Tourist Information desks and other Lisbon, Portugal General Tips

Favorite Thing: You can find tourist information and buy the Lisbon Card (discount in museums and restaurants + free transports in the city) and taxi vouchers at the following points:

Airport (arrivals) | Phone: +351 218 450 660
winter/summer | 7am-12pm

Palácio Foz, Praça dos Restauradores | Tel.: +351 213 463 314
winter/summer | 9am-8pm

Rua Augusta - kiosk | Tel.: +351 213 259 131
winter/summer | 10am-1pm; 2pm-6pm

Praça do Comércio | Phone: +351 210 312810
winter/summer | 9am-8pm

Train station of Santa Apolónia | Tel.: +351 218 821 606
winter/summer | 8am-1pm (Tue – Sat)

Rua do Arsenal, 25 | Tel.: +351 210 312820
winter/summer | 10am-6pm

Jerónimos Monastery (Belém) - kiosk | Tel.: +351 213 658 435
winter/summer | 10am-1pm; 2pm-6pm (Tue – Sat)

More info.


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Favorite Thing: Still known as Terreiro do Paço (the old Royal Palace was here 400 years until the big earthquake of 1755) this is the largest of Lisbon squares. Like a great amphitheater facing the river this is a vast space (112000 sq meters) lined on three sides by yellow buildings of uniform type, with high stone arches housing several public offices (ministries, etc), and a fourth side, which is the river Tejo itself, with a marble staircase with 2 columns, the Cais das Colunas (column quays’), where the caravels and trading vessels once docked.

In the center of the square stands the 14 meters bronze equestrian statue of King José I. This was the king that ruled the country when we were devastated by the big earthquake in 1755, and although the mentor of the rebuilding of the Baixa (downtown area) was its prime minister Sebastião José, known as Marquis de Pombal, the rebuilding of the town is depicted in the magnificent pedestal of this statue. This is a place full of story for Lisbonners, which celebrates many important events. Many kings were born here (on the palace) and the penultimate was assassinated -king Carlos in 1908. Prior to air traffic this was the place of arrival for the important guests (kings, queens, etc.) as they come from the sea.

On the right corner, close to the arch, is the famous Café Martinho da Arcada (see link), which has making Portuguese typical dishes and excellent pastries since 1782 (oldest restaurant in Lisbon), and where the poet Fernando Pessoa, one of the biggest Portuguese writers of all time, enjoyed the afternoons taking some aguardente (spirit, literally fire water).

Contrary to some well known plazas in other European towns, Praça do Comércio is not yet totally exploit as a recreation area in a daily basis, eg. with restaurants and esplanades, and is still a major traffic point in Lisbon. Hopefully this will change in the future since from 2008 they close traffic on Sundays and there are many activities promoted by the city hall entities (a program called “Sundays the Terreiro do Paço is for people”. Moreover, there are many benches around the plaza to relax and after 2010 the Cais das Colunas will be reopen as a promenade place -Passeio Ribeirinho (riverside walk).

This is also the place to be if you come to spend the New Years Eve in Lisbon and you enjoy a popular night. There are always rock/pop concerts and big fireworks around midnight. Bring your own bottle and join Lisbonners in this town event.

This area is served by several city bus lines, metro line, and of course by boats coming from the other side of the river. Also nearby we have 2 major train stations: to the west Cais do Sodré (suburban line to Cascais) and to the east Santa Apolónia (departure point to the north of the country and linking to Gare do Oriente).
From this square it is also possible to take some of the many tourist routes promoted by Carris either by tram or bus. Another nice option is to take the cruise along the Tejo (from April until October). There is also a tourist office, a wine taste point, and some exhibition halls.

For more information about the square please see here

NOTE: This square will be under reconstruction in 2009 as the water supply and the sewage systems are under renovation (according to the responsible companies “until June 2009” but you know about this type of announcements).


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Favorite Thing: Rossio is the fond name Lisbonners use for Praça D. Pedro IV. The old name "Rossio" was the common name given to the central squares of any town in the country. It is the "center", the heart of Lisbon, the focal point of the lower city, full of souvenir and craft shops, historical cafés, pigeons, where everybody passes by, stops, the meeting point to go somewhere downtown.

Up high on a marble column (actually with 27 meters is one of the highest in the city) the bronze statue of Pedro IV overlooks the square with its amazing black and white mosaic undulating pebble paving "calçada portuguesa" in a special design -Mar Português (the waves of Portuguese sea)- and the 2 baroque bronze fountains.

