Art & culture – All our local tips

Let´s say I have a birthday dinner somewhere in Bairro Alto. And I had the busiest day and hadn’t have any time to buy a present. No problem, now we have Bairro Arte to solve our lack of gift-shops during nightlife.

Bairro Arte, besides being a gift shop, is also an art gallery. It’s an art gallery like any other, but as any other art gallery it’s unique by nature. Nevertheless, one thing Bairro Arte can’t be called is a simple gift-shop, for each thing they sell is very exclusive and original. I feel like being in a shop in Barcelona when enter the shop, because the stuff they sell is creative and colorful as Barcelona itself. For example, they have marble tiles with nice and fun paintings, giant kangaroos statues for our living room, puffs in shape of balls, trendy bags and many things more.

The building where Bairro Arte is installed is a very nice example itself of Lisbon old architecture and a well-restored building. And it has a very picturesque and outstanding chimney. The entrance is in the middle of the building, which divides the room for the shop and the room for the art gallery. I always take more time on the shop side. Shame on me!

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Bairro Arte | Art & culture, Shopping | Free
Rua das Salgadeiras, 5 | Bairro Alto | +351910571594
Mon – Fri 16:00 – 01:00, Sat – Mon 14:00 – 01:00

Since I am not Portuguese, I usually would not care about visiting a foreign country association in Lisbon, other than my own (Brazilian). But out of the blue my friends invited me to have lunch in this Cape Verdean restaurant and I accepted,  and thank God I did, because only now I found out this treasure in the heart of Lisbon!

The place is located on the top of a commercial building, so if you don’t know exactly where it is, you cannot even notice. Once you get there, by elevator, you enter in a wide room, with really nice views over the city.

The place is rather simple, but, believe me, quite packed. So it’s better to make a reservation beforehand. The food is gorgeous and very tasty. The staff is very kind and efficient. Try the famous “Cachupa” (low cooked stew of corn, beans, and meat), or a tempting chicken creole or, like I did, a wonderful onion tuna steak, along with rice and beans.

If you dare, go there on a Thursday, and you will witness good live Cape Verdean music, the famous “Morna“, and a lot of people dancing happily while you have your delicious lunch. I know, sounds very strange, but it’s a perfect unique experience!

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Cape Verdean Association | Art & culture, Restaurants (Cape-verdean) | Meal,wine & coffee € 10
Rua Duque de Palmela N º 2 – 8º | Liberdade | +351213531932
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 14:30

In 1755, Lisbon suffered a huge earthquake. Because of that, only a few medieval buildings survived. One barely survived, but was left exactly as it remained after the destruction, as a symbol of loss and hope. The Carmo Convent, built in 1389, once a gorgeous and unique Gothic church in Lisbon, and nowadays an open air museum, with huge marble columns and stones that contrasts magically with Lisbon blue sky, is the perfect attraction by itself. A very peaceful place, right in the heart of Chiado. It’s a good place to spend some hours visiting, and sometimes I have been there only to read a book or only rest for a while.

The important thing is that a visitor, or a local, cannot miss it, not only for the testimonial of Lisbon History, but also for its great archaeological museum, which hosts prehistorical, roman, medieval and pre-earthquake finds. Even two Peruvian mummy’s are there. Once you enter, you will be enchanted by the view of the nave of the church. I always am!

If you are lucky enough, or just an organized person, you can get an open air concert or watch a play in this gorgeous site. Sometimes paid, but most of times free entrance for both spectacle and museum. Last time I was there I attended two wonderful choir concerts for free.

It’s a place to go in a sunny day, and once you get there,  it’s impossible not to be astounded!

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Carmo Archaeological Museum | Art & culture, Relaxing | Adults € 2.50
Largo do Carmo | Chiado & Baixa | +351213460473
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 17:00/18:00 (Oct to Apr)

Unlike really any other space in Lisbon Crew Hassan exudes a sense of laid back familiarity along with a gung-ho ‘do-it-yourself’ spirit.

