Around the Castle of St. George’s (Castelo de São Jorge) in Lisbon, the tiny and partially restored ancient neighborhood of Santa Cruz do Castelo , is one of the most picturesque parts of Lisbon. Ageing residents are living here as well as younger people and there’s lots of luxury hotels. Mercearia Castello Cafe A bit tucked away on [...]
This traditional teahouse opened in 1829 by Baltazar Ruiz Castanheiro, when Portugal was divided by the liberal struggles. It still remains in the hands of the same family today and has won recognition in various international exhibitions both for its traditional Portuguese cakes and pastries, and for its creative innovation over the years. Very creative, very sweet, [...]
Campo dos Mártires da Pátria is really worth a visit! You can walk up the rather steepy hill at the end of Rua de São José or take the funicular of Lavra, the first transportation to overcome a hill in Lisbon, 120 years ago. In the nearby lovely park (Jardim da Cordoaria) is a small [...]
Just aside the walls of Lisbon’s Castelo São Jorge (St. Jorge Castle), I love to walk around in the narrow streets of the beautiful Bairro do Castelo, located in the highest hill of the historic centre of the city. This neighborhood is very charming and quiet. To visit the castle, you can walk up the hill [...]
Walking from Rossio to Castelo de São Jorge via Praça Martim Moniz, you walk up Rua dos Cavalheiros to Largo do Terreirinho. This is where the historic Mouraria neighborhood starts. Largo do Terreirinho in June, the month of the Festas dos Santos Populares (Feast Days of the Popular Saints), Santo Antonio Mouraria is an ancient area [...]
The famous Bica funicular opened on 28 June, 1892, the only stepped street funicular in the city. It climbs the Rua da Bica for 245 metres from the Rua S. Paulo, near Santos, to the Calhariz district. Bica funicular & partytime in June Partying in the small street around the famous Bica funicular, near [...]
The Lavra funicular was the first street funicular in the world. It opened on 19 April 1884 and carried 3000 people, free of charge, on that day alone! Originally water-powered, it was converted to electricity in 1915. It runs from the Rua de São José (near Largo da Anunciada) to Travessa do Forno do Torel. [...]
Quite close to the historic Alfama neighborhood, a very nice street to walk around at Lisbon’ city center is Rua dos Bacalhoeiros (street of the cod fish sellers). The buildings that face the Tejo River look lovely, but if you take a closer look, they mostly are in a worse condition. Walking from Praça do Comércio in the direction to Alfama, you will get to [...]
The city of Lisbon has always suffered from the lack of drinking water. King João V (John V) decided to build an aqueduct in 1731 (Aqueduto das Águas Livres, ‘free waters’). The magnificent construction caused constant misunderstandings between the royal power, engineers, architects and municipal institutions; abusive clerical interference found its way into the fray. [...]
In the 19th century, Baixa was Lisbon’s commercial heart, with streets named according to their trades. Rua dos Sapateiros means ‘the shoemakers’ street. 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 [...]