Talking about Pedro, it was a curious sovereign. First of all, his father, João VI, left Lisbon running from Napoleon’s troops in a huge fleet for Brazil who becomes the head of the Portuguese empire. The only sovereign to run away from Napoleon (not giving him the “privilege” of being defeated) and the only European empire with a capital out of Europe... this is quite a story. When his father returned to Lisbon he split the crown and enthroned himself Brazil emperor. But once his father died he was elected (as successor) king o Portugal. First he accepted the throne of Portugal but he only ruled for 6 days and he left this crown to his daughter Maria da Glória. Later on his brother Miguel, an absolutist which opposed his brother’s liberal ideas, started a fight against his nephew Maria (actually to her sister Isabel Maria, who was left as regent) and claimed the throne. This started a civil war between absolutists and liberals and Pedro IV abdicated his throne in Brazil in favor of his son Pedro II and returned from Brazil in 1831. In July 1833 he arrived in Lisbon, and later that year Maria da Glória (D. Maria II) was proclaimed Queen, with Pedro as regent.

Well, back to the square. In the old days the big Estaus Palace served as the Inquisition office, and as the main square, along with the open market Rossio was frequently used as setting for public executions. Later on, the huge All-Saints Royal Hospital was also build on the eastern side of the square. As many other structures in Lisbon area these important buildings were destroyed with the big earthquake of 1755 (actually the old Inquisition Palace was only completely destroyed in a fire in 1836) and what we can see today is the reminiscence of the Marquês de Pombal reconstruction plan carried out along the 18th and 19th centuries. Nevertheless, Rossio was always the most important square in town and so was used for political rallies, bullfights, military parades, etc.

North of the square is Teatro Nacional de Dona Maria II, a neoclassical style building from the 1840’s with six monumental columns and built on the spot of the Inquisitional Palace. It is no less interesting inside, the theater itself being a fine one, with a ceiling painted by Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro. On the outside, the statue above the theater is the one of Gil Vicente, our first play-righter, also a known goldsmith which was the author of one of the best gold treasures of Portugal -the Belém Monstrance on display at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (see link).

Next to the theater we have from one side the beautiful Rossio train station and from the other the Largo de S. Domingos. This leads to Praça da Figueira and to the pedestrian street Portas de Santo Antão -a strolling area with shops, leisure esplanades, and several types of restaurants, from the very expensive (but good) Gambrinus, to the small and cheap “tascas”. And of course being here we cannot avoid one of the landmarks of Rossio area - the ginginha- a traditional sour cherry liquor that spread from Rossio (actually the most well known place stands in Largo de S. Domingos) and become popular all around the country. Some places like Óbidos specialized in this liquor but most part of the production of the cherries come from Fundão, near the Serra da Estrela.
There are 2 quite famous cafés across the square: Nicola, once the hangout of intellectuals and artist, namely the famous satiric poet Bocage, and the famous Pastelaria Suíça, the pastry shop of kings with finest traditional sweets.

On the other top of the Rossio square stands the bizarre Rua da Betesga (which we can translate as the redundant "alley street" because of the previous dead end street standing there before the earthquake) which is the smallest street in Lisbon (20 meters) but the one with most traffic, as every vehicle entering the Rossio square from the river must pass there. There is a Portuguese saying that can be translated as “you are trying to put the Betesga in Rossio” to address a virtually impossible task. By the way, at the end of Rua da Betesga you can find another good pastry shop (pastelaria), Confeitaria Nacional, which dates back to 1829, and is quite famous for its "bolo-rei" (literally, King Cake) a traditional Portuguese soft dough cake with nuts and fruits, which is usually eaten around Christmas until the "Dia de Reis" (literally, Day of Kings, as a reference to the three wise men) on January 6th.

Pigeons are a constant in the square but this applies also on many other areas in Lisbon. The square is also the gathering point of ethnic people from the Portuguese ex-colonies (and their second generation) not necessarily related to drugs or poverty, it is just because they are used to come here, and they will not upset / annoy you. But as a foreigner (and they will spot it by the distance) you will be offered some drugs by other youngsters. You will also see some beggars. Well this is the scene you have in all great cities (in Europe at least).

