Chiado
It all begins with an idea.
This central neighbourhood in Lisbon is packed with things to do and a great hub to get around the city
Chiado is a bustling district in Lisbon, squeezed between Cais do Sodre at the bottom and Bairro Alto at the top.
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Chiado is home to beautiful squares, shopping streets, restaurants, bars & cafes. Praça Luis de Camões is the hub for this neighbourhood and is a link to many other areas, so you will undoubtedly pass through here during your stay in Lisbon. Chiado also has a major metro station which connects you to multiple destinations and using it’s underground walkways you can stroll from Praça Luis de Camões to Rossio, hence avoiding the heat on a hot summers day.
Off Praça Luis de Camões is a steep road called Rua do Alecreim which leads you downhill to Cais do Sodre and if you walk south from the statue of Luis de Camões you’ll find a street called Rua Garrett. At the top of Rua Garrett is a stunning café called Café Brazileira, here you can sit outside and relax over a coffee or cold drink and people watch, but please do have a look inside this café at the wonderful design and architecture.
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Rua Garrett is home to many familiar high street shops but it has also maintained much of its original charm and only a few metres down from Cafe Brazileira you come to a book shop called Bertrand, the Portuguese believe Bertrand to be the oldest book shop in the world.
Head north and to the right of the Statue of Camões and you are on your way to Santa Catarina. On the way you’ll find the most photographed street in Lisbon, it’s called Bica and you can’t miss the tram which travels up and down this steep hill, it’s called the Bica Funicular or Ascensor da Bica. This funicular was originally powered by a counter- balance of water weights and cables and dates back to 1892. Bica is also a local name for this district and we believe it refers to the ancient system of water networks that service the area…. Some of the locals even refer to their espresso as ‘Bica’, in deference to the water that their coffee is made from.
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A little further down from the Bica is a small street called Rua Marechal Saldanha which is located just after the Bica Funicular. Head along this street and you will arrive at the best look out point for the River Tagus, it’s called Miradouro de Santa Catarina. Look down the river towards the 25th of April Bridge which was completed in 1966 and was originally named after the then dictator, Salazar. The bridge was renamed after the successful revolution of 25th April 1974. If you think that it resembles the Golden Gate Bridge, then your comparison is correct, it was designed by the consortium that constructed the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and also constructed the Ponte 25 de Abril.
Miradouro de Santa Catarina, is a fantastic location to view the famous Lisbon sunsets and there is a choice of bars and restaurants here. There is a Kiosk at the Miradouro where you can grab a beer and join the bohemian gathering catching the sun go down. On the Miradouro there is also a restaurant/bar with seating called Noobai, the food is simple but great and the staff are magic… George is the owner and is a brilliant host!
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Just behind the Miradouro Santa Catarina is a beautiful yellow building which is home to one of the top restaurants in Lisbon, it’s called Pharmacia and the lawn in front is the perfect venue for a sunset cocktail. The building is also home to the Pharmacy Museum which is full of unlikely treasures and well worth the effort to visit.
