Portugal 2024: Lisbon - Baixa / Bairro Alto

During our 7 days stay in Lisbon, we would be taking transit to check out different areas including Alfama, Belém, Alcântara, Areeiro, and Cais do Sodré.  On our first day, while we were waiting to check into our hotel apartment in the Chiado neighbourhood, we decided to do a quick tour north of our accommodations to explore the areas that were close enough to walk to.  This would take us through the adjacent neighbourhoods of Bairro Alto and Baxia where we would see beautiful squares, sculptures, fountains and parks.  On subsequent days, we would explore some sites in the south part of these two neighbourhoods as we wandered around the waterfront.

We started at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, one of over 20 viewpoints around Lisbon which are situated on higher ground, providing stunning views of different neighbourhoods and of the Tagus River.  Located in Bairro Alto, this viewpoint is amongst the most famous since it offers a great vantage point for admiring St. George’s Castle from afar.  The Miradouro is located at the edge of Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara, a two-level park with the lower level accessible by a flight of stairs.  The tree-lined upper level has benches and picnic tables facing the vista, providing a pleasant place to rest while serenaded by street musicians. A kiosk-styled bar where people can buy drinks and snacks is located at the north end. At the centre of the upper level is a huge monument featuring the bronze bust of Eduardo Coelho, founder of the newspaper Diário de Notícias in 1864.  Below the bust is the sculpture of a barefoot newspaper boy, representing the old method of selling newspapers on the streets of Lisbon.

The peaceful and much quieter lower park can be admired from the upper park’s viewing platform, or you can descend the steps to stroll through it.  This lower area consists of a geometric garden with a classical design including stone busts of heroes and gods from Greco-Roman mythology including Minerva, Roman Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare and Arts, Ulysses, hero of Homer’s Odyssey, and Alfonso de Albuquerque, the 16th Century military commander known as “Caesar of the East”.  The space is divided into parterres or sections of green spaces decorated with flower beds and lined with benches, lamp posts and sculptures.  A fountain is imbedded in a stone wall and was originally part of the city’s monumental aqueduct system.  Public restrooms are also found in this level.

At the south end of the upper park is a detailed map made from a series of colourful azulejo tiles that depicts the landscape, identifying the buildings, monuments, landmarks and other points of interest visible from the lookout.  The map was created by Swiss artist and graphic designer Fred Kradolfer in 1952.  With its highest point located next to the entrance of Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, the Ascensor (or Elevador) da Glória is the second oldest funicular in Lisbon, inaugurated in October 1885.  Initially powered by a water counterweight system, it was later converted to steam power in 1886 and finally electrified in 1915.  From this top stop, the funicular travels down a steep slope to the Baixa neighbourhood below and then back up again to Bairro Alto, connecting the two neighbourhoods. Using the Navegante card and “zapping”, it would cost 1.6 Euros each way to ride the funicular.  If buying individual tickets instead, the ride costs 2.4 Euros in each direction.  On this first day, since we were pressed for time and there were many people waiting, we merely watched the funicular go up and down its route and then walked down the slope.  On a future day, we would take a ride on a different funicular.

At the base of the slope across from the lower funicular stop of Ascensor da Glória is Praça dos Restauradores, which is in Baixa. Translated as “Square of the Restorers”, the praça is named in honour of the heroes who restored Portugal’s independence from Spain in 1640.  A 30-metre-high obelisk at the centre of the square features bronze statues of Liberty and Victory facing in each direction, with inscriptions detailing significant dates and battles from the Portuguese Restoration War. Surrounding the square are hotels and restaurants situated in some historical buildings that are architecturally impressive and eclectic. Eden Hotel is located in a beautiful Art Deco styled building with a creamy pink marble façade that was open in 1931 as Cineteatro Éden.  A magnificent stone frieze depicting stylized actors and film crew spans the top of the building.  Altis Avenida Hotel is a luxury hotel with the word “Rossio” displayed in an Art Deco font at its roofline, possibly in reference to its proximity to Rossio Square or the rooftop Rossio Gastrobar. The former Mid-Century Streamline Moderne styled Condes Cinema was built in the 1950’s and is now home of the Hard Rock Café. Friezes decorate the curved edge of the building. Hotel Avenida Palace is another luxury hotel inaugurated in 1892 and designed in Neo-classical style with elements of Second French Empire and Beaux-Arts styles. Its façade includes Corinthian columns and wrought-iron balcony rails.  Blue Liberdade is a smaller hotel that stands out for its pretty blue façade which contrasts the shades of pinks and reds found in other buildings in the area.  An important building located next to Eden Hotel is the Palácio Foz, an 18th century palace with a pink façade that was unfortunately covered with scaffolding so that we couldn’t quite see it.  Today it houses a tourist office and the National Sports Museum.

Continuing south-west in the Baixa neighbourhood, we reached Praça Dom Pedro IV, which is also known as Rossio Square due to its century-old historic past as a common marketplace and gathering place for events such as political demonstrations, bullfights and even public executions.  The first thing that you notice even from afar is the wavy mosaic tiling on the ground that is a prime example of Calçada Portuguesa, a Portuguese paving technique using small pieces of limestone and black basalt to create intricate patterns.  In particular, the wavy design known as “Wide Ocean” was created in 1848 by Eusébio Pinheiro Furtado to honour Portugal’s maritime past.  A 23-metre Corinthian column topped by a bronze sculpture of Dom Pedro IV, King of Portugal and first Emperor of Brazil depicts the monarch holding the Constitutional Charter of 1826.  Below him are allegorical sculptures representing Justice, Wisdom, Strength and Moderation, which were considered virtues of the king during his brief reign.  A pair of identical bronze fountains flank the column, each consisting of mermaids holding shells with water squirting upwards into a central basin.

