The guide to spectacular property in and around ... - Quinta Properties

THE JOURNEY
Getting there by car is straightforward: the Portuguese have invested in
some important pieces of infrastructure, including the A2/IP1. Put on
the cruise control at the legal limit (stiff fines beckon above 130kph!)
and, from the Via do Infante (A22) turn off at Paderne; you’ll be there
in less than three hours.
The drive through the mainly uninhabited vastness of the Alenteijo
takes you through soothing vistas of endless fields and meadows,
interspersed with scattered, majestic cork oaks and disciplined lines of
olive groves, standing like serried ranks of soldiers.
At Setubal it’s decision time. Continuing on the A2 will take you into
Lisbon across the spectacular ‘old’ bridge, ‘Ponte 25 de Abril’ and
straight into the centre of town; veering off on the IP1 takes you across
the even more spectacular, 18km-long ‘Ponte Vasco da Gama’ bridge
to the Parque das Nações (the Expo grounds) area of Lisbon. This,
incidentally, is also the best way to Lisbon Airport.
Of course, you can always take the train, so sparing yourself the
headache of parking in Lisbon and driving within the city. Neither is
recommended. From Faro, Loulé, or Albufeira, five trains daily will take
you to Lisbon in 31 / 2 hours; alight in downtown Lisbon (Entrecampos)
or continue to the fantastic new station ‘Oriente’ within the Parque das
Nações. Taxis are cheap and, of course, there’s the underground
system and good buses and trams.
EXPLORING
The great way to explore Lisbon is aboard an old style tram, the
number 28 electrico, a delightful vestige of days gone by, and the route
reminds you that the city is built on seven hills. Services operate about
every seven minutes, making it easy to hop on and off. Eastbound
trams for the Alfama are invariably crowded by the time they reach the
Rua da Conceição in central Lisbon, so travel towards Estrela and
Prazeres and return to the Alfama from that end of the route.
The tram delivers you into the heart of the city. Cameras out for the
splendid Praça do Comercio, a three-sided piazza on a par with
anything in Rome or Venice, behind which you’ll discover the Baixa.
This area is dominated by specialist traders easily identified by street
names: Rua do Ouro (goldsmiths), Rua da Prata (silversmiths) and Rua
Augusta (clothes and footwear). Marvel at the geometric layout of the
streets and the way they funnel cool breezes off the River Tagus.
Although Lisbon goes back millennia, few ancient buildings remain. In
1755 the city was rebuilt after a powerful earthquake. The Marques de
Pombal seized the opportunity to remodel it entirely, constructing a
modern city with efficient sewage, wide avenues, parks and a host of
miradourus – open spaces affording excellent views over the hills of
this intriguingly beautiful city. The best views on the route are to be
savoured from the Miradouro da Nossa Senhora do Monte.
But first we climb the steep and tortuous streets of Alfama, the oldest
part of Lisbon spared total destruction. Some houses hail from the
16th century, completely clad in azuleijos, beautiful hand-painted tiles,
the streets so narrow that opposite balconies almost touch. The
clanking tram threads through twisting cobbled streets with an Arabic
atmosphere, acres of laundry providing a shady canopy. From tiny
restaurants, in every little square and backyard, waft smells of grilled
sardines. Once dilapidated buildings are now being renovated and
converted into artists’ studios or galleries… a new stage in the life
of Alfama.
Lisbon Cathedral is a heavy pile in the Romanesque style from the 12th
century. During the Moorish occupation, like so many other churches
all over Portugal, it served as a mosque. It survived the earthquake
relatively unscathed, a fate not shared by the elegant and lofty Gothic
church of São Roque, on the opposite hill in Chiado; the skeletal ruins
pay witness to its former glory.
See Lisbon and read a
page in history
Art
Culture
Shop
Food
Walk
Laugh
Enjoy
Relax
Lisbon has
delights and
surprises in
abundance
The Castelo São Jorge, dominates the old town. It’s true story is obscured in
the mists of myth and history, but we know the Romans built a fortress here
in 48 BC.
The Chiado, to the west of the Baixa, rises up yet another hill. This is the
Knightsbridge of Lisbon, thick with elegant boutiques and designer shops.
A disastrous fire in 1988 destroyed a huge area, but made space for elegant
boutiques. Follow the Rua Garrett and slip into the mahogany booths of
Brasileira, Lisbon’s oldest and most respected café. This was once the
favourite watering hole of poets, such as Fernando Pessoa; today a bronze
statue of him has taken a seat, eternally and pensively, at a curb-side table.
If tea is your tipple, find ‘Bernard’ in the Chiado. Refurbished, air-conditioned
and famous for its pastries, it is a popular meeting place for government
officials, business people and shoppers. Tea, remember, was brought to
Europe by Portuguese seamen and introduced to England by the Portuguese
queen of Charles II, Catherine of Bragança. The pleasant black tea from
Mozambique is well worth sampling.
The Bairro Alto, or upper town, is the Latin Quarter of Lisbon, the district for
restaurants, bars and fado nightclubs. Fado, the soulful Portuguese national
music, recently made popular internationally by Mariza, is played slowly and
dramatically on special guitars and lutes, and sung with passion and vigour.
Fado is more than moving folklore. It is Weltschmerz, saudade, longing,
repentance and confession, self-pity and self-mourning, suffering and passion
and the most sublime form of happiness – all wrapped into shared tears and
quiet observance. Remember: real fado aficionados listen without comment or
disruption. Going to a fado club early in the evening is only for tourists; go late
and stay late.
As our tram ride continues westward the roads straighten and the gradient
eases. This is Estrela, where Lisboans work in offices and shop in street
markets. From this plateau one has views across the terracotta roofs to the
Tagus river and to Alcantara, the docks. The white tower of Belem and the
Jeronimos Monastery as well as the new Cultural Centre of Belem building are
well worth a visit.
Above it all towers the enormous statue of Christo Rei on the other bank,
looking down not only on the stupendous suspension bridge, but the mouth
of the river that pours out its waters into the vast Atlantic Ocean. From here,
courageous seamen once ventured to sail into unknown waters and discover
mysterious shores on the other side of the world.
EATING OUT
Try one of the many typical restaurants of the Bairro Alto; the ‘Bota Alta’ on
Travessa Queimada 35, tel: 00351 213 427959, or ‘Pap Acorda’ on Rua da
Atalaia 57, tel: 00351 213 464811, are both popular and reservations are
recommended. John Malkovich co-owns one of the trendiest restaurants in
Lisbon, the Bica do Sapato, and this is not to be missed. They offer traditional
Portuguese food, but the restaurant is better known for its sushi on the top
floor. Be sure to book! Tel: 00351 218 810320.
Another experience is Lisbon’s oldest restaurant, ‘Tavares’ on Rua da
Misericordia 37, tel: 00351 213 421112 – over 200 years old and very
fashionable; don’t be surprised to find yourself sitting next to someone
famous. Reservation is a must, and if you fail, try the ‘Trindade’, tel: 00 351
213 423 356 or “Aviz”, tel: 00351 218 876472.
WHERE TO STAY
We recommend ‘York House’. This is a charming small boutique hotel with a
very colourful history, and which began life 1606 as a convent. Each room is
completely different and they vary from plush and cosy to minimalistic. There
is a restaurant and bar, as well as a very charming courtyard where you can
breakfast and take your afternoon tea. Tel: 00351 213 962435.
For more palatial accommodation try the ‘Lapa’. This is a truly magnificent
hotel. Ask for a room high up with a view to the Tagus River.
Tel: 00351 213 949494. 37