Crew Hassan comprises two enterprises: on the ground floor, open to the street is the shop where you can buy ‘alternative’ handmade crafts, such as bags and badges, as well as secondhand records or else you can have a coffee and cake and have your hair done.

If you venture outside the shop and follow the covered walkway down the back to the stairs, and then climb those stairs, you will find a hidden gem of Lisbon. At night the bar and venue upstairs comes alive with DJs, live music and art spread out through the tiny rooms. You will find the most laid back of Lisbon youth sprawled across the mismatched and broken furniture and you will have a unique Lisbon experience.

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Crew Hassan | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Shopping
Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, 159 | Liberdade
until 02:00 daily

The overbearingly grand headquarters of one of the country’s largest banks might not be most people’s idea of the best situation for one of Lisbon’s most exciting and inventive cultural institutions.

Yet here is Culturgest, consisting of two auditori which house concerts, theatre (Portuguese and touring foreign productions) and other cultural events, and also a gallery with regularly changing exhibitions from exciting artists.

Recent productions that have caught the eye have included an interpretation of William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury and uncatogrisable Once and for all we’re gonna tell you who we are so shut up and listen, a magical performance of theatre by a troupe of Dutch teenagers.

Culturgest is also the home of the annual DocLisboa festival where it plays host to screenings, workshops and interviews with the filmmakers.

Helpfully the website is regularly updated and is in Portuguese and English and there is a sister institution in Porto.

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Culturgest | Art & culture, Music, Festivals & events
Edifício Sede da Caixa Geral de Depósitos | Avenidas
Mon & Wed – Fri 11:00 – 19:00, Sat – Sun 14:00 – 20:00

I love this place! It is “hidden” at the top floor of the Benetton shop at the beginning of Rua Garrett. Fabrica is the Benetton Group international communications research center (I had to llok it up as well!). This space has an ever-changing variety of design objects, both useful and useless, but always interesting. It displays work of Portuguese artists (as for instance JIMMY styleshop does) and international works. All items are for sale, ofcourse.

Besides this “shop”, half of the space is dedicated to temporary exhibitions. This means that you will always find something new and interesting when you visit (especially compared with Benetton clothes, but that’s a personal opinion).

If you are not one convinced yet: you can step out on one of the small balconies and have a bird’s-eye view of Rua Garrett.

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Fabrica @ Benetton | Art & culture, Shopping
4º andar, Rua Garrett, 83 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213556764
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 08:00

4 exposition rooms, 2 bookstores, 3 shops, a bar, a restaurant, a terrace…. all this is Fábrica Braço de Prata. And I think I still forgot half of it.

This cultural venue is located on the former location of an armaments factory. Swords to ploughs one may say! It’s a bit out of the way (located near the docks, between Santa Apolónia and Expo) and not that known actually.

It’s a very accessible and fun way to sniff some culture. The crowd is young and dynamic. Due to the variety of rooms and bars, there is always something interesting going on. From time to time (in the warm months) there’s a tent outside for concerts.

Listen to a Bossa Nova concerts, see an exposition or just have a drink. Check out the agenda online!

A huge construction project is planned on the current site, so the “factory” will not be standing here much longer. One more reason to visit it now.

During the month of December their will some special fairs, displaying artesanals, design, art and lots more! Check it out: Friday the 12th and 19th from 20:00 until 02:00.

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Fábrica Braço de Prata | Art & culture, Bars, Music | everything € 5.00
Rua da Fábrica de Material de Guerra | Riverside | +351967435743
Ticket office: Wed – Sat 20:00 – 02:00, Sun 16:00 – 22:00

This design store is located in the Hotel Bairro Alto, near Praça de Camões. The have another store inside the Ritz Four Season hotel.

It hosts some very interesting items, all of them are made in Portugal by Portuguese artists and most of them are inspired in traditional local themes. You can find here, for instance, modern interpretations of Virgin Maria and Santo António statues. Or reinterpretations of the classic Portuguese Gallo de Barcelos. Go here to get a different souvenir from Portugal, one that shows that Lisbon is becoming more and more a creative hub.

The prices are very accessible and the interior of the shop is beautiful.