The last square that we visited before returning to our hotel to check in was Praca da Figueira which was once the site of a hospital before an earthquake destroyed it in 1775.  Today, the square is an open space used for temporary markets and is a major transportation hub with stops for multiple trams and buses, as well as entrances to the Rossio metro station can be found.  A huge monument of King John I seated on a horse sits in the middle of the square.  The square is surrounded by hotels, cafes and shops including an ornate Art Nouveau-styled storefront with Azulejo tiled panels depicting women surrounded by flowers.  At one time, this was the Animatógrafo do Rossio, a small cinema founded in 1907.  Unfortunately, today it is being used as an “adult” movie theatre showing sexploitation movies, as indicated by the words “Peep Show” painted on one of the green panels.

The Elevador de Santa Justa (also known as the Carmo Lift) is actually situated in Chiado, but its upper and lower exits connect Bairro Alto (the higher region) to Baixa. Considered one of the most iconic landmarks in Lisbon, the 7-storey, 147-feet tall neo-Gothic cast-iron elevator was built in 1902, providing relief from climbing steep hills to traverse between the two neighbourhoods.  Designed by Raoul de Ponsard who was an admirer of Gustav Eiffel, the elevator reflects French architectural styles including decorative wrought-iron patterns.  A pair of wooden elevator cabins have the capacity to carry 20 passengers upwards and 15 downwards.  The lower entrance of the elevator is at Rua do Carmo, the luxury shopping street which borders the edge of Baixa.  The upper entrance opens to an enclosed 82-feet long walkway heading towards the former Carmo Convent ruins, which marks the boundary between Chiado and Bairro Alto.  Stairs traverse from the ruins down to Largo do Carmo.  This is the last vertical lift/elevator in Lisbon.  Other hills have been converted to use funicular cars like the Ascensor da Glória.

Back on Rua do Carmo, in front of the elevator is a pinkish-purple sculpture of a girl holding a handheld vacuum.  The installation is titled “Sofia” and created in 2022 by a mysterious street artist known as “Superlinox” (Portugal’s version of Banksy).  Meant as a tribute to the victims of the Ukraine War, the girl is said to represent conviction and self-esteem.  The sculpture reminds me of the “Fearless Girl” sculpture that was installed on Wall Street in New York. Situated next to Bordalo II’s mixed media art depicting two pelicans, the works add a contemporary element to a historic area.

While some locals may use it for transportation, the elevator is a huge tourist attraction and there is always a long lineup waiting to get on for a ride.  Because of this, we put off trying to ride the elevator for many days but towards the end of our stay, we finally allocated the time for this experience.  Approaching from Rossio Square, we joined the line at the bottom of the elevator and waited for about 15-20 minutes to get on.  Using our Navegante card once again, the ride cost us just 1.61 Euros one-way (usually over 3 Euros per ticket).  While in line, we were able to admire the ornate details on the façade of the elevator and once inside, we could see the beautiful wood paneling.  Exiting at the top, we walked across the long walkway with its decorative ironwork and surveyed some great views of Lisbon.

We did not go up to the top viewing platform since it cost another 1.45 Euros and we already had a fairly good view from the walkway.  We could see the rooftops across the city and looked down upon the Carmo Archaeological Museum, Largo do Carmo and various squares around us.  This was a fun experience and checked off another means of Lisbon transportation using our Navegante cards.  We did not bother to wait for the elevator to go back down but simply walked down the stairs and continued on our way.

Located in the Praça do Município in Baixa is Lisbon’s City Hall which acts as the seat of municipal government.  The Neo-Classical building was built between 1865-1880 after the initial building was destroyed in the 1775 earthquake.  It has a monumental façade with a central pediment containing allegorical sculptures representing freedom, arts and sciences, and trade, flanked by Corinthian columns and ocular windows. This was the site where the Portuguese Republic was declared in 1910 after the last of the monarchy was overthrown.  Free guided tours are given on Sunday but sadly we were not there on the right day.  At the centre of the square is a twisted, octagonal Medieval pillory made from marble and stone that acts as a national monument and symbol of Lisbon’s Medieval past.  Also on the square are contemporary artworks that provide contrast to these historic elements. Red metal sculptures known as "Joaninas," were created by Portuguese sculptor Jorge Vieira in 1997.  Looking like a cross between humanoid forms and lady bugs, these sculptures are also installed along the ramp of the neighbouring Saba Car Park.  Nearby the square are more examples of decorative tile art.

Praça do Comércio is also known as Terreiro do Paço (Palace Courtyard) because it is where the Ribeira Palace (the main residence of the Kings of Portugal) once resided for over 250 years before it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1775, just like old City Hall.  The square was rebuilt in the 1800s, forming a U-shaped arc where government buildings, hotels, the Museum of Lisbon, tourist shops, cafés and restaurants now reside and abuts the Tagus River.  A triumphal arch features a clock on the side facing Rua Augusta and the statues of Glory, Ingenuity and Valor facing the square. In the centre of the square sits a bronze statue of King Jose I on a horse trampling over snakes.  On one side of the monument is angel blowing a horn while accompanied by an elephant.  These are supposed to represent Fame and Portugal’s overseas possessions.  On the other side is Triumph wrangling a horse.  Street performers can be found on the square including a giant Panda who was hoping for tourists to take photos with him for a fee.  We felt sorry for the panda since it was a hot day and he was not getting much attention.

One of the restaurants on Praça do Comércio is Can the Can, with the interesting advertising gimmick of serving “gourmet canned food”.  Portuguese canned products such as various types of seafood are combined with fresh ingredients to create modern Mediterranean cuisine.  The restaurant has a large covered outdoor seating area that provides a lovely view of the square, and from certain tables such as the one we snagged, also a view of the Tagus River.  We each started with a fruity glass of Sangria, one white and one red, which was perfect for a warm day.  For appetizers we had mushrooms with garlic, coriander and lemon sauce, anchovies on herbed toast with pickled tomato, lemon confit and chive oil, and the chef’s fish pate.

