The Marquis of Pombal stands at the centre of the square bearing his name, casting a stern and disdainful gaze from above as he judges the clumsy manoeuvres of angry drivers struggling their way around the largest roundabout in the city. You will find yourself passing through this square countless times, whether you are a passing tourist, a student on a temporary stay, or a visitor on a brief stopover while waiting for a connecting flight. Note that from this square depart th

Now, let’s enter the grid of streets carefully planned by aforementioned Manuel de Maia. The tall buildings will bring you all the way to the magnificent Praça do Comércio, which opens onto the banks of the Tagus River. If you chose to pass through the south-east corner of Rossio, you will now be walking along Rua Augusta, Lisbon’s most touristy street. Here you will be tempted by countless souvenir shops, tourist-trap restaurants, and international chain stores that now do

There are several ways to reach Bairro Alto, and all of them involve going uphill. Bairro Alto sits on one of the legendary seven hills on which, back in 300 BC, Romulus and Remus built… no, sorry, that’s another story. Lisbon too, however, claims to have been built on seven hills, on which the city’s neighborhoods rise: São Jorge (the highest hill, crowned by São Jorge Castle), São Vicente (home to the Alfama district), Sant’Ana (which includes the Jardim do Torel), Santo An

Alfama takes its name from an Arabic word meaning “the fountain.” According to the legend, this part of the city was built around a natural spring that supplied water to the local inhabitants. It was once a neighborhood of sailors and wives awaiting their husbands' return from the sea. It holds immense cultural importance for Lisbon and for Portugal: it was here that Fado was born and that the poetic concept of saudade took shape, a word expressing nostalgia for something tha

The Belém district offers three main experiences: a culinary one, a historical one, and an artistic one. The fourth experience — far less pleasant — is the “touristic” one. In fact, Belém is where most of Lisbon’s major attractions are concentrated, making it an essential stop if you have limited time or if this is your first visit to the city. As a result, if you plan to visit on a weekend or, especially, during the summer, be prepared for crowds and long queues to enter the

Like any well-respected European city, Lisbon has its river: the Tagus (Tejo in portuguese). However, it is not simply a river, as Lisbon actually sits on a vast estuary where the Tagus meets the Atlantic Ocean, so what lies before you is an immense stretch of water — and reaching the opposite bank is not so simple. There are several ways to connect the two shores, including two main bridges that have become iconic symbols of the city. The 25th of April Bridge The most famous

1755 is a pivotal date for understanding the history of Lisbon. Some will tell you it’s 1962, the year in which Benfica won the championship by defeating Real Madrid in Amsterdam, but if you want to impress the history-freak friend on a trip to Lisbon, you simply can’t avoid knowing this date, or the story of the Marquis of Pombal. A panel of azulejo tiles shows what Praça do Comércio looked like before the 1755 earthquake. On the night between November 1st and 2nd, 1755, the