As Lisbon is quite hilly there are many viewpoints, we call them Miradouros (see link), which have superb views of the town and the river. There are 3 great spots to overlook Rossio square from above -the castle, the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara (at the top of Elevador da Glória), and the cafeteria at the top of the Santa Justa elevator. I go there often just for the view and admire the Lisbonners and tourists passing by like ants :-)

The entire square is served by many city buses (remember it is the most important square in town), the Rossio train station and by the metro stations "Rossio" (green line) and nearby "Baixa-Chiado" (blue line).


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Favorite Thing: On the north side of Praça do Comércio, there are several parallel and perpendicular streets around a main axis which is Rua Augusta. This has nothing to do with what could be found here before the earthquake of 1755. At that time this was a place with dark alleys between the narrow and entangled streets much as what we can find still today in Alfama, Mouraria and other neighborhoods surrounding the castle. All this was completely destroyed by the quake, followed by the tsunami and next day’s fires. Marquis de Pombal who was the prime minister of the kingdom at that time, was the "mentor" of the rebuilding of the Baixa (opportunistically he found an easy way to much recognition) and that’s the reason why this place was labeled after his name.

This area starts with a triumphal arch (beginning of Rua Augusta) of great dimensions, Arco da Vitória (Victory arch) one of the largest of its type in Europe (and the world) dated from 1873 (although its project is from 1755, the same year of the devastating earthquake). If this arch will seem familiar to you, it means you have seen Gulliver's Travels starring Ted Danson, in a scene in which the Lilliputians wheeled him through the arch. The allegoric group which crowns the arch personifies Glory crowning Genius and Merit. Also represented we find personifications of Tejo and Douro rivers (2 major Portuguese rivers) and statues of 4 great Lusitanian men: Viriato (Lusitanian leader and defeater of the Roman legions), Nuno Álvares Pereira (first constable of the Portuguese kingdom, major defender of the country’s integrity against the Spanish pretensions to the throne, and founder of the Convento do Carmo whose ruins are part of the charming of Lisbon downtown), Vasco da Gama (the great “discoverer” of its time), and Marquis de Pombal.

The Baixa is a commercial area since its construction and you can find here jewelers, goldsmiths, and silver crafters, who give names to the 2 major side streets of Rua Augusta -Rua do Ouro e Rua da Prata-, small businesses, shops (which gave the names of the other streets, such as shoemakers, tailors, strap makers, etc.), stock exchange, banks, restaurants, and, nowadays, street vendors. Rua Augusta is the pedestrian street of the Baixa and is the busiest and the most famous with boutiques, coffee houses and bars, and most part of the time full of street vendors and jugglers, some beggars and all sorts of tourist "fauna". There are several nice small restaurants where you will find typical dishes at very reasonable prices (mostly for lunch as the locals eat here close to their work places). You must stop for a special coffee at the Casa Macário (also good wines) or to bite some irresistible sweets at Pastelaria Brasileira.

Recently archeologists found tunnels and the remains of roman baths dating from the 1st century AD under the network of streets of Baixa. These 20 centuries old ruins which also include mosaics can be visited by passing through the Millenium BCP Bank. But not so deep you must also pay attention to the pavement where you can find some nice pieces of calçada portuguesa works as you will find many different patterns and motifs -from the symmetric ornamental designs to the advertisement names of the shops, small businesses, restaurants, and hotels. This is very unique kind of advertisement.

This perpendicular street network with 4-5 storey buildings with iron cast materials and garrets are very typical of the Baixa Pombalina and with a bit of luck you will find some original azulejos (tiles). Some peculiar points can be spotted at Rua dos Sapateiros (shoemakers) where footwear is still sold (but you will find many more restaurants than shoemakers). It's the case of the decorative arch entrance to the street coming from Rossio -Arco do Bandeiro. This bears the name of the wealthy sponsor Pires Bandeiro who commissioned it at the end of the 18th C. Just after the arch you will also notice an old Art Nouveau cinema Animatógrafo do Rossio which opened in 1907. The beautiful facade is adorned with a highly detailed Art Nouveau style, and it has remained unaltered since then from the outside. Nevertheless, since some years ago it houses a sex shop and peep show.

Unfortunately as the entire zone of Baixa becomes an "office zone" almost nobody lives here. By that reason the streets of Baixa are the liveliest and most crowded during the day but at night, despite the marvelous lightening, the entire place is deserted except during the towns' festivities (around June, 12th), some summer events, and Christmas / New Years season because all downtown is enlightened. Even some restaurants in this area close around 10pm.