For our mains, I had the tuna steak sandwich with saffron aioli, arugula salad and sweet potato fries.  Rich chose the tuna pastrami sandwich on a toasted brioche with mustard, homemade pickles and coleslaw salad.  From our table, we saw an advertisement for the sale of garum, which is a fermented fish sauce widely used in ancient cuisines.  Rich bought a sardine garum to take home with us.  As nice as it was to sit outside, the inside of Can the Can had a cool décor as well with various cans and fish products lining the shelf and funky chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.  I always like to find interesting restroom signs or indicators of Men’s vs Women’s rooms, especially if they thematically match the restaurant.  Can the Can did not disappoint as the indicators consisted of a male scuba diver and a Barbie-like female doll each in a can.

Fado is a melancholic and intensely expressive genre of music that originated in Lisbon in the early 19th century, particularly in the areas of Bairro Alto, Alfama and Mouraira.  It consists of soulful singers of songs of love, longing and fate, accompanied by Portuguese and Classic guitars.  We went to Fado ao Carmo in Bairro Alto for a night of dinner and Fado.  Established in 2019 by renowned Portuguese musicians Luís Guerreiro and Rodrigo Costa Félix, Fado ao Carmo has gained the reputation of providing authentic Fado performances.  On the night that we were there, the male singer, who I think was Félix, performed first followed by a female singer and then they performed a duet which presumably was a love song that they sang to each other.

In between performances, we were served several courses including a meat croquette, grilled octopus salad, cod cake with salad, lamb chop with potato and asparagus, and finally almond cake ad cinnamon ice cream with cookie crumble.  The meal was fairly tasty, which made us slightly reconsider our opinion of traditional Portuguese fare since this was a much better experience than our first meal in Porto.

The restaurant was covered with Fado-related artworks and posters including a reproduction of the painting “O Fado” by José Malhoa which was purchased by the Lisbon City Council in 1910 and is on permanent loan to the Fado Museum located in Alfama.  It was interesting watching the waitresses react to the Fado performances.  With the lights dimmed for effect, the waitresses swayed with the music with their eyes closed and occasionally toasted to the singer with glasses of wine.

On our last night in Portugal, we wanted to try one more traditional Portuguese dining experience, which was the Flaming Sausage (Chouriço à Bombeiro).  This involves a taking a sausage that is scored to form ridges, placing it in a traditional piglet-shaped clay roasting dish, dousing the sausage with high-proof alcohol such as aguardente (Portuguese grappa) and setting it on fire to ignite the flames. The Chouriço sausage is like the Spanish Chorizo sausage, but less spicy and smokier.  We chose the restaurant Artis in Bairro Alto for this experience.  It was so much fun to watch the sausage cook in the flames at our table and it was delicious to eat as well.  I asked the waiter to show us the liquor used in the dish.

For the rest of the meal, we had Azeitão sheep’s cheese gratinee with oregano and toasts, and Beef “Pica-Pau” which consisted of small pieces of fried beef in a gravy made from white wine, garlic, oil, chili, and butter, then topped with black olives. Next came potato brava with a spicy sauce and a special shrimp gratin dish.  We finished the meal with a dessert called Bolo de Bolacha , made from biscuits soaked in coffee, layered on a sauce of butter, coffee, sugar and egg.  This was a very satisfying final meal to end our Portugal trip.

2024 Portugal: Lisbon - Chiado

The last leg of our 16-day trip to Portugal saw us traveling by the suburban train from Sintra to Lisbon, which departs every 20 minutes from the Sintra Train Station.  Since Sintra is only 40 minutes away and considered part of the Greater Lisbon region, we were able to use the Navegante card to pay for the ride.  In addition to suburban trains, Lisbon’s Navegante card covers many modes of transportation within the city including metro (subway), bus, historical trams, funiculars and elevators that help navigate the city’s many steep hills, and even ferries that take you to coastal regions across the Tagus River.  While in Lisbon, we planned to use as many different types of transportation as possible, some for transportation to remote locations and some just for the fun of it.

We arrived at Lisbon’s Rossio Train Station in Chiado, which was close to where we rented an apartment hotel.  Opened in 1890, Rossio Train Station has a beautiful Neo-Manueline façade decorated with maritime themes including knotted ropes.  There are two intertwined horseshoe-shaped portals and a clock housed in a small central turret. On a platform between the two portals is a 3-foot-tall stone sculpture of King Sebastian I, who took the throne in 1557 at age 3 after both his father and then his grandfather passed away.  This is a 2021 replica of the original 19th century sculpture which was destroyed in 2016 when a tourist climbed onto the platform to try to take a selfie and accidentally knocked it off its perch.  In front of a tourist shop to the left of the main entrance are two bronze sculptures titled “Soul of a People: Fado” depicting a Fado guitar player and female singer.  The sculptures pay tribute to Portugal’s tradition of Fado music which we planned to attend a performance of during our visit to Lisbon.

We had tapped our Navegante cards when entering the Sintra train station and tapped when exiting at Lisbon’s Rossio Train Station to calculate the cost of the ride.  Using the more economical zapping method of pre-loading funds on the card, the ride cost 2 Euros per person.  As a shortcut to our accommodations, we took the station’s back exit on the upper level and did not see that beautiful main entrance façade until later in the day when we toured the streets around our apartment.  Surveying the terrain around the train station, we could see how steep and hilly the streets were.  Descending to street level, we prepared for the trek ahead of us to reach our hotel.

The distance from our point of exit to our rental was a mere 300 meters as the crow flies.  Too bad we were not crows and could not fly!  To traverse those 300 meters, we had to climb Calçada do Duque, an extended staircase which consists of 8 flights of steep, wide, cobblestone steps with an elevation rise of over 60 meters, all while hoisting our luggage.  We stopped at many of the platforms between flights, ostensibly to take photos but more because we needed to rest!  Luckily when we left Lisbon to head to the airport, it did not involve returning to the train station so we did not need to lug our bags in reverse down these stairs.  Instead, we could walk to the Baixa-Chiado metro station which thankfully was downhill!