I already have a very original piggy-bank decorating my apartment!

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JIMMY Styleshop | Art & culture, Shopping | A Santo António statue € 20.00
Rua das Flores | Bairro Alto | +351918984695
Mon – Sat 10:30 – 19:30

This place is in front of Amoreiras’ Garden, or Amoreiras’ Garden is in front of it. It doesn’t matter. What is worth knowing is that, yet small, this reservoir, called “Mãe D’Água”, translated “Mother of the Water”, is a jewel unknown to tourists. It’s the old city reservoir, not in use anymore. Nowadays it’s open for visitors and for special occasions, such as private parties or an art exhibitions.

The interior is composed of a huge marble squared room, with for central columns and a also huge pool with clear and transparent water. On hot days I almost feel like jumping in the water. I just wished they would let me!

There is also a beautiful ancient fountain from where the aqueduct water arrives. You can go up the fountain and have a gorgeous view to the reservoir. And continuing on the stairs you can reach the roof, where the view is as gorgeous as inside. You can have a wonderful view around the city and witness the aqueduct from a different angle.

It’s a Water Temple, for meditation, for dazzle and for fun!

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Mãe D’Água Amoreiras Reservoir | Art & culture, Relaxing | Entrance € 2.50
Praça das Amoreiras, 10 | Estrela | +351213251644
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 18:00

The Berardo Collection Museum, opened last year in CCB (Belém Cultural Centre), displaying part of the Portuguese entrepreneur Joe Berardo’s private art collection.

This amazing and worldly recognized collection features works by some of the most preeminent and prestigious modern and contemporary artists like Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp or Francis Bacon. The work of less known (but likewise interesting!) artists is also shown.

Additionally, you have a unique opportunity to discover some of Portugal’s finest talents of the last and present centuries.

Obviously, there are some pieces and installations that seem quite incomprehensible (at least from our point of view!!), but there are so many superb works that this is truly an occasion that you shouldn’t miss!

The exhibition is quite big, so you will need some time and spirit to really enjoy it properly! If you get tired from all the cultural experience, you may also find that the beautiful gardens and terraces in CCB are worth paying a visit to!

Rita’s favourite pieces: White Aphrodisiac Telephone – Salvador Dali (lobster phone), Vivan Sundaram photo montages (Indian artist),

Vee’s favourite pieces: Severambia – Frank Stella (huge Graffiti fibreglass wall).

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Museu Colecção Berardo | Art & culture
Praça do Império | Riverside | +351213612400
Sat – Thu 10:00 – 19:00, Fri 10:00 – 22:00

Lisbon has never been famous for its museums. Fortunately things are changing for the better.

Besides the Galeria Berardo (contemporary art), Museu de Oriente has opened its doors last year. It hosts a permanent collection on the Portuguese presence in the Orient and various temporary museum.

The building itself is worth looking at. Pleasant way to spend a few hours and escape the heat and confusion. Located on walking distance from Docas and Alcantara Station.

On Friday from 18:00 entrance is free.

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Museu do Oriente | Art & culture | Entrance € 4.00
Avenida de Brasília | Santos & Alcântara | +351213585200
Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun 10:00 – 23:00, Fri 10:00 – 22:00. Closed on Mon

This museum is one of a kind. It houses the greatest world collection of royal coaches, dating from 17th Century to late 19th Century. The building itself is a “must see”, since it is in the old Royal Riding Arena of Belem Palace. The museum is also one of the most visited museum in Lisbon. But even with all this publicity, I hear from a lot of people that don’t visit it. Shame on them!

When you enter you realize you have entered a special place. I like to spend a long time just staring up to the graceful roof paintings,or on the second floor, where the view over the museum is tantalizing. But the museum is about the royal coaches, so let me talk about them. Most of them are very well preserved, and some of them are a complete luxury, golden covered and decorated with huge detailed sculptures.

The museum is logically organized, since the coaches are set in chronological order. So, while you are visiting each coach you are truly learning a lot about Portugal’s history. Not only that, but you can also learn something about daily life as well. Before visiting this museum I had never though that a coach could have a toilet inside. Duh!

