Praça da Figueira

Remarkable: from the 16th to the 19th centuries, Brazil was a colony of Portugal

Rúa Augusta, Lisbon’s famous boulevard and one of the best-known shopping streets

Beautiful Portuguese girls

Catarina Tomais da Silva and Rui, waiters in Pastelaria Casa Brasilia (very popular and delicious food!) Rua Augusta 267

Pastelaria and restaurant “D. João I”, Rua D. Duarte 1-B near Praça da Figueira . In the month of June all the streets in the historical center are decorated with garlands and lights (Festas Populares)

Inside the restaurant

…and of course the elephant sound of the vuvuzelas!

After the match…..Portugal vs Brazil: 0-0: both countries happy

Holland vs Brazil, near the famous Rossio Station. A big screen at Largo Duque de Cadaval, a beautiful place, full of open sunny open-air cafes and restaurants.

Holland vs Brazil: 3-1. Dutch and Brazilian football fans are watching the game.

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It was given its original name of Palácio de Almada in honor of its former owner, the Count of Almada. The name Palácio da Independência (’Independent Palace’) recalls a curious event that occured in 1640. Philip II of Spain had occupied Portugal in 1580, a year later he was recognized as King of Portugal.

Entrance restaurant ‘Chaminés do Palácio’ (’the chimneys of the Palace’).
The loss of some colonies and the intense pressure of taxes levied to finance the Spanish wars led about 60 years later to a conspiracy among several of the Portuguese nobility. On December 1st, 1640 there ensued a successful rebellion, followed by the restoration of Portugal’s independence.

About 40 conspirators prepared for the action under the leadership of the Duke of Bragança (or Braganza) in the grounds of this palace.

The Duke, from who’s grandmother the royal family descended, was crowned João IV, King of Portugal. From a neighboring monastery the nobles reached the palace garden from across part of the old 14th C. city wall and gathered there in a small, isolated pavillion. It has even been suggested that there was an underground path linking the garden with the Baixa along which people could pass unseen.

Beautiful azulejos (tiles) representing the story of the conspiracy

The building’s foundation stone was laid in 1509 and some of Manueline details from this time can still be detected in the inner courtyard, for example the door decorations. Two conical kitchen chimneys are reminiscent of the royal palace at Sintra.

The Sociedade Historica da Independência de Portugal has its seat in this Palace. This society has awarded itself the task of keeping alive the memory of the happenings of December 1st, 1640 and the general consciousness of Portugal’s national history.

Ana Maria Proserpio, Directora dos Serviços Culturais (Director of Portuguese Cultural Services). In Ana Maria’s hand the keys of the palace. If you are in Lisbon you can visit the palace each Friday, at 15:00.

Every year on December 1st official memorial events take place both in the Palácio da Independência and at the Praça dos Restauradores

Palácio da Independência
Largo de São Domingos, 11
1150-320 Lisboa

Phone: 21 324 14 70 Email: ship.geral@ship.pt

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In 1836, by order of Queen D. Maria II, Almeida Garrett (famous author and poet) was charged with creating a conservatoire for the dramatic arts. The site chosen for this colossal task was the finest in the city at Praça Dom Pedro IV, commemorates Portugal’s first liberal king. The square is usually simply referred to as Rossio (big square).

The theatre opened to the public on April 13 1846, the date of the anniversary of the queen it is named after, but the acoustics were poor and the theatre closed the very next day for improvements. It reopened several years later to notable success. In late November 1964, the theatre staged Shakespeare’ Macbeth. A strange superstition, or more appropiately a curse, hangs over theatres that perform this play: one week after the first show the whole building burned down except for its outer walls. It was reopened in 1978. Since then, countless plays, by the finest playwrights of the past and of today, have been performed and staged.

Today, Teatro D. Maria II is not merely a concert hall. Besides its majestic Garrett room, it also has a smaller room, while the great hall has been turned into a theatre/ studio, covering a whole world of activities that very often burst out from behind its venerable walls.

