BAIXA AND PRAÇA DO COMÈRCIO: IN THE HEART OF LISBON

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 dominate the main streets of every European capital. Walk on without hesitation and resist the mediocre eateries: the only stop worth making is at Casa do Bacalhau, where you can taste one of their codfish pastéis filled with cheese, an experience of pure indulgence.

Pass through Rua Augusta Arch and you will enter in Praça do Comércio.

Once you pass under the Rua Augusta Arch, you will be overwhelmed by the dazzling light of Praça do Comércio, or, as Lisbon locals call it, Terreiro do Paço. Before the earthquake, this was the site of the royal palace (Paço), which was later moved to the Belém district due to the destruction and the trauma suffered by King José I. Since then, the king could no longer sleep indoors for fear of another earthquake, and so had a (luxurious) tent built in the garden of the new palace (the Real Barraca) where he slept. In the years following 1755, however, the square regained its role as the city’s commercial hub. Ships from all across the Atlantic docked here daily, unloading goods for local merchants, and this is how the square acquired the name by which it is known today: Praça do Comércio. At its center stands the statue of Dom José I, while three sides of the rectangle are framed by elegant arcades.

A traditional elétrico (tram) of Lisbon.

Now head toward the river and the light reflected by its waters, but first take a look at the bar on the corner, the one immediately to your left. Legend has it that this was Fernando Pessoa’s favourite café. In an age before Tripadvisor, people relied on the taste buds of one of the city’s most prominent figures. Even if the legend were untrue, you will still have the chance to enjoy a good coffee in a setting untouched by time, exactly as Pessoa found it when he stepped in for a quick cup before rushing late to the office, trying to shake off the fatigue of a night of writing.

Let's taste a good coffee at Martinho da Arcada in Praça do Comèrcio.

With the lingering taste of coffee on your palate, you are now ready to continue your walk. From here you can choose to head east toward the Alfama district, go west toward Santos or Belém, or, if you are feeling energetic, tackle the climb up the hill to Bairro Alto.