When we finally reached the top of Calçada do Duque, we had climbed several hundred steps and found ourselves in Largo Trindade Coelho, a charming public square where a few shops and restaurants were found, as well as our apartment hotel, Chiado Arty Flats.  We arrived at the hotel just before 11am and were able to leave our luggage behind to explore the surrounding areas until our room was ready.  Of all the places that we stayed on this vacation, Chiado Arty Flats offered us the best service.  We established a communications channel via Whatsapp and were able to reach them at any time, even off-hours when the desk was not manned.  We received a text message when our room was ready and other texts during our stay to inquire about breakfast and other needs.  There was thankfully an elevator which we took to transport our bags to our 3rd floor unit, but also a stairwell that we could use when we were less laden.

We were delighted by our apartment unit, which had a cool, funky vibe that more than lived up to the promise of being “arty” as indicated in the hotel’s name.  The beautiful hardwood floors and heavy wooden shutters framing two large windows hinted at this being an older building.  But this was contrasted by modern and artistic furnishing and décor including artwork over the bed which could have been created by a graffiti artist. The dark blue couch, accented with colourful striped pillows, was propped up by a series of large, bright orange ridged tubes that resembled something used on a construction site.  The light over the dining table emitted from a similarly shaped and coloured tube and the dining chairs matched the orange hue.  A big oil drum positioned next to the dining table was meant to be used as a serving platform.  As there was no electric washer or dryer (not a big thing in Europe), we washed our clothes in the bathroom sink and laid some smaller items on this platform to dry since it was close to the window and would catch the odd breeze from outside.  The bathroom sink was imbedded in yet another oil drum structure.  There was a bathtub/shower combination with plenty of hot water so that I could have a nice hot bath at the end of a long day of walking.  The full-sized kitchen including a refrigerator, microwave and kettle which was all that we needed.

We knew that our rental included breakfast, but we were blown away by what was actually offered.  On our first morning we were brought the gamut of all possible breakfast choices so that we could sample everything and then decide each day what we would like.  We received butter and chocolate croissants plus wheat and white bread, cheeses, sliced meats, two types of yogurts, an apple, orange and grapes, scrambled eggs, bacon, cereal, milk, orange juice and instant coffee! There was also a coffee machine with four premium coffee pods for those who cared about the quality of their coffee but it cost a fee to get more pods.  Since we were not coffee connoisseurs, we used up the four pods and then made do with the instant. This was way more food than we could manage so we scaled back the orders for future days.  Breakfast service starts at 7:45am but there were a few days when we needed to get an even earlier start.  On those days, I tried to cancel breakfast service but the hotel insisted on providing us with a “mini breakfast” which they put in our refrigerator the night before so that we could have something to eat.

While there was no washer/dryer (not easily found in Europe), there was an ironing board and iron so that I could finally de-wrinkle my clothes.  There were conveniently located electrical outlets by both sides of our bed and near the dining table but they required adaptors to switch from European to North American outlets.  I had brought along some compact adaptors that had both AC and USB A outlets, which worked great. The only downside of this hotel was the stickiness of the heavy wooden doors that required some force and finesse to open. When we first tested the door with Rich using his keycard outside and me trying to tug the door open from the inside, we thought for a few seconds that I was trapped in there.  Eventually Rich figured out the timing which required a good hard shove to get the door open from either side. Aside from this initial hiccup, this was the ideal location for us to stay while exploring Lisbon.

From the windows of our room, we had a great view of Largo Trinadade Coelho which becomes bustling during the day and evening, especially when the O Largo Restaurant’s outdoor seating is packed with patrons sipping on drinks and dining on snacks.  But in the early morning, the pretty square is eerily quiet with only a few dog walkers passing by.  In the centre of the square is a bronze statue depicting a street vender hawking lottery tickets which apparently was once a popular activity in Lisbon.  A small stand selling newspapers and cold soft drinks is surrounded by patio tables and chairs where passersby can stop for rest and refreshment.  At the far northern end of the square is the Church and Museum of São Roque which has a plain façade but apparently is very beautiful inside.  We did not realize this and did not go in.  In front of the church is a bronze sculpture depicting prominent missionary and preacher Father António Vieira, a holding a cross and standing with three indigenous Brazilian children.

Chiado is a vibrant neighbourhood full of historic landmarks, churches and museums, luxury shopping, small boutique and tourist shops, eclectic restaurants and cultural attractions.  Other than the onerous stairs to reach our hotel from the train station, Chiado was an ideal neighbourhood to make our home base since it was a short walk to the Baixa/Chiado or the Rossio metro stations which could take us farther afield, as well as multiple bus and tram stops.  We were also very close to many more restaurants and shops, which we explored on multiple days.

Rua da Misericórdia runs South along the Eastern edge of the square and is known for the colorful tiled façades of its buildings. This street has boutique stores selling trendy clothing, souvenirs stores, gourmet restaurants offering Spanish Tapas and Portuguese fare with Eastern influences, and a pizza parlour where we grabbed a few slices one night when we wanted a quick and light dinner at our apartment.  We wandered into one of the buildings on this street and came across a spectacular sculpture hanging on the wall.  We also spent some time browsing in Tómi Antique store which had two floors of eclectic items and furniture.

Largo do Chiado is a busy square where the main entrance to the Baixa/Chiado metro is located.  We would take this metro several times including heading to the airport at the end of our stay.  A bronze statue of António Ribeiro (nicknamed Chiado), a 16th Century satirical poet for whom this area is named after, sits in the middle of the square.  Created in 1925, the statue depicts Ribeiro wearing the habits of the Order of Saint Francis, which he was a member of.  He is leaning over as if to tell a joke.  Just west of this is Praça Luis de Camões, a vibrant meeting place named in honour of Portugal’s national poet Luis Vaz de Camões, who is known for the epic poem “Os Lusíadas”.  A 19th century bronze sculpture depicts the poet holding a sword in one hand and his poem in the other.  He sits atop a limestone pedestal surrounded by 8 smaller statues representing prominent figures from Portugal’s Age of Discovery including historians and other poets.

