in this street?

June 2009, Rua da Atalaia

Whether you’re gay or straight: you’ re welcome! Portas Largas is an extremely popular bar with a friendly crew. People from all over the world meet here drinking Caipirinha’s , (€4) coctails or beer (€3 ), served in plastic cups to make it easier carrying for drinking in the street.

Inside the bar on a Saturday night in April. The ambiance is laid back and relaxed.

Portas Largas is a distinguished place in Bairro Alto. On Saturdays they have live (and good) music and the rest of the week there’s a DJ.

The building is a converted old Portuguse tasca (tavern), with many original details like the azulejos (Portuguese tiles) on the walls.

Portas Largas, Rua Atalaia 105, Lisbon. Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 20:00 – 02:00; Sundays 21:00 – 02:00

Website I Love Bairro Alto, great information!

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The Bicaense bar is split into two rooms, the first is a smoking permitted lounge area.

Cheers! Laura’ s (second right) midnight birthday surprise: champaign.

Caipirinhas and champaign: we had a great time that night!

In the second room the resident DJs pumping out hip house to really get people in the mood for dancing. 

DJ Paulo

This bar is a great spot to hit before visiting Lisbon’s clubs like the legendary ’Blues Cafe’ (open till 04:00 am), Rua Cintura do Puerto do Lisboa 3-4, Docas de Alcantâra, or world famous club Lux , Website

In case the bar is too crowded: you can always take your drinks outside!

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Bairro Alto in Lisbon is posssibly one of the best spots in Europe for a night out!

Wander through the lanes of bars, fado houses and clubs – every night hundreds of people are drinking mojitos and cheap beer out of plastic cups, listening to everything from samba to African rhythms, but mainly electro and techno.

‘A Capela’ is one of the most popular bars in Lisbon’s heart of funky bars and restaurants.

Of what was once a chapel (Capela) only some stones remain.

Owner and DJ Pedro Silva

Club and wine bar ‘A Capela, Rua Atalaia, 45 Lisbon. The eclectic selection of musical combines the environmental sounds of electronic music, dub, groove with the classics of all time, from Madonna to Kraftwerk.

Miguel Sá, Nuno Bernardino, Pedro Silva, Luis elgris Paul NUPI, Fernando fadigaz Pregal and Rui Cunha, among others, are responsible for the sound quality. Open every day. Monday to Thursday: 18:00 to 02:00, Friday and Saturday: 18:00 to 03:00 Sunday: 18:00 to 2:00 a.m.

Everyday in A Capela there’s a different DJ, mainly electronic music but very eclectic and super competent.

Check it on Pedro’s myspace website

Bairro Alto district, Rua da Atalaia, in June.

June is the month of the Festas dos Santos Populares (Feast Days of the Popular Saints, a mix of religion and sex). The Lisbon nights are filled with lively festivities that take over the city’s historical center.

Bairro Alto, August 2009, Lisbon.Picture: René van Gijn

Bairro Alto Lisbon. Picture: René van Gijn

Picture: René van Gijn

I love Bairro Alto

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Cafe Noobai, view from the wonderful terrace overlooking the Tagus River

This bar and restaurant in Lisbon is certainly worth a visit because of the wonderful view over the Tagus (Tejo) river side, the relaxed ambience and the nice people. You will find yourself coming back to this place every day after the first visit.

Noobai: a great place for watching the sunset on a warm evening

You can bring your laptop, there’s a wifi connection you can use and there’s salad’s, sandwiches and soups, special teas and fresh juices. And of course caipirinha’s.

Noobai is excellent to cool off after a hot summer’s day. In winter you can sit with a fleece blanket on the terrace.

The owners of the place are Susana and Edy and many regular visitors are friends.

The name Noobai comes from ‘Nu bai’ which means ‘we go’ in the creole dialect from Cabo Verde, a former colony of Portugal

Sometimes on Sundays there are DJ’s playing relaxed tunes on the terrace.

Noobai is good fur a lunch or to get things started before moving on to nearby bars in Bica or Bairro Alto

Cafe/restaurant Noobai

Noobai terrace overlooking the river Tagus near Adamastor

Mail: info@noobaicafe.com

Telf.: 21 346 50 14. Timetable: 12 am > 12 pm.  Sunday 12am > 8 pm. Closed on Monday.

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After his succes with the Bairro Alto club Fragil, Manuel Reis used his experiences in creating this trendy hot spot together with associate John Malkovitch (yes, you are right, the actor). This club is certainly still one of the top clubs in town, but the glory days were the opening year 1999 up until about 5 years ago (I’m sorry, but we have to be honest). Still worth a visit though, not in the last place for the top musical attractions you will find here. The view from the gigantic balcony also remains unbeatable.

The place is divided in three floors. On ground floor you will find the club area, a rectangle and dark room with two bars and a stage. First floor is a bar and lounge, with a smaller open space in the middle for dancing. But go to the balcony first and take your time to enjoy the riverview. The decoration of the bar/ lounge changes at least every half year (my personal favourite was the era that the whol place was filled with enourmous beenbags and ‘pouffes’). The second floor is a roofterrace, only open in summer.

Lux fragil open it’s doors for clubbers usually around midnight, but the best time to arrive is from 3.00 till 5.00. As most bars in Bairro Alto close around 2:00 am, all barowners, DJ’s and nightflies choose where to go. Doors close at 5:00. But the club stays open till about 08:00 or 09:00.
There’s many concerts in Lux as well, starting earlier. For an agenda of the clubnights and the concerts visit the luxfragil website.

Resident DJ’s

All major DJ’s from Europe play in Lux, but there are a few Portuguese stars that made their way to the top behind the desks in Lux Fragil.

Probably the most famous of them all is DJ Vibe. Check out some of his mixes on his myspace page. Or take a look at his website. He’s one of the residents in Lux and of course a well-known producer. I found a good biography for you as well.

Rui Vargas is no doubt one of the Lux Fragil dinosaurs. You can see him in Lux almost every week.

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