While the first and larger room is well organized, the last room is too packed and you barely can walk around the coaches. That is the main reason there are current plans to move the museum to a new and larger building. It’s a very controversy change, but I think it’s necessary, since there are a lot of coaches that aren’t in the museum simply because there is no space. If they preserve the actual building for visiting, I think it’s fine.

On the second floor you can sight the museum from above, as I mentioned before, and also see some nice royal family portraits and read about the royal family history.

Tip: Free on Sun till 14:00

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National Coach Museum | Art & culture | Adults € 3.00
Praça Afonso de Albuquerque | Riverside | +351213610850
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 18:00

Lisbon has quite a number of public libraries but I am fortunate enough that my own favourite is located not two minutes from my own front door.

The magificent (and very pink) Palàcio Galveias houses a geat collection of books and facilities for the local population.  For the casual visitor to Lisbon however the Palàcio offers an excellent opportunity to visit one of Lisbon’s smallest, and often most intereting, galleries.

The top floor of the library has seen in recent times exhibitions on Finnish childrens’ illustrators and Fernando Pessoa.

After a quick walk round the gallery the Palace also has a great esplanade in the garden at the rear where you can share your coffee with the many wandering peacocks.

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Palácio Galveias | Art & culture, Coffee & tea
Avenida Campo Pequeno | Avenidas
Tue – Fri 10:00 -19:00 Sat & Sun 14:00 – 19:00

Call me old-fashioned, but “Pó dos Livros (books’ dust)” bookstore is the authentic bookstore.

First, you can go in there and touch the books, read the books, change the books on the shelves (probably this would be too much), and nobody is going to ask you what do you want. In a bookstore this is the best thing that can happen, because I always want to try to find “the book” by myself before asking for help.

And second and last, and this is the most important characteristic of this bookstore, is that if you need help and ask for help, the owners of the bookstore will bring down the world to satisfy you. Sometimes I don’t remember the author, or the title, or I just remember the book is about something very particular. No problem, here they come with the exact book I am looking for. And they understand all about it, they tell you what are the following releases of our favourite writers, they tip the writers we don’t know but certainly we would enjoy reading and always makes me come back, because, you know, one book leads to another.

The owner, Jaime Bulhosa, also runs a blog for the bookstore, where he and his team suggest and write about new and old releases and publicize and the bookstore events. And of course, you can ask them anything and order any book through their blog.

Also at the bookstore there is a tiny lovely cafe, where we can have all the time in the world to drink a tea or a coffee while we browse some pages in a total solitude.

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Pó dos Livros Bookstore | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping
Avenida Marquês de Tomar n.º89 | Avenidas | +351217959339
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 20:00 , Sat 10:00 – 19:00

The museum, or site, is located below a bank building, the Millenium BCP. Thanks to some restoration work they started in the 90’s, they discovered this whole underneath remains of more than 2500 years of the city history, and even greater, they decided to save it for city history’s sake. In a whole block, under the building, you can witness Lisbon Visigothic, Islamic, Roman, Medieval and Pombaline history.

I arrived in Lisbon in early 2000, and it took me almost three years to find out about this spot, thanks to a great friend of mine who got me a night visit. Before that I used to cross Rua Augusta and stop in front of the Bank windows to stare at the museum articles they have on display, but foolishly never imagined there was really a museum inside there.

Worse, I never imagined there were galleries under the building. It is actually a criptoportico, and it is a very nice visit. They even have an unidentified skeleton around there, that moves constantly where the caves flood. Besides the Bank site, the only other opportunity to see the criptoportico is once in a year, when the fireman close rua da conceição to open the only other access to it.

The Lisbon Baixa neighbourhood is full of surprises, and I consider this spot one of many good ones!

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Rua dos Correeiros Archaeological Site | Art & culture | Free
Rua dos Correeiros, nº 9 r/c | Chiado & Baixa | +35121211700
Thu 15:00 – 17:00, Sat 10:00 – 13:00 & 15:00 – 17:00

The Saint George castle is the most enchanted, extraordinary and magical place in Lisbon to be.