Casa do Ferreira das Tabuletas was constructed in 1864 for Manuel Moreira Garcia, a Galician emigrant and owner of the restaurant Cervejaria Trindade, which is still in operation in Chiado.  Built on the former grounds of the Trindade Convent, the façade is divided into 3 central panels that are covered with Azulejo tiles between columns of windows.  The house is known for its trompe l’oeil design where allegorical figures are painted on the tiles in the central panel.  The figures represent Earth, Water, Industry, Commerce, Architecture and Science. Masonic symbols also painted on the tiles, including a star containing the “Eye of Providence” on the central pediment and circular medallions with lion heads on the two side panels.

Largo do Carmo is a historically important square.  It was the former site of the Carmo Convent, a Gothic church that was severely damaged by the earthquake of 1755, leaving ruins that have been incorporated into the Carmo Archaeological Museum.  The museum contains Gothic tombs and artifacts from Roman and Moorish times.  The square played an important role in the Carnation Revolution of 1974 (which we learned about in Porto) when the ruling dictator Caetano surrendered here.  The square also marks the upper exit point of the famous Santa Justa Elevator which we would try to ride later in our trip.

The lower exit point of the elevator brings you to Rua do Carmo, a nearby upscale shopping street that acts as a transition point between Chiado and Baixa. The former storefront Au Bonheur des Dames has a beautiful Art Nouveau sign bearing its name and was originally a perfume shop in 1909 before transitioning to a women’s clothing boutique.  While the sign and façade still remain, today it seems to be an ice cream shop.  The Swatch store had a limited edition “Destination Lisbon” watch featuring landmarks of the city.  Luvaria Ullsses specializes in high-quality leather gloves known for their softness, durability and style with classic designs including bows, buttons and embroidery.  We could not get close to the store since it was packed with women waiting to try on the gloves. Joalharia do Carmo is a historic jewelry store established in 1924 that is known for its handcrafted jewelry including necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings custom made with gold, silver, and precious stones.  Its window displays included circus-like animatronics that were fun to watch.  Rua do Carmo had some interesting street art including another work by Bordalo II, whose Half Rabbit sculpture we saw in Porto.  This time he created a pair of pelicans made from trash and recycled objects such as discarded plastics, car parts including bumpers, construction materials, hoses and helmets.

For our first meal in Lisbon, we selected a restaurant in Chiado close to our apartment.  After our first dinner in Porto, we realized that we were not fond of very traditional Portuguese dining.  Accordingly, we shifted gears for the rest of the trip and chose more modern or fusion restaurants.  Boa Bao is an Asian Fusion restaurant with elements of Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese cuisines. As such, the menu offers a wide range of dishes including dim sum, sushi, stir fries, baos (steamed pita-like buns) and curries.  The décor is inspired by an old Asian market with an arched brick ceiling, wooden tables and padded leather seats, light bulbs enclosed by mesh coverings dangling from the ceiling and decorations including sculptures of monkeys climbing ropes and stylized dragons adorning the walls.  A large cocktail bar supports a menu of exotic cocktails.  Speaking of menus, we are presented with multiple menus for drinks and food offerings from different regions of Asia.

There were so many options that it was difficult to choose, but we finally decided on appetizers of duck spring rolls, breaded salt and pepper calamari with tamarind sauce, and a seabass bao with pickled yellow radish and chilli mayonnaise.  For our main course, we shared a Massamam coconut curry with tiger shrimp and bamboo shoots, steamed Chinese eggplant with garlic, soy and sesame and Jasmine rice. Although the cocktail list was impressive with interesting ingredients including lychee, cardamom, ginseng, guava, etc., we went for our favourite Pisco Sours which we recently acquired a taste for.  One of the more exotic drinks even came in a monkey-shaped cup, which I settled for getting a photo of.  I am always interested in what restaurants use as their restrooms signs to denote Mens vs Womens.  In this case, the signs depicted grizzly, wrinkled but happy faces of Asian elders. Adding to the ambience, the restroom doors were made of old, faded wooden planks made to resemble something that would be found in rural China.  Luckily behind the doors were modern toilets!

Walking home from Boa Bao after dinner, we were able to feel the ambience of the area at night.  Rua Nova da Trindade is a narrow street lined with trendy restaurants, many with outdoor seating.  Also on this street is Teatro Trindade, a theatre dating back to 1867 that hosts operas and other theatrical performances.  At night, the theatre is lit up with bright purple hues that can be seen from a distance.   One early morning, we took the Calçada do Duque staircase down towards Baixa to catch a bus at Rossio Square.  Going down the illuminated stairs (without luggage) was a much more pleasant experience and it was quite pretty.  We also caught a glimpse of St. George’s Castle which was also lit up.  We would visit it when we toured the Alfama neighbourhood.

From the many restaurants on Rua Nova da Trindade, we decided to try Gunpowder, a modern, high-end Indian tapas restaurant with very innovative dishes that were different from the more traditional Indian restaurants we have back in Toronto.  There was not a butter chicken dish in sight!  We started with gram flour pakora fritters of tempura covered French beans and a Oothappam (rice crepe) stuffed with Chettinad pulled duck breast and carrot salad.  Rich had a glass of wine with the meal while I sipped on a passionfruit mojito.

There were so many delicious-sounding items on the menu that we would have loved to try them all.  As it is, we ordered way more than the waiter thought we could eat, but somehow, we managed!  Next came tuna croquettes with chive mole sauce.  This was described as a Portuguese influenced snacks from the Goan region.  My favourite dish was the Karwari fried soft shell crab with a sauce from southern Goa.  Described as a “Spicy lamb & vermicelli donut”, what we got was a giant breaded croquette stuffed with minced lamb meat in a tomato-based sauce.  Our last two dishes were grilled artichoke hearts in a red pepper Masala sauce and Nagaland crispy braised pork from Alentejo in a spicy tamarind glaze with steamed rice.  I usually love rice but we had so much food that I hardly touched it.  This was one of the best meals that we had on our Portugal trip.  I just wish we had time on our schedule to come back and try the other dishes!