On the other side of the theatre you’ll find the unique Rossio train- and metro station (Estação do Rossio)

You can discover the theatre (or take the time to enjoy a good show). From Monday to Friday 10:00 am to 13:00/ 15:00 to 17:00 there’re guided tours, in several languages, to the backstage of the theatre. A journey that reveals the secrets and stories of Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. Price 6 euro.

Christmas 2008. Café Garrett, beside the theatre’s foyer, one of the most perfectly located cafés in Lisbon, facing the lively Rossio Square

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The entrance to the Rua dos Sapateiros is spanned by the decorative arch Arco do Bandeiro. This bears the name of the wealthy sponsor Pires Bandeiro who commissioned it at the end of the 18th C.

Passing through the arched gateway on Rossio you see one of Lisbon’s remaining examples of Art Nouveau: this old movie house, the Animatógrafo , is a strip club nowadays. Lisbon’s earliest cinema hall opened in 1907, by brothers Ernesto and Joaquim Correia Cardoso. It has remained unaltered since then. The beautiful facade is adorned with a highly detailed Art Nouveau style, which consists of Azulejos tiled panels, which depict Edwardian styled females surrounded by fruits and flowers.

It was not easy to make a picture without snapping visitors going in and out, because this beautiful house is rather popular…..

Restaurant ‘Adega da Mo‘, a typical Portuguese restaurant . Almoçar (lunch): Picanha, (meat from Brazil) is generally considered to be the number one cut, even better than beef fillet. Picanha (pick-ahn-yeh) is much better than a steak, meltin-in-your mouth…. € 7.50, a glass of red wine (€ o.50)

Restaurant ‘O Arco‘, Rua dos Sapateiros 161. Every day a new buffet menu for only € 6. Traditional Portguese food including soup, chicken, meat, fish, vegetables and salad.

Joao Paulo Antunes in front of Restaurant ‘O Arco’.

Another beautiful example of Portuguese Art Nouveau in this street is Leitaria ‘A Camponeza’

Rua dos Sapateiros, February 2009.

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This place is a good idea for a break or a romantic moment, a chat with some friends or while you’re waiting for the train and want to check your e-mails. Even in wintertime when the sun is shining you can sit outside, the terraces are protected from the wind.

Restaurants and cafés has been created here, apart from all the noice and traffic. A coffee (bica, 0.95 euro).

On the background you see Calcada do Duque, the beginning of the more than 300 stairs leading to Bairro Alto

The new ice cream shop Gelateria Finzi Contini. From outside it does not look like an ice cream shop, but it is, and a good one.

Natural ingredients and recipes are an Italian/Argentinian fusion. 4.00 euro and delicious! Besides they serve home made pastry, sandwiches and crepes.

After all the renovations this place is this really beautiful.

Finzi Contini ice cream shop, Gislaine Nazario. Largo do Duque, de Cadaval Lisbon

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Casa do Alentejo was created 85 years ago, as a purpose to be a meeting place for people from Portugal’s historical province Alentejo (além Tejo means beyond the Tagus) and to cultivate its unique culture. At that time many people from this region left home in search for a better life in Lisbon.

The palace dates from the last quarter of the 17th C., but its current appearance is a result of considerable alterations carried out in 1918. Nowadays here’s the headquarters of the association of the Alentejo people.

The ballroom. Today many activities take place here: on Saturdays the ‘Alentejo afternoons’ (tardes Alentejanas), with choral groups. On Sunday, the dancing begins at 3;30 pm. Mostly elderley people come here to socialize. There’s also a library and a handicraft shop of typical products of Alentejo (downstairs).

The dining rooms are picturesque, with open fireplaces and decorated with beautiful tiles (azulejos). The azulejo is a form of Portuguese painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tilework. They have become a typical aspect of Portuguese culture. Azulejo comes from the Arabic word az-zulayj, meaning polished stone. Wherever you go in Portugal, azulejos are to be found inside and outside cafes, churches, palaces, ordinary houses and even ceilings, train- or subway stations. Many azulejos chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of Portuguese history.

