Lisbon Estoril Coast Tourism Guide - Lisbon City Centre

The Baixa, Lisbon Centre

Lisbon's lower city area, The Baixa, revolving around Praca do Comercio - the main square at the waterfront, is always a good area to start with on your Lisbon tour. Low lying waterfront Baixa, where a royal palace once stood, was an area almost completely obliterated by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and three seismic waves or tsunamis as they're referred to today.

Praca do Comercio square is the central hub for both trams and Lisbon sightseeing tours on open top buses which pick-up here. The square is dominated by a statue of Dom Jose, the Portuguese monarch at the time of the great earthquake. Pombal's practical grid redesign of Lisbon after the earthquake can be appreciated here - the design incorporated much new knowledge on building cities for hygiene and function. Banks and buidlings for commerce have taken over a little today, but originally Pombal intended the square to be a centre for shops and trade, hence street names such as Rua dos Sapateiros (Cobblers' Street). Plenty of shops, restaurants, cafes and bars still abound in this central Lisbon area. Start at Praca do Comercio, and take a trip on one of the Lisbon sightseeing buses to get your bearings.

Note too in Praca do Comercio the huge white stone arch, completed in 1873 and built specifically to mark the rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake. Look closely and you'll see references to/carvings of the Marques de Pombal and Vasco da Gama. Museums in the Baixa area include the Nucleo Arqueologico on Rua dos Correeiros (tel: 213 211 700). Moorish ceramics, a Christian burial site and Roman fish tanks are all here. Look through glass floors giving an insight into reconstruction design techniques post earthquake.

The renowned Elevator de Santa Justa sits in the Baixa area on Rua de Santa Justa (open daily from 9am to 9pm). Dating from 1902, designers of this elevator were influenced by the Eiffel Tower's construction. Find a rooftop cafe at the top and superb views. The welcome centre on Praca do Comercio is well worth a call in for good maps and leaflets.

Rossio Main Square

Lisbon's real commercial hub is inland up from Baixa around Rossio which has its own metro stop. Rossio is another good starting base from which to hop off at the Metro and walk down to the Baixa waterfront, taking in along the way the mock Manueline arches of Rossio Station. The two main squares at Rossio - Praca da Figueira and Praca Dom Pedro IV (there's a statue of him in the square) are crammed with cafes, bars and shops - it's a bustling area and a centre for theatre as the Teatro Nacional de Dona Maria II is here (weblink right). Note the statue of Portugal's famous playwright Gil Vicente on top of the theatre. Pre-Lisbon earthquake, Rossio had a much different feel, being the site of the Inquisition's Palace and an area for public hangings!

Other historic sights in the Rossio area include the Igreja de Sao Domingos, situated on the site of the old Convento de Sao Domingos which was obliterated by the earthquake. Praca da Figueira was once the centre for Lisbon's main market - todays there's more cafes and it's a little quieter than the main Rossio Dom Pedro square. Just up from Rossio Station is Praca Dos Restauradores with the Elevador da Gloria on its northern tip. Note the Art Deco decor of the old Eden cinema here. If you're pushing into the Barrio Alto (a hub for Lisbon's nightlife) then the Elevador da Gloria will take you there.

Love seafood? Head for Rua das Portas de Santo Antao in Rossio - you've a choice of superb seafood restaurants here as well as a scattering of theatres and the Coliseu dos Recrejos (weblink right/you can't miss it as it has a domed roof - once a circus, today it's a venue for ballet and classical but also contemporary stuff like the Scissor Sisters!).

Look to the Centro Commercial Mourairia for the Largo Martim Moniz shopping centre which, although a bit run down, has six floors of shops and is well worth a quick browse.

Alfama District Lisbon

The Alfama district of Lisbon sits to the east of Baixa spanning the waterfront. It's the oldest part of Lisbon, primarily because the damage from the Lisbon earthquake was much less across the east slope of castle hill where a big portion of the Alfama district of Lisbon is located. The Moorish legacy in Alfama is evident- Alfama was the epicentre of Moorish Lisbon. Indeed, Al-hama is Moorish for springs or bath. Once a high class Moorish residential area, after the Lisbon earthquake the area became the hub of a working class fishing community. Today though Alfama thrives off the tourist industry, with its many cafes, restaurants, shops and fado music centres.

Fishing still thrives here, and on Rua de Sao Pedro you'll find varinas/fishwives selling off the catch of the day. Visitors flock to the Alfama district particularly come evening for the fado/fate music, a kind of Portuguese blues if you like. Key historic sights in the Alfama district include the cathedral, from which you can push up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge for splendid views.

To learn more about Portuguese fado music head for the Casa do Fado e da Guitarra Portugesa on Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, open every day except Mondays from 10am to 1pm, and 2pm to 6pm. Tel: 218 823 470. Fado originated in the alleys of the Alfama district, so it's apt that a Fado Museum is here. You can listen to and buy Fado music CDs here, and there are pictures, photos and exhibits on the history of Fado. A cafe and shop are on-site.

Move to the waterfront in the Alfama district and discover the rejuvenated bars, restaurants and cafes around Doc do Jardim do Tobaco - the old tobacco warehouse area of the docks. Sit outside here with splendid views across the River Tejo. Other museums and sights in the Alfama district include the superb Museu de Artes Decorativas (at Museum Largo das Portas do Sol 2, Tel: 218 881 991 - weblink right for details). Here there's a choice collectiion of 16th to 18th century Portugese art, textiles, furniture, paintings, porcelain and more. Take your pick of restaurants, cafes and bars in Alfama.