Largo do Chiado is home to one of the most iconic, historic and beautiful eateries in Lisbon. Open since 1905 as a shop to import and sell Brazilian coffee, Café A Brasileira is designed in Art Nouveau style with a gold and green façade.  A curved sign depicting the establishment’s name hangs above the entrance.  The sign is decorated with curlicue flora features and the iconic image of the man in green holding a coffee cup that is used as the café’s logo used on its packaging, mugs and more.  The sign is flanked by reclining nudes who appear to be leaning forward as if peeking into the café.  The luxurious interior is even more stunning with mosaic tiled flooring, mirrored walls, paneling made from sculpted wooden pillars, pink coffered ceilings with gilded decorations and hanging chandeliers, brass fittings, a long oak bar, wooden booths, ornate chairs and a Art Nouveau gorgeous clock at the back.  This was a popular meeting place for writers, artists, and intellectuals including Fernando Pessoa, a Portuguese poet who is represented by a bronze sculpture installed in front of the café in 1988.

We had passed by A Brasileira several times during our stay in Lisbon, hoping to get a table for breakfast or dinner but it was always full.  Towards the end of our stay, we arrived mid afternoon and finally were able to be seated for a late lunch/early dinner.  We ordered a lemonade for me and a Portotonico (mixture of white port and tonic water) and shared a burrata salad with pesto, tomato, and smoked ham as well as a meat and cheese served with bread slices.  After our meal, we decided to buy some dessert to take back to the apartment to eat that night.  We selected a Nata, a Palm Leaf pastry and a chocolate mousse cake.  The food was fine but we were really there to enjoy the gorgeous setting.

Chiado had some great shopping opportunities and we made the most of them!  We had been reluctant to buy much while we were in Porto or Sintra since we knew we had to lug anything that we bought from one location to the next (and we knew those stairs were ahead of us in Lisbon).  Now that we were here, we let loose and purchased multiple items. Returning to Rua da Misericórdia, we visited D'Orey Azulejos, which sold both antique and “faux-antique” tiles.  We selected a quirky, contemporary blue and white Portuguese tile depicting a wide-eyed, large breasted woman surrounded by fish.  The handmade tile by artist João Costa Durante was “distressed” to simulate aging.  At Refèm Men’s store which was right next to our hotel, Rich picked up two snazzy linen shirts so that he could dress like a stylish European.  While planning for our trip, Rich had decided that he wanted to bring home a vintage bottle of Port that he could not get at our local liquor store.  To accomplish this, we checked a suitcase for the first time in over 10 years!  The port that he selected was from Kopke, which is the Port House where we did our port tasting in Porto.  He found a bottle at Casa Havaneza which was located next to Café A Brasileira.

Also across from the café is Vista Alegre, a Portuguese luxury porcelain manufacturer and retailer that was founded in 1824 with a patent granted by King Dom João VI, making it one of the oldest and most prestigious porcelain factories in Portugal.  The company produces dinnerware, crystal pieces and decorative porcelain with some so elaborate that they could be mistaken for museum pieces.   An interesting centrepiece bowl is made from a ring of ceramic sardines.  We had seen a similar bowl made from porcelain bananas but this was the first time we saw one with sardines.  I particularly liked the orange pop-art styled vase titled “Sombras” (Shadows) by Lourdes Castro with a faint outline that seems to depict a person eating a piece of fruit.  We admired a series of decorative plates from the “2i collection” where Vista Alegre invited renowned artists to design illustrations for the plates.  We purchased a rectangular plate by Valerio Vidali depicting people sitting on a subway car.

2024 Portugal: Sintra - Pena Palace, Moorish Castle

One of the most popular and therefore the busiest attractions to visit in Sintra is Pena Palace and Park, a vast estate covering over 500 acres of romantic forest pathways, hidden trails, gardens, a lake, a chalet, other viewpoints plus the palace itself.  You can buy a ticket to just visit the park, or to access the park plus the inside of the palace.  We opted for the latter, planning to visit the palace first since it would get really busy later on, and then leisurely explore the park grounds after.

To visit Pena Palace, we used the same strategy as we did when visiting Quinta da Regaleira the day before.  We pre-purchased entry tickets for the earliest time slot which was 9:30am and planned to arrive by 9am to line up.  We picked up a taxi at the train station around 8:30am, giving ourselves lots of time since we were warned about construction along the way.  But the construction must not have started for the day yet since we ended up getting to Pena Palace by 8:45am.  We still were not first in line!  There were at least 2 tour groups lined up in front of us.  Once the gates finally opened and we were inside, it was a race to the next lineup that would actually get us into the palace.  It is a 20+ minute climb uphill to get to the palace by foot, or those less mobile could wait for a service bus provided by the park (for an extra fee).  Since we were trying to get near the front of the line, we chose to walk briskly and by the time we got there, only one tour group with about 6 people were in line in front of us.

Like the day before, it was another grey, drizzly day in Sintra. Pena Place was covered with so much fog when we first approached that we could hardly see its iconic red towers.  In 1838 King Ferdinand II, husband and consort to Queen Maria II, acquired the site where a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena and then a monastery once resided.  He commissioned German architect Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege to design the palace and landscape the grounds to be used for his summer residence.  Incorporating a fusion of multiple architectural styles including Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manuline, Neo-Islamic and Neo-Renaissance, the palace reflects the Romanticism movement prevalent in the 19th Century.  The palace is known for its bright yellow and red façades, onion domed towers and pointed arches, intricate tilework, ornate stone carvings and minaret-like towers typical of those found in Islamic mosques.  Following the residency of Queen Maria II and King Ferdinand II, several more generations of royals lived in Pena Palace including their son King Luis I, grandson King Carlos I with his wife Queen Amélie, and finally great-grandson King Manuel II, the last monarch of Portugal. As we toured the rooms of the palace, we often saw how various spaces were repurposed each time there were new occupants.

As we waited in the second line to enter Pena Palace, we looked up to see the Coral Gate which has a marine and coral-inspired archway that is topped by an amazing limestone sculpture of Triton, a half-man, half-fish monster who in Greek mythology is a demi-god of the sea and son of the sea god Poseidon. The gate is also known as “The Tree of Waters” since a tree trunk and vines seem to grow out of the Triton’s back.  While Rich stayed in line, I was able to climb up the stairs of a small tower to survey the grounds.