For more information please see here

This area is served by several city bus lines, Rossio train station, Baixa / Chiado metro station, and by the nearby Praça do Comércio pier where boats from the other side of the river dock.


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Favorite Thing: Situated in the south extreme of Avenida da Liberdade, the Restauradores Square is considered to be the starting point of the expansion of the city to the north, linking the Baixa Pombalina to the Marquês de Pombal Square. Built as an extension of the Public Walk it open to the public in 1882, and it started off by being an entirely pedestrian avenue with gardens, a mandatory passage of the distinct bourgeois walks, very similar to the style of the Champs Élysées in Paris.

In the center is a patterned pavement (black and white pebbles) of on the style of Portuguese calçada surrounding a 30-meter high obelisk. The obelisk was designed by António Thomaz da Fonseca, and was erected in 1886 in memory of the country's liberation by the Restauradores (from where the square took its name) who put an end to the 60 years of Spanish domination in 1640. We do still celebrate the date every December, 1st. The two bronze figures on the pedestal at the base symbolize Victory and Liberty. The monument also bears the dates of the chief battles in the campaigns who followed the Revolution of 1640.

Nowadays the square is one of the busiest areas in the Lisboa centre, lively with cafés, restaurants, shops and offices. The strong point of this area is, undoubtedly, its architecture, with diverse buildings characteristic and historical buildings. On the west side is Foz Palace, the former residence of the Marquis of Foz, now housing the National Tourism Office. Built from the mid-18th to the mid-19th C., the palace may only be visited with special permission or during some exhibitions or classic music concerts. The interior and its furniture were inspired by Paris' Versailles Palace and the most interesting rooms are the Renaissance-style Stove Room, the Mirror Room, and the atrium of the chapel of Our Lady of Purity.

Next to the Foz Palace we can find an adapted Art Deco marvel -I’m talking about Orion Eden Hotel. This was one of Lisbon's major cinema/theatre buildings -Eden Teatro- and its imposing facade still dominates the square with a stone frieze depicting stylized actors performing before a film crew and cameras. The name Eden Teatro is centrally located in the stonework above like it was when it opened in 1931 after the design of architects Cassiano Branco and Carlo Florencio Dias. With lavish interiors the theater was masqueraded as a Russian hotel in the Wim Wenders film "Until the End of the World" (1991). In 2001 it was converted into a 134 room apartment hotel but the facade has been retained (slightly modified by removing the two huge film advertising poster spaces) and 'opening up' the space by providing an atrium.

Closer to Rossio station we can spot another nice building -Avenida Palace Hotel- the only downtown hotel which was a Palace with history and tradition in Lisbon. Projected at the end of the 19th C. by master José Luís Monteiro, one of the most distinguished portuguese architects, who projected, among others, Rossio's Train Terminal, the Hotel was inaugurated in the year 1892, and has maintained all the characteristic romanticism of its "Belle Époque" architecture until today.

Across the square we can spot the world-famous music-themed restaurant (and memorabilia collectors Mecca) Hard Rock Café which is another nice building. This was used to be another old cinema, named Condes (the name is still on top of the build, so you can’t miss it). As you can see in my Rua das Portas de Santo Antão tip, this entire area was populated of cinemas, theaters, and nightclubs at the beginning of the 20th C -quite a bohemian place. Nowadays the Lisbon bohemian life moved to other out of center spots such as Bairro Alto, Santos, Docas and Parque das Nações.

On the left of the square a little higher up, at the corner of Calçada da Glória is the much photographed Elevador da Gloria, a funicular that links downtown to the Bairro Alto district. Take it up to have a splendid view from the S. Pedro de Alcântara Miradouro (viewpoint).

There’s a car parking and underground Restauradores (blue line) metro stations, and most of the Lisbon’s buses stop nearby or at the square.


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Favorite Thing: This large Avenue goes from Praça dos Restauradores to Parque Eduardo VII and it’s among the most emblematic places in the city, a symbol of the “classical Lisbon”. Built as an extension of the Public Walk it open to the public in 1882, and it started off by being a pedestrian avenue with gardens, very similar to the style of the Champs Élysées in Paris. This great improvement in Lisbon is due to Rosa Araújo, who was then the president of the City Council. It connected the downtown of the city (Baixa Pombalina), rebuilt a century earlier, to the preferential area of the city’s expansion, known as the Avenidas Novas (the new avenues), in this way, transferring the attention of the people from the river Tejo to the emerging northern area of the city. The name (Liberty) comes from the fact that the earlier Public Walk was elitist and surrounded by walls and gates that were knocking down when the liberals come to rule the country in 1821 putting this area “free for all”.