In the 6th century, it was a roman fortification. After that, a Moorish royal residence. Then the king Afonso Henriques kicked the Moorish, royal and non-royal, out of Portugal, in 1147, and it became the Portuguese royal palace. And then the earthquake destroyed a lot of it. Along the years the castle was rebuilt, transformed, rearranged, resulting in the castle we see today.

From the castle, you have a impressive view over most of Lisbon, and the Tagus river. Every time I visit the castle, I just feel gifted for living in Lisbon and having such a fantastic spot so close by. I can stand hours staring over the city, watching the boats crossing the river, the beautiful city landscape, and figuring out what changed since the last time I was over there. Most of the castle are ruins, but nice ones. And there is the “castelejo”, a small castle inside the castle, where you can wander around the top towers and take tons of nice photos.

Inside the castle there is a nice and fancy restaurant called “Casa do Leão”, plus a pleasant esplanade cafe and a very nice giftshop. I try not to miss the concerts, plays and festivals that every year take place in the castle, normally at night, which highlights even more the beauty of the place.

I confess it’s my favorite Lisbon spot, ever! Some surprises can await you there, as it happened to me. A old lady singing Fado songs to the wind, another girl rehearsing her singing, peacocks… Whenever I go there, I reboot from all my worries and bad feelings. Magic? Probably.

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Saint George’s Castle | Art & culture, Relaxing | Students discount € 5
R. de Santa Cruz do Castelo, 1100 | Castelo | +351218800620
Nov – Feb 09:00 – 18:00, Mar – Oct 09:00 – 21:00

Lisbon is known for the city of Seven hills. With so many hills, it would be impossible to go around the city without a car or an elevator. That’s right, Lisbon has many elevators which are a huge help for the city residents, and the Santa Justa lift is one of them.

Besides being a huge help, this lift is a one of the greatest example of Portuguese architecture, and a landmark of the city. The lift was designed by Raul Mesnier de Ponsard, a Portuguese apprentice of Gustave Eiffel, the same guy from Eiffel Tower. The iron tower is fabulous from outside, and to ride it you only need a normal bus service ticket. The elevator is huge, with lots of wood in its interior and kind of victorian, which would be enough for me, but there is more.

I always go insane once I get to the top. thanks to the great panoramic view of the most beautiful part of the city. There are nice stairs to go to the very top, which has also a bar. The bar used to be very expensive, so I don’t have much to say about it.

When I get tired of the view, something that normally never happens, I leave the elevator through the upper exit, which goes straight to the Carmo Archaeological Museum (check the Carmo Archaeological Museum article), my other favourite spot!

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Santa Justa Lift | Art & culture, Relaxing | € 2.70
Rua do Carmo, 70 | Chiado & Baixa | +3513613000
Mon – Sat 07:00 – 23:00, Sun 09:00 – 23:00

Nothing can be compared to the feeling I had the first time I went into Sao Domingos Church. I felt like I was out-of-place, out-of-time, but at the same time I felt in the right place and timeless.

This church is different from the others due to the fact that it suffered a huge fire in 1954, where all the interior ornaments and tapestry were completely burned down. What was left was only the naked colourful marble on the walls and the unrecognizable marble statues. In a very strange resolution, the church was never reconstructed entirely, so it shows all its opened bruises with such an honesty that surprises us completely. They only painted the ceiling in a pastel color, kind of orange, which reminds even more of a Greek or Italian classical temple.
The church is as old as Lisboa’s Cathedral, its contruction started in 1241. Unfortunately most parts were destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, and it was rebuilt after with some leftovers from other destroyed buildings. A very important one is the entrance portal and balcony, that came from the old Royal Palace, “The Ribeira Palace”.

This church is special and it’s worth a visit even if you are a non-religious person, or of a different religion. Whatever your beliefs are, I doubt you will be indifferent when entering this church, One never is.

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São Domingos Church | Art & culture | Free
Largo de São Domingos, 5 | Chiado & Baixa | +351213428275
07:30 – 19:00 daily