As we started our self-guided tour of the interior of the palace, we passed by a statue of King Ferdinand II in the front hallway.  Our first spectacular view was of the Manueline Cloisters built in 1511 for a monastery for the Order of Saint Jerome.  Colourful tiles cover the floor and walls of the cloister’s patio which can be viewed through arches from the lower or upper floors.  The walls in particular are decorated with Hispano-Mudéjar tiles with geometric motifs.  Gargoyles extend out from pillars and Manueline designs of twisted ropes and seashells can be found.  We next came across the opulent private Dining Room with a 16th-century Manueline vaulted, ribbed ceiling and a massive table that seats 24 with table settings including porcelain plates and crystal glasses bearing the royal crown.  Attached to the dining room is a pantry where food was stored and prepared.  For the first few rooms that we inspected, we were behind that first tour group that was in line in front of us.  We soon realized that as the tour guide paused to explain things in one room, we could scoot ahead to the next one and if we put enough of a distance between us, we would have first access to each new room since everyone else was behind us.

Breaking with tradition, King Carlos I had his bedroom on the lower floor of the Manueline cloister while his wife Queen Amélie’s rooms were on the upper floor.  This was unusual since the lower floors were previously considered the servants’ quarters. Family photos are found on the walls and atop the table, and an Art Nouveau sculpture of a draped female sits on a pedestal.  Adjoining King Carlos’ bedroom was his office where he had painted multiple floor-to-ceiling murals on fabric depicting nymphs and fawns. He was obviously a talented artist but unfortunately, some of the works may have been unfinished since King Carlos I and his oldest son Luis were assassinated in 1908.

Located adjacent to his bedroom and office, King Carlos I’ bathroom/dressing room was one of the first sanitation facilities specifically designed for personal hygiene.  It was filled with luxurious furniture and a deep bathtub.  Queen Amélie’s bedroom on the upper floor was originally the bedroom of King Ferdinand II and his second wife, the Countess of Elba, after Maria II passed away.  A four-post bed with canopy, fireplace, and seating area are found in this room.  An adjoining bathroom is covered with decorative tiles on the floor walls and has a separate section for the water closet.

An original Niche from the 16th Century Monastery of Our Lady of Pena is still intact, with the walls of its vault encrusted with small stones, shells and porcelain.  At one point, a clay sculpture of St. Jerome was kept there.  Later, it was used as a storeroom.  Today, it is blocked off but open for viewing.  The upper floor of the palace took us through a long corridor where many rooms were situated one after another.  We saw the quaint floral patterns on the couches of the Tearoom that was once the antechamber for King Ferdinand and the Countess of Edla.  Queen Amélia turned it into a space where she would receive her most intimate visitors.  Queen Amélie’s Office contains her writing desk and chair, several extremely ornate cabinets decorated with intricate carvings, and shelves containing Meissen porcelain figurines that date back to the time of the Countess of Edla, who originally occupied this room.

King Ferdinand II’s Sitting Room is also known as the Arab Room because of the Islamic-inspired architecture including intricate Neo-Mudéjar styled carvings in the archways depicting foliage and a few bovine renderings.  An elaborate mural by Italian master Paolo Pizzi uses trompe-l’oeil techniques to depict more elements of Islamic architecture including columns and more archways, giving the illusion of a larger space.   The Green Room acted as an antechamber to the Sitting Room and contains four busts depicting King Pedro V, the Queen of Belgium, the King of Sardinia, and an “Allegory of Winter”.  The green wallpaper replicates flowers and branches as well as carved stones with faux azulejos tiles, providing another example of trompe-oeil.  The chairs in this room have an Asian feel, with patterns depicting a phoenix surrounded by grapes and vines.

The Great Hall is the largest compartment in Pena Palace, stretching the combined length of several of the previous rooms.  Once also used as the Billiards Room and a place for leisure, tufted maroon leather chairs and sofas with ornately carved frames made from a dark wood line both sides of the space, sometimes accompanied by a matching table to provide an area for conversation or game-playing.  A pair of life-sized sculptures of torch-bearing "Turks" wearing turbans hold gold-plated brass candelabras that each consist of 25 candles.  A large golden chandelier hangs from the ceiling in the centre of the room. A collection of Japanese and Chinese porcelain belonging to Ferdinand are on display on the shelves. Three windows are decorated with Central European stained glass from King Ferdinand II’s collection. In a separate room, King Manuel II’s office has an impressive carved relief depicting a battle hanging behind his original desk which is made of pau-santo and rosewood.

One of the most interesting rooms in the palace was the “Stag Room” which was originally a large Dining Room used for banquets and entertaining guests.  Located in a circular room within one of the turrets, the space is named for the stag heads with genuine antlers that are mounted around the base of the domed ceiling which is supported by a central column.  It is decorated in Neo-Manueline style with seven doors and windows, each with different door frames.  The polychrome stucco surfaces between the doors and windows depict hunting weapons.  A semi-circular table encircles the central column.  This room was strategically located near the main Kitchen which has three chimneys linking three wood-fired stoves (two survive).  Copper utensils and cookware including Pots, pans, fish steamers and chocolate, pudding and pâté moulds are on display.  Some of the items are marked with the symbol PP (Pena Palace) and the monogram of King Ferdinand II.

When we completed our tour of the interior of the palace following the dictated path, we ended up outside on one of the terraces and found out that it was now pouring rain.  The precipitation was coming down so hard that our plans of leisurely touring the expansive grounds of Pena Palace were dashed.  Even our afternoon visit the Moors’ Castle was in jeopardy considering that this involved climbing steep battlement ruins which would be precarious even without the rain.  To find shelter for a bit, we squeezed into the palace Chapel along with a bunch of other wet tourists.  In honor of the original 12th Century chapel, the current Chapel of Our Lady of Pena was incorporated into the design when Ferdinand II had Pena Palace built.  The chapel is a blend of Manueline and Islamic styles with a wide terrace and a clock tower.  The alabaster and limestone retable found behind the altar was created by French sculptor Nicolau de Chanterenne.  A beautiful stained-glass window features four panels that depict Our Lady of Pena, Saint Jorge, King Manuel I and Vasco da Gamma.

