Departures Australia Spring 2019

38 DEPARTURES TRAVEL

38 DEPARTURES TRAVEL HANDBOOK The dining room in JNcQUOI; chef Ljubomir Stanisic, from Bistro 100 Maneiras, top right; the rooftop bar at Tivoli Avenida Liberdade, bottom right In Bairro Alto, steep tiled streets are lined with eclectic establishments that reflect the city’s historic and contemporary appeals original architectural details. At the hotel’s heart is a garden courtyard, dominated by a 100-year-old dragon tree and overlooked by a pool terrace and the Despacio spa. The impressive selection of eateries is topped by the Condes de Ericeira, where in the sumptuous surrounds of one of the palace’s grand halls, the food – Portuguese fare with a modern Mediterranean touch – matches the richness of its setting. From this sanctuary it is straight into the hub of the city. Just metres away is Avenida da Liberdade, the Portuguese capital’s prime fashion boulevard. Amid the high-gloss boutiques, the must-visit place at the moment is JNcQUOI (jncquoi.com). A quixotic mix for the bon viveur, it hosts a restaurant, bar, gourmet deli, wine cellar and men’s fashion emporium in a wonderfully captivating historic building. Across the road, at the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade (tivolihotels. com), the rooftop bar has long been a fashionable hangout with fantastic views over the city, and has been enhanced recently by the addition of a restaurant from celebrated local chef Olivier da Costa, whose SEEN merges Art Deco design with Portuguese and Brazilian gastronomy. From up high to down low, one of the city’s bestkept secrets is just around the corner, the nearby Red Frog Speakeasy ( fb.com/redfrogspeakeasy) is a cellar bar where superb cocktails with an offbeat twist take centre stage in the intimate surrounds. A short stroll away in Bairro Alto, steep tiled streets are lined with eclectic establishments that reflect both the city’s historic and contemporary appeals. The world’s oldest operating bookshop, Bertrand Bookshop (bertrand.pt), is among them, as is a plethora of pastry shops selling exquisite local delicacies (Benard Pasterlaria, pastelaria-benard.business.site, to the fore). Nearby, the newly reopened Bairro Alto Hotel (bairroaltohotel. com) is home to a restaurant from Michelin-star chef Nuno Mendes, of Chiltern Firehouse in London fame, while fellow celebrity toque Ljubomir Stanisic has enchanted the in-crowd with his freeform, boho concept, adding the elegant Bistro 100 Maneiras (100maneiras.com) to his main restaurant in the city. Spreading out from the centre, MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, maat.pt), designed by RIBA Stirling prize-winners Amanda Levete Architects, is a striking landmark of modern Lisbon perched on the riverside, and is currently hosting its first rooftop exhibition: French artist Xavier Veilhan’s specially designed sculpture installation, Romy and the Dogs (until 13 Oct). And it’s from the river that the sprawling majesty of Lisbon is most apparent – the nearby Padrão dos Descobrimentos sculpture celebrates the explorers who departed on world-changing expeditions from here through the Tagus estuary. Looking back from here at Lisbon, spread across its seven magnificent hills, you might wonder why they ever left. CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA DIAS, FABRICE DEMOULIN, © TIVOLI HOTELS & RESORTS