Nowadays the Avenue is the finest artery in Lisbon with 90 meters wide (the widest in town) and 1500 meters long (the biggest), and has been considered the most important and central place in the capital. It goes up in imperceptible incline and offers a magnificent perspective, with ten lanes divided by pedestrian pavements. This is the best spot of the town to pay attention to the side walks and perceive the works of art known as the Portuguese calçadas as you will find many different patterns and motifs -from the symmetric ornamental designs to the advertisement names of the shops, small businesses, restaurants, and hotels. This is very unique kind of advertisement.

The entire Avenida (as the Lisbonners call it with affection) is full of trees (some centenary) from beginning to end, and includes small gardened spots, fountains, cascades, and statues. Among these statues noticeable are the ones of the poet Almeida Garrett, and the historian Alexandre Herculano, and the allegoric statues representing the 2 main rivers of the country –Tejo and Douro. Also important is the monument to the fallen in World War I, inaugurated in 1931. At the top of the Avenue we will find Rotunda do Marquês de Pombal (see link).

Currently it boasts several interesting buildings that reflect Portuguese architecture from the late 19th through the early 21st centuries. Neoclassic cinema Tivoli (1924) is one example but there are still several Valmor prize awarded buildings (the architecture prize for the best building in town, since 1902). Unfortunately (in my opinion) many of the original Art-Nouveaux and Neoclassic buildings (I remember several from my childhood) of the avenue have been replaced in the decades after the Carnation or April Revolution (April 25th 1974) by tall office and hotel buildings. Preserved was also 1 of the many 1920’s Art Deco kiosks (in front of Tivoli) that populated Lisbon many years ago.

All along the Avenida we can find some of the finest Hotels in Lisbon, good coffee houses, fine restaurants (Tivoli Hotel Restaurant is fantastic and have a great view but expensive) cinemas, newspapers’ headquarters, and important offices of major national and international companies (insurance, trade, airlines, etc.). Along with that “of course” we can find here the best international fashion and design shops - Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Timberland, Todd's,Trussardi, Massimo Dutti, Armani, Burberry, Christian Dior, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, among others. Walk along the Avenida was always a synonym of elegance and ... it is still. According to some recent international statistics about the most expensive avenues in the world by Cushman & Wakefield Avenida da Liberdade is on the top 40 (just in case you intend to buy any square meter here).

The Avenida is the place for big popular demonstrations and marches by trade unions (on strike or not) or just simply to commemorate big events as the traditional march of 25th April (freedom day). But without any doubt the largest commemoration occurs here on every Santo António’s eve (12th June) -the street parades known as “Marchas Populares” (a street carnival, literally “popular marches”) with all the Lisbon districts entering a contest for the best parade. These are the largest festivities in Lisbon. It’s also very nice to come here during the Christmas season as the trees all along the avenue are filled of light bulbs in various colors and designs.

The Avenue is served by many buses from everywhere on the city (and near towns) and there are 3 metro stations along the avenue: Restauradores, Avenida, and Marquês de Pombal .

More info here


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Favorite Thing: Between Rossio and Restauradores squares at Largo João da Câmara, stands the original late 19th century building of the Estação do Rossio, Rossio train station. It is a masterpiece and a Romantic recreation of the exuberant Manueline style (typical of early 16th century) with an interesting façade with 2 horse-shoe shaped arches (where you see written “Estação Central”, central station) and the statue of king Sebastião set between them.

Sebastião was our only king to die in a war. Sebastião had plans for a great crusade against the kingdom of Morocco since his childhood. But those were bad times for the nation as the young king took almost all of the country's nobility, and against the advice of his commanders, marched to this war with unprepared (and much less) troops. At the Battle of Alcácer Quibir (Battle of the Three Kings) the Portuguese army was routed by Abd Al-Malik, and Sebastião was almost certainly killed in battle. Whether his body was ever found is uncertain and this led many Portuguese to believe Sebastião survived the battle and would return to claim his throne. This led to Sebastianism: the belief that Sebastian could return at any moment, according to the saying “in a foggy morning”.

