Day 1 – City centre – downtown – bairro alto

I arrived at Lisbon by train.
And like many other travellers arriving from all over the country and Europe I was dazzled with the modern and exquisite lines of this bright and futurist train station were the day to day movement and life blends with the fresh air of the near by tagus river meting the ocean and lifting the spirits of every one.

My next step on this journey trough the Portuguese public transportation was the Lisbon underground system “Metro” the most cheap, fast and convenient way to move around the Portuguese capital, with the “oriente” station just two storeys below the train station.

After a short inspiration of the warm September air I headed towards the elevator that was going to take me and my luggage to the -2 level.

A few minutes staring at the metro map can avoid having to change train later on. We are at “Oriente” station on the “metro” red line and our first objective will to get rid of the luggage so we’ll be heading to the Lisbon Youth Hostel in the centre of the city just next to the Picoas metro station (yellow line). After about 40 minutes and to 2 train change first changing from the red line to the green heading for “campo grande” and again in “campo grande” heading for “rato” on the yellow line and getting off at “Picoas” and taking the exit “rua Andrade corvo” brings us to our new house for the next 7 days – The Lisbon Youth Hostel – Recently renovated and with a great location as a starting point to explore the city.

After checking in and much lighter we are now ready for some tourism.

First stop “Baixa/Chiado” the old part of the city and probably the more charming. We could go back to the “metro” but the exciting part of tourism is all the new little things you discover wile getting to one particular place so we decided for the good old fashion foot power.

The first steps on the holidays are always the more intense and the ones that stay in our memories the longest. But steps over the typical Portuguese pavement are definitely something to remember.

After leaving the youth hostel we head down the street towards the marques de pombal square one of the busiest points of the city with an impressive statue of that Portuguese historical figure in the middle of all the traffic that goes by it every day impassive to its magnificence.  Next we take the long liberdade avenue surrounded by long green paths on both sides of it all the way down to the “Baixa”. Shops, hotels, some of the best coffee shops, esplanades, theatres, universities... You will find everything here and more! This is the Avenue of Liberty, synonimous with elegance, fashion and motion ... like a living vein that makes the connection between Marques de Pombal Square and downtown Lisbon (Baixa).

You’ll know when you’ve reached the Baixa because you’ll feel like going back in time.

I have to say one of the first buildings we see, the Rossio train station has to be one of the more beautiful buildings in all of Lisbon. In neo-manueline style, the Rossio railway station is an outstanding building set between Rossio Square and Restauradores Square. The eight doors match the nine palatial windows and the incredibly decorated clock tower located on the top of the facade.

All the Baixa is a mix of movement, colours and sound. Bursting with commerce, performers, history and atmosphere this part of the city will indubitably go in your memory and definitely in your photos because every corner, every alley, every square is a temptation to the amateur photographer.

Here you will find a unique architecture and a perfect urbanistic planning only possible to fully contemplate from the air. A masterpiece of the former mentioned marques de pombal after 1755 earthquake, tsunami and fire that practically destroyed Lisbon and after gave birth to the contemporary Baixa.

After this long walk its time for some rest and refreshments especially if it’s a warm sunny day so you just need to choose one from the several cafés existing trough out the Baixa. This is the perfect place to leave all worries behind, just some chatting and relaxing while tasting a genuine Portuguese coffee like the locals or maybe something fresher.

With your batteries recharged it’s time to move on, mingle with the locals, shop around, take some photos, feel the sun on your face, and marvel with every new thing you see. 
 
After wandering around for a wile with no specific destination we head down Rua Augusta which ends in a marvellous arch that lets us through to the wide praca do comercio with all its impressive buildings and archways over loking the river tagus blending with the atlantic ocean in gentle waves shining under warm rays of sun.

Lisbon is one of the few European capitals with both a river and a coastline witch can be contemplated from this square. The city has always been ready to welcome new visitors and to bid a fond farewell to those departing, something that was never truer than when saying goodbye to sailors at the time of the great Portuguese maritime discoveries.

After walking under the archways, feeling fresh slightly salty air in your face, imagining yourself in that same place 100 years ago it’s time to head back, now to chiado.

Chiado is nowadays a noble shopping area with all sorts of facilities and street entertainment.

Here you will find hotels, theatres, bookshops, museums, restaurants, famous Portuguese fashion houses and the famous haunt of personalities like Fernando Pessoa and Eça de Queiroz, in a location actually chosen by the city's art students: the café "A Brasileira".

On the 25th of August 1988, Chiado was devastated by a fire that started in a store in Carmo Street and that spread to Garrett Street. Even though there are still some scars of that disaster, a massive renovation programme has brought todays Chiado back to life and it is better than ever!

After a busy and exhausting morning it’s time for a late lunch. You can choose from fancy restaurants, to fast food chains or to any of the delightful small familiar restaurants in the area but our choice when to a small vegetarian restaurant – Oriente with a delicious buffet where you can have whatever you fancy, all for a fixed price per person the perfect place for the non-vegetarian try all the different way to make vegetables delicious.

We’ll take the rest of the afternoon for relaxing. Have a beer sitting in “A Brasileira” café next to the Fernando Pessoa statue, a Portuguese beer of course. The best parte of tourism is the chance to try all the different things we don’t have every day.

Walk among some of the live performers scattered around the streets. Each of them trying to make a living with their very different ways of entertaining.

For a little of old fashion culture we went to the ruins of the nearby Carmo church and museum. This amazing gothic monument, or what's left of it, was at that time the biggest church in Lisbon. The ruins of the Carmo Church, left by the devastating earthquake in 1755, represent centuries of history and is home to the Archaeological Carmo Museum.

Next to save energys for the night we took one of the olf fashion electric trams and headed to bairro alto. Quiet during the day, this belvedere completely changes at night. Old men playing cards or just walking their four legged friends give way to the young crowd that seek fun and action found at night in the Bairro Alto, just like us.

Here you experience an all new style of night life either inside any of the tipical bars and pubs or in the street were happiness, good mood and lots of drinking are all over the place. Meeting people and having fun this is the place for it.