Portugese appetizers are on the table when you arrive. Be prepared: in the more expensive and touristical restaurants you have to pay for starters like bread, cheese and often olives or shrimps (camarão). They are not a part of the meal! You won’t pay for them if you don’t eat them, and often the waiter will take them away (não, obrigado), ‘no thank you’. The restaurant in Casa do Alentejo is very popular, all the ingredients are straight from the Alentejo.  The average price of a 3-course meal is 20 euro. Small bottle of wine: 4.50 euro. My choice: ‘bife de atum‘, (tuna fish steak, 11.50 euro and really good!

Several elderly Portuguese are reading, talking or snoozing peacefully in the library…..

Casa do Alentejo, Rua das Portas de Santo Antão 58. Opening hours: 12pm to 3pm and 7pm to 11pm every day, closed on Sunday. Tel: 00 351 – 21 346 92 31
E-mail: casadoalentejo@mail.telepac.pt

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Rossio, December 2008, just around the corner of Pastelaria Suíça, a cafe/restaurant very popular with tourists.

The Rossio Square has been a meeting place for people of Lisbon for centuries. Some of the cafés and shops of the square date from the 18th century, like the Café Nicola, where Barbosa du Bocage , a Portuguese poet, used to meet friends.

Famous Café Nicola, Praça Dom Pedro IV 26 (founded in 1929). It was here that the first Portuguese women dared to break the male stranglehold on cafe-going. Rossio’s cafes are popular for sitting and watching the world go by.

Pastelaria Suíça, Praça Dom Pedro IV 101, a traditional Portuguese cafe/restaurant, famous for its huge variety of delicious cakes and pastries.

Most locals prefer to sit inside. During World War II this place (Suíça means Switzerland) was the meeting point where those in exile negotiated their tickets to freedom.

Pastelaria Suíça terrace, Praça D. Pedro IV 96/101. Locals appreciate this cafe/restaurant just as much as tourists. The waiters are not always very nice. Being a tourist, be aware of pickpockets: while enjoying a delicious cálice de vinho do Porto (a glass of Port Wine), somebody tried to steel my friend’s bag from under her chair. Happily a friendly waiter warned us just in time! Be aware when you visit touristical attractions and terraces. Nearby you can taste a Ginjinha, a liqueur made of a cherry-like berry, a typical Lisbon spirit.

From Pastelaria Suica ’s terrace at the back a view of the square Praça da Figueira (English: Square of the Fig Tree) and the São Jorge Castle.

Street performances (’living statue’), newspaper vendors, street traders (offering cheap watches or ‘jewellery’), lottery ticket sellers, ‘psssst drugs’ sellers and begging hands……….also some lovely shops, like the unique hatmakers shop Chapelaria Azevedo Rua (opened in 1886)

And, of course, in wintertime, the unmistakeable smell of roasted chestnuts (castanhas assadas)

Lisbon Rossio lottery ticket seller 

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The Neo-Manueline façade dominates the northwest side of the square and is a Romantic recreation of the exuberant Manueline style, typical of early 16th century Portugal. Its most interesting features are the two intertwined horseshoe portals at the entrance, the watch in a small turret and the abundant sculptural decoration.

December 2008. Near the station you can have a drink at Largo do Duque de Cadaval, which is really nice and full of open-air cafés.

The Station had been closed for almost three years while it was undergoing repairs, in spring 2008 it was re-opened again.

Inside, the platform is connected by ramps to the façade level and is covered by a cast-iron structure executed by a Belgium firm. The station is an important example of Romantic (façade) and Cast-iron (platform cover) architecture in Portugal.