It was still pouring when we exited the chapel, so we decided to go to the palace restaurant to have some brunch while killing time in hopes that the rain would subside.  We ended up spending almost two hours in that cafeteria, first eating savoury, then sweet snacks and finally a bowl of soup to pass the time.  Situated in the Room of Arches, the restaurant provides a more formal dining space than the takeout cafeteria upstairs that only had outdoor seating.  Aptly named, the restaurant features several large swooping arches and windows provide views of the landscape (and allowing us to frequently check on the rain).  At one end of the restaurant, a small opening led to a cramped space with extremely narrow windows that might have been used as arrow slits.

Finally, the rain stopped and we go outside without getting soaked.  We walked around the various balconies and terraces, checking out turrets, battlements and different shaped guard houses and watch towers.  Unfortunately, it was still quite foggy so we still could not get great views of the palace façade.  This visit would have been a much different experience had it been a bright, sunny day, although had that been the case, then we would not have allocated enough time here.  It would take a full day to fully explore the palace and grounds and we had only planned for half a day.

Back on the ground level, we wandered through different passageways and admired the walls which were covered with beautiful azulejos tiles depicting Medieval knights in armor and in battle, as well as floral patterns.  The archways provided shelter whenever the rain started up again.

We had wasted so much time in the cafeteria waiting out the deluge that there was not enough time to walk the grounds of Pena Palace and still get to our next planned destination, so we had to make a call.  We decided to forego Pena Park and head on to the Moorish Castle since this was our last day in Sintra and we would not get another chance to see it.  As we headed out towards the exit, we admired all the decorative stonework on the arches and spotted some intricate stone carvings on columns.  One looked like an Italian Commedia dell’arte clown character and another of a stylized lion with a quizzical, almost shocked look on his face.  As we were leaving, we took note of the huge lineup waiting to get into the palace and felt vindicated in our choice to start so early.

With one last look back at Pena Palace, we started our trek towards the Moorish Castle.  It was a 20-minute walk downhill on twisty cobblestone roads to get to there.  This was a relief after all the uphill routes that we had been climbing thus far in Sintra, although some sections were rocky and uneven and a bit slippery since the path was still damp.

The Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros) is a military fortress constructed by the Moors between the 8th and 9th centuries, providing an excellent example of Islamic architecture, culture and heritage.  It was built strategically on a hilltop to protect the surrounding areas from invasion and guard against maritime access to Lisbon.  As a result, on clear days, the site provides stunning views of Sintra and its surrounding areas.  Too bad this wasn’t a clear day!  The Moors lost control of the fortress in 1147 when it was handed over to Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, leading to a Christian settlement residing here for some period of time.  It is about a 15-minute walk from the front gates to the ruins of the fort.  Along the way, you pass the remains of external walls and an old church of São Pedro de Canaferrim, which was the first parish church of Sintra built in the 12th Century.  There were some grain silos carved out of stone to store cereals and foods as per Arabic customs, an archaeological site, and an interpretation centre.

The historical Interpretation Centre houses artifacts found during archaeological excavations around the castle, shedding light on the lives of the population of the area now named the Islamic Quarter. Items on display include some game pieces, flints and blades and pieces of pottery.  A model of the site shows the castle ruins that we would explore next.  There is a tomb containing human remains that were discovered during 19th century restoration work that disturbed old burial grounds. Since it was unclear whether the body was Christian or Moorish, a plaque was installed that read “What man brought together, only God may separate”.  We also came across a large cistern that served as the fortress’ main water source.

When we finally got to the ruins of the Moorish Castle/Fortress, it was an impressive sight to behold.  The castle covers 12,000 square metres consisting of a double ring of fortified walls with crenulated battlements.  From the outer or curtain wall, there are different stages of construction and repair dating from the 12th century at the bottom through to the 19th century at the top.  At the centre of the castle are areas that once housed medieval Islamic quarters, which were converted to stables during Christian times.  At one point, five towers reinforced the inner wall.  Only two towers remain intact enough to climb up into, including the King’s Tower (Torre Real), the tallest tower and last stronghold in the castle in case of attack.

It took some precarious navigation along the narrow parapets and scaling up some steep stone stairs to get to the top of the King’s Tower where on a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see the Sintra Hills and even all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.  Unfortunately, this was not even close to being a clear day.  Sometimes the fog rolling pass was so thick that all I could see was a white expanse.  Luckily, every once in a while, the fog rolled past and at one point, I glimpsed the iconic twin conical smokestacks of the National Palace’s kitchen, which we toured on our first day in Sintra.  Rich decided not to make the climb to the top with me.  He claimed he was tired which was probably partially true but I also think he didn’t like the height.  The stone steps were narrow and uneven and I could see how treacherous it could be when wet.  The stones had mostly dried when I attempted my ascent and careful descent.

The walk from Moorish Castle back to the Historic Town was 2.5km away over steep steps and cobblestoned paths.  It took us almost an hour for this last trek of the day.  This final journey was a slog after a tiring day (our 8th tiring day of the trip so far!) and felt extra long when we lost cell service for a bit and were not entirely sure that we were headed in the right direction. But we did find our way back to down and back to our rental apartment.

The next morning, we had an early breakfast at the nearby Café Saudade before heading to Lisbon for the last leg of our vacation.  Café Saudade is a pretty coffee house with an ornate ceiling located just around the corner from the train station. We were able to score a private nook by a large window to enjoy ham and cheese croissants and some coffee/tea before leaving Sintra and taking the 30-minute suburban train ride to Lisbon Rossio station.  We had a nice time in this Palace-filled little town where the Portuguese royalty used to spend their summers.  It is too bad we didn’t have better weather.