Back to the station. Looking more like an adorned palace, the building was designed by the architect José Luiz Monteiro and it begun in 1887, the official opening taking place on June 1890 a time when train stations were seen as temples of technology.
The Station astonishes for his facade of eight doors that combine with the nine windows and with its watch in a small turret with an abundant sculptural decoration. It is one of the strangest architectural complexes housing a rail terminal in Europe (and I know some), and the actual platforms from which the trains leave are located 30 m above the street-level. If you enter from the main entrance there are escalators up to that level and the platforms are easy to find. The access of trains to the station (really in the heart of the city), is made by a tunnel more than 2600 m long. This tunnel was excavated under the city and is considered one of the most important works of engineering of Portugal in the 19th century. For many years covered in grey, because of all the pollution around the station was closed for over three years for major renovation, got its original white color, and reopened in February of 2008.

Beside the station there is a Beaux-Arts style hotel building, the Hotel Avenida, inaugurated in 1892 and also built by José Luís Monteiro. A nice view from the nearby downtown area can be spotted from the Escadinhas do Duque -the stairs on the back part of the station that leads to Bairro Alto. This is also a cheap typical restaurant area (some houses offer fado).

Most of Lisbon’s buses stop nearby at the Rossio square and the closest metro stations are “Rossio” (green line) and Restauradores (blue line).


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Favorite Thing: More on pavement

This is typical not only in Lisbon but in all the largest city squares and sidewalks in Portugal (and some in Rio de Janeiro or Macao). Usually they are decorated with stone combinations which look like mosaics; they are spread along all the streets of Lisbon like beautiful carpets where geometric patterns alternate with those of natural inspiration. In sidewalks we see mostly repeated patterns and sometimes find street numbers, and business logos - simple individualized panels opposite to some shops and cafes, like an advertisement. Most city squares on the contrary, show closed patterns.

The material used is always the same: dark basalt and white limestone. The alleged reason for this b/w contrast centers around Lisbon's patron Saint Vincent. It' is said that the black represents the holy attire worn by the revered Saint, while the white represents the white outfits of the Christian Crusaders who vanquished the Moors.

The pavement system as we know it today in Lisbon was used for the first time in 1840, on a large surface in the parade ground of the military headquarters, on the main hill of Lisbon. After this first experience, the inventor of this system, Lieutenant-General Eusebio Furtado, a military Engineer and Governor of Castelo de S. Jorge between 1840 and 1846, presented the Town Council with a project for the paving of the main square in Lisbon, Rossio, and got the approval, for the making of the famous "large" waves or "the wide sea" (mar largo). In 1849 after the completion of the Rossio square the pavements of the Chiado district and Avenida da Liberdade were also completed. Eventually most of Lisbon's streets were paved this way, and this "fashion" spread throughout the country.
Today the "Portuguese pavements" are still made by hand, and are part of the country's heritage and identity, continuing to decorate the streets and squares all over Portugal.

So if you come to my town, don't look just around, watch your step ;-) because stones here "live" under your feet and some are authentic works of art. Take a look on Avenida da Liberdade, the main squares downtown (Restauradores, Rossio, and Comercio Square), and Chiado. For more contemporary designs, look around in some metro stations and in Parque das Nações, especially by the Oceanarium, where you'll find images of sea monsters and other maritime designs.


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Favorite Thing: Leading up from behind the National Theater D. Maria and Palácio da Independência is Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, a lively pedestrian-only street known, among other oddities, for the wide selection of options in what concerns seafood restaurants and beerhouses (cervejarias). Maybe the most famous one is Solmar (#106-108) with decorations from the middle 20th C. Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating and even if you are not a fan of seafood, look out for the eye-catching tanks filled with gigantic lobsters by the windows. Generally speaking, this street is rather touristy and, unfortunately, the waiters are sometimes a bit aggressive in their approach to tourists. The quality is good although the prices are not always the best as you pay the “tourist area tax” (you know what I mean, there’s no real tax).