Downstairs is Rossio’s metro station (green line). Metropolitano de Lisboa, Lisbon Metro official page (also in English) you’ll find a map with a network diagram and explanation of the lines: Metro Linha Azul (blue line) Metro Linha Amarela (yellow line) Metro Linha Verde (green line) and Metro Linha Vermelha (red line). Click on the name of a station to obtain more information.

This beautiful station is a must see if you visit Lisbon, and if you want to visit Sintra, the famous World Heritage town and the Pena National Palace just outside Lisbon, you need to come here.

Sintra Station. Trains to Sintra (and vice versa) leave every 15 minutes, for the low price of E 3.90 (return ticket), a 45 minute trip. The access of trains to the Rossio station is made by a tunnel more than 2600 m long. This tunnel was escavated under the city and is considered one of the most important works of engineering of Portugal in the XIX century.

Sintra Station

Besides: if you prefer to go by car to visit Sintra, the IC19 superhighway takes you directly from the city and it comes to an end at Sintra – so you don’t have to worry about any turnoffs! Parking is for free, 10 minutes walk from the center of Sintra.

The Pena National Palace, built by a noble man for his Portuguese wife

Useful information about tickets and buses . A one-day ticket (7 Euro) can be bought at Sintra station and will allow you to get on and off at all the main attractions, like f.i. Pena Palace and The Moorish Castle

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Portuguese people are fond of hats! Rossio January 2009.

Typical Portuguese hats, bridal hats, Panama- and Cylinder hats. In this well-known hatter’s you can find handmade hats for all occasions and top-hats, bowler hats, high-hats and all kinds of regional- and traditional hats.

All levels of society buy their hats from here, from labourers to the president, also in the past, like the famous Portuguese poet and writer Fernando Pessoa.

Maria Fonseca shows ‘Fernando Pessoa’s (1888 – 1935) favourite hat. “This type of hat is still very popular nowadays”. Price: 60 euro, tailor-made.

Maria Fonseca: ” 122 years ago, in December 1886, the grand grand father of my husband, Manuel Azevedo Rua opened this shop in Lisbon. Before that his profession was a wine producer. He lived in Nogueira, district of Vila Real Trás-os-Montes, in the north of Portugal”.

“Due to vintage problems Manuel decided to move to Lisbon. His uncle, a rich priest, supplied him the money to finance the shop, only on this condition: no discount (‘precos fixos’), but with the exception of hats for priests”.

“One day, the Portuguese former President Mário Soares (son of an ex-priest), came here to buy a hat. But no discount for him: “Esculpa senhor, precos fixos’ (Sorry sir, no discount)”. And: “D. Duarte de Bragança, the Duke of Braganza ordered his hats here”.

Pedro Fonseca

December 2008, Christmas shopping

Chapelaria Azevedo Rua. Address: 72-73, Praça Dom Pedro IV, Lisbon, 1100-202. Open Mon. – Fri.: 09:00 – 19:00hr. Sat. 09:00 – 13:00hr. Owners: Teresa and Jose Manuel, Maria and Pedro Fonseca.

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‘Hot and good, a dozen for € 2“. Much to the chagrin of many, the traditional paper cone made out of the Yellow Papers has been replaced by soulless paper packages, which takes something away from the ritual of chestnuts.

Saint Martin Day, is celebrated on November 11. It is called Magusto. This day is the peak of three days, often with very good weather, known as Verão de São Martinho (Saint Martin summer). The Portuguese celebrate it with jeropiga (a sweet liqueur wine) and roasted chestnuts (castanhas assadas).

Baixa Lisbon, December 17, 2008

Traditions dictates that family and friends gather around a glowing hearth or bonfire, where they roast chestnuts and drink água-pé (a watered kind of wine), jeropiga, vinho novo (young wine), or the slow smooth burn of aguardente (’firewater’, alcoholic drinks between 29 and 60 percent alcohol).

Because this pagan festival is a celebration of life, there is food and drink and plenty of fun: in some regions people smother themselves with ashes, black themselves up and sing around the fire.

Largo do Chadio, Lisbon December 2008

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