Lisbon attractions

Squeezed between downtown Baixa and the nightlife party-central of the Bairro Alto, glossy Chiado is within shouting distance of the romantic ruins of Carmo Church (Igreja do Carmo) and the hidden treasures in the Church of St Rocco (Igreja de São Roque). It is also home to glorious Art Nouveau shops, old-world Lisboa cafés with window displays brimming with delicious pastries, and timeless antiquarian bookshops. Amid the fine 19th-century townhouses fronted with wrought-iron balconies and the piazzas with madly patterned mosaic sidewalks stand top-end fashion designers, jewelers, theaters, concert halls and posh boutique hotels. An eclectic mix of restaurants – from Michelin stars at Belcanto to basic snacks at neighborhood tapas bars – adds to the cultural soup of this sleek hillside enclave.

With views across to hilltop St George’s Castle (Castello de São Jorge) to Baixa and the gleaming waters of the River Tagus, the viewpoint at São Pedro de Alcantara is an exotic two-tier balustraded garden in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto. Created in the 19th century, the upper gardens are focused around a large fountain and scattered with benches from which to admire the panorama; a map created from azulejo tiles shows all the city landmarks. The lower gardens are classical in style, packed with statues of Roman deities and famous historic Portuguese figures. Quite the most scenic way to get to São Pedro de Alcantara is by the Elevador da Glória, a funicular that first opened in 1885 and connects the Bairro Alto with Restauradores Square in the city center. Across the street from the mirador is the almost-sacred Port Wine Institute (Solar do Vinho do Porto), where rare vintages can be sampled along with a choice selection of Portuguese cheeses.

The Ajuda National Palace is a neoclassical monument, collection of decorative arts, and an unfinished palace in the Belem district of Lisbon. The interior is richly furnished with tapestries, statues, chandeliers, artwork and extravagant furniture. Historically, the palace served as the official residence of the Portuguese royal family from the reign of King Louis I in the early 19th century until 1910, when Portugal became a republic. Today visitors can tour the impressive estate, complete with ornate ballroom, dining room, throne room, and winter garden. Open to the public as a museum since 1968, the rooms and hallways maintain their historic feel despite undergoing renovations. There are dozens of luxurious formal rooms to wander through, with the splendor of the 18th- and 19th-century decor apparent throughout. Visitors can get a sense of how Portuguese royalty lived at that time. In fact, the Portuguese government holds official functions in the palace to this day.

Belem Palace was the official residence of Portugal's monarchs, and since 1910 it has been the home of the country's Presidents. It is located in the Belem neighborhood on a hill near the banks of the Tagus River. It consists of five buildings and was constructed in the late 16th century. There are manicured gardens and a statue of Afonso de Albuquerque, the Viceroy of India, standing on a 20 meter high pedestal in front of the palace. The changing of the guard takes place at 11am on the third Sunday of each month near the Patio dos Bichos entrance. Today the palace also houses the Presidency Museum, which examines the history of the Portuguese Republic and its presidents. It has a permanent exhibit that explains the history of the country's symbols, such as the flag and the national anthem. Another section looks at the role of the presidents through a collection of photographs.

Located on the waterfront of the Tagus River, Lisbon’s Electricity Museum is as beautiful and scenic as it is interesting and educational. A beautiful brick building with long-spanning windows with the 25 de Abril Bridge as its backdrop, the Electricity Museum is an iconic structure of Lisbon. Many visitors stop in while on a riverfront stroll and are surprised with all this museum has to offer. Inaugurated in 1900, the building was once a coal power plant that supplied electricity to the city of Lisbon. The building and its machinery have been well maintained and today the museum offers visitors a glimpse into the inner workings of an early 20th century coal power plant. There’s tons of original equipment like boilers, alternators, condensers and the control room, complemented with explanatory videos, models and photographs.

Housed within a late seventeenth century yellow-hued Palácio Alvor, the National Museum of Ancient Art was created in 1884 to protect and display a collection of European and Asian works of art. The current collection comprises more than 40,000 items — paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics and textiles, among others — most of it dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Highlights of the permanent collection include the naturalistic Panels of St. Vincent, considered Nuno Gonçalves’ masterpiece, as well as a set of sixteenth century Japanese folding screens that depict the arrival of Portuguese ships in Nagasaki. The Monstrance of Belem, a stunning work of gold and enamel by Gil Vicente, was originally brought to Portugal by Vasco da Gama on return from his second voyage to India; this piece is also on display in the museum.

The burial place of the great and good of Portugal, the gleaming white National Pantheon has its roots in the 17th century but was only finally completed in 1966. Constructed to a design by Lisbon’s Baroque master-craftsman João Antunes, it is a mini-me of St Peters in Rome, with a highly intricate, colonnaded exterior topped with a central dome. Climb six flights of steps up to the top for matchless views over the city to the River Tagus. Inside the church is a riot of highly patterned mosaic flooring, gleaming white marble adorned with gilt, and memorial cenotaphs to Vasco da Gama and Henry the Navigator. The vast, 18th-century Baroque organ was moved here from Sé Cathedral in the 1940s, and famous names interred in the nave include a string of Portuguese statesmen and the revered fado singer Amalia Rodrigues.

Fado, a traditional music style popularized in the streets and taverns of Lisbon during the 1800s, is Portugal’s version of the blues. Birthed amid the underclass of the city, fado gradually gained popularity, moving out of seedy taverns and into upscale dance halls and theaters before falling out of fashion in the late 1970s. The Fado Museum occupies a former pumping station in Lisbon’s Alfama District, the neighborhood where fado was born, and traces the history of the musical style through a collection of recordings, posters, costumes, vintage memorabilia and interactive exhibits. An onsite museum school offers courses in fado lyrics and Portuguese guitar. The museum shop sells albums by iconic fado artists — a lightweight souvenir by which to remember time spent in Lisbon.

One of the primary modes of public transportation in hilly Lisbon are funiculars, and the Bica Funicular (Elevador da Bica) has been ferrying passengers up the hill along Rua da Bica de Duarte Belo between Rua de São Paulo and Calçada do Combro since 1892. The Bica Funicular comprises two yellow and white cars traveling in opposite directions, both with sitting and standing space. For visitors in the lower parts of Lisbon, this funicular provides a wonderful way to save leg muscles on the way up to São Jorge Castle. Those curious about the history of Lisbon’s funiculars (and other forms of public transportation) can learn more with a visit to the Carris Museum.