Competing with “A Ginginha” from Largo S. Domingos, here we have the “Ginginha sem Rival” (cherry without rival) where the exquisite sour cherry liquor is served anytime

The street name (Gates of St Anthon) dates from the 15th C. when a gate in the former town wall stood here. In 1552 the later to become famous poet Luiz de Camões wrestling with some friends out in this street was arrested and sentenced to prison in the City Jail (on this same street) and from there forced to embark to India. Maybe this street led Camões with the predisposition to write the wonderful epic poem. The gates were removed in 1727 in order to enlarge the access to the Rossio area. At this time, the area was the location of the public slaughterhouse. The area was destroyed after the earthquake of 1755 and some interesting buildings were build on the late 19th C. and beginning of the 20th C.

By that time the place become a bohemian place for Lisbonners as many nightclubs were located here (Arcádia, Bristol club, Majestic, Monumental club and Palace club). None of them remains today but at the northern part of the street you still can spot some prostitution at night. But the area was and it is still known for its popular theaters - Politeama still presents musicals (“Revista” in Portuguese), Olympia- that later on the 80’s turn to one of the first adult cinemas in the city, and Condes that more recently become the “Hard Rock Café” in Lisbon. Across the Praça dos Restauradores another big theater –the Art Deco Éden- since 2001 become an apartment hotel and a bit up on the Avenida da Liberdade Tivoli Theater is still a big cinema in town. Another of the big constructions on the Portas de S. Antão street is the classical Coliseu dos Recreios, the Lisbon Coliseum, opened in 1890 as a circus, and today one of the largest concert venues on the city. Nevertheless, it houses also big conferences and political meetings and other events of the same kind.
Part of the Coliseu building is ascribed to the Geographical Society of Lisbon, a 130+ years old institution, which houses the Ethnological Museum with material from Africa, South America and Asia, and a magnificent library with 230000+ titles on display in a beautifully decorated room where classic music concerts are held.

One more remarkable building (although it looks so normal from the outside) stands at number 58 -the Casa do Alentejo-, a peculiar 17th C. palace worth visit. The place meant for the gathering and meeting of people with connections to the Alentejo (people usually born there, now living in Lisboa), a southern province in Portugal -Alentejo translates as “beyond the Tejo”. But the nice thing is that the building looks so normal from the outside, but in the inside it resembles an Arab palace, with an attractive Moorish courtyard, beautiful tiles (azulejos) and stucco work, where most the original decoration is preserved, even if just not in perfect condition. Besides the great atmosphere, the best thing is the restaurant (filled with tile decoration) which serves a great deal of food typical from the Alentejo region. Yes it’s one of my favorite places to make vtmeetings in the city.

Along with Casa do Alentejo, there were a few other professional associations (like the Athenaeum) in this street which provided physical, sporting and cultural activities to their associates and schools for their children.

All the way at the end of the street, at Rua de São José, you reach the bottom of the Elevador da Lavra, the world's first ever funicular, with a slope of 23º linking the Rua de São José with the Travessa do Forno do Torel and its garden / viewpoint (Miradouro) off the beaten tourist path. 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.

The entire area is served with different city buses and the closest metro stations are “Rossio” (green line) and Restauradores (blue line).


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Favorite Thing: Next to Praça do Rossio and to Praça da Figueira is the Largo de S. Domingos with the church of the same name. This church was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake and rebuilt with beautiful pink marbles. In 1959 a huge fire damaged much of the church and some remaining signs of this fire can be spotted today. This plaza was a horrifying place on the old times as it was here that the sentences of the Inquisition were emitted. The sentenced people were taken from there to the fire places nearby (Rossio plaza). The big Estaus Palace from medieval times turned to be the Inquisition headquarters once the order comes to Portugal, a place that now is occupied by the National Theater D. Maria II.
Just behind the church is the Palacio da Independencia which commemorates independence from Spain.

The Largo S. Domingos was populated in the old times by shoe shine boys (you can still spot some but much more rarely nowadays), and vendors of roast chestnuts on the cold days -from November 11th (S. Martin’s day) up to January. Nowadays you will see the roast chestnuts vendors anywhere in Lisbon when in season.

At number 8 of Largo S. Domingos is one of the oldest and most characteristics points of Lisbon: “A Ginginha”, the house where a very exquisite cherry liquor is served anytime (see link). Ginjinha is a traditional sour cherry liquor that spread from this place and become popular all around the country. Some places like Óbidos specialized in this liquor but most part of the production of the cherries come from Fundão, near the Serra da Estrela.

There are several city bus lines stopping nearby, Rossio train station and the nearest metro stops are "Rossio" (green line) and “Restauradores” (blue line).


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