Lisbon - Chiado Travel Guides | Lisbon | Sub Regions | Lisbon - Chiado

To the west, straddling one of Lisbon’s seven hills, gentrified Chiado is the city’s literary soul. Old world elegance and time-honoured rituals remain. Along haughty Rua Garrett, studded with high fashion boutiques and art nouveau jewellery stores, dapper old gents still parade their sartorial elegance and Chiado’s gilded ladies out for afternoon tea still eminate Parisian style and grace. The literary legacy of cryptic genius Fernando Pessoa, still hangs in the air, his spirit immortalized in stone at Café A Brasileira. Devastated by fire in 1988, Chiado has been born again from the drawing board of Portugal’s architect supremo, Àlvaro da Sieza Vieira, and in 21st-century Chiado Soho-style wrought-iron architecture is delightfully juxtaposed with the rococo elegance of the Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos.

Where 19th-century bakeries flank hip minimalist bars, Calçado do Sacramento leads to the peaceful enclave of Largo do Carmo, site of one of the most enigmatic buildings in the city, the cadaverous Convento do Carmo. Heading along Rua Serpa Pinto, towards the river, the Museu do Chiado, is one of the finest exhibition spaces for Portugal’s 19th- and 20th-century artists.

Sights

Throughout the 19th century, Chiado’s bourgeoisie imitated Parisian refinement. Elegantly bouffonted Tias (a lady of Chiado) paraded on Rua Garrett, patronizing exclusive boutiques, nibbling on delicate pastries in elegant turn-of-the century salons, like Pastelaria Bérnard, and feasting on culture at the Teatro de São Carlos. While 21st-century Chiado makes a decent stab at cosmopolitan chic, Tios (Chiado residents) bemoan the district’s shifting demographics, its literary mythology diluted by trite generic branding. Alongside dainty art nouveau glove shops and wood-panelled 19th-century pharmacies, thrusts the international department store Armázens do Chiado, with its soulless fast food eateries. A stone’s throw from the queen of Portuguese design, Ana Salazar, stands the doyen of disposable fashion H&M, and wonderful Livraria Betrand, the oldest bookstore in the city, fights the trade-stealing might of Fnac.

From Rua Garrett, head up to Rua da Trindade, 30. The building’s façades is smothered in azulejo tile panels; the work of 18th-century tile master Ferreira das Tabuletas who was also resbonsible for the allegorical panels in the old beer hall, Cervejaria Trindade (1863). There is a small café serving snacks with views of the nearby Teatro de Trindade.

Café A Brasileira is one of Lisbon’s enduring literary landmarks, the setting for tertulías literárias, lively discussion groups in which debate would often culminate in chair throwing, cup smashing and brawls. During the First World War, it was the backdrop for political intrigue, as Portugal provided a neutral enclave for European spies. During the Salazar years, Café A Brasileira was a hotbed of revoloutionary fervour and fell under the watchful eye of the PIDE, Salazar’s secret police. Most famously, it was the haunt of the enigmatic poet Fernando Pessoa, whose literary mysticism still seems to hover over the city. A bronze statue of the man resides on the terrace, the work of sculptor Lagoa Henriques. Mobbed by tourists, it seems ironic that such a private man should now be such a public spectacle. Behind the café’s art nouveau façade the interior is a work of Renaissance-style theatricality, with splendid gilt carvings and narcissistic mirrors floor to ceiling.

Just opposite Café A Brasileira, Rua Serpa Pinto leads to the creamy clean façade of Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Rua Serpa Pinto, 9, T 21 346 84 08. Built in 1792 by José da Costa e Silva, it was one of Lisbon’s first neoclassical buildings, inspired by La Scala in Milan. To see the stunning rococo interior, you have to buy a ticket to one of the performances.

Marking the boundary between chi chi Chiado and boho Bairro Alto, Praça Luís de Camões is a hub for late-night taxis and site of an underground car park. Taking centre stage is a grandiose statue of the poet Luís de Camões, cast in 1867, by the renowned Vítor Bastos. Such a prosaic setting seems unbefitting of Portugal’s national hero and most revered poet, who penned the epic As lusiadas (The Lusiads), a tribute to Portuguese maritime glory.

Heading towards the River Tagus from Largo de Camões, Rua do Alecrim, punctuated by antique shops, old beer halls and suave restaurants, leads to Cais do Sodré train station which connects Lisbon with Cascais and the seaside resorts. Opposite the station, capped by a large Moorish-style dome, is the recently renovated Mercado da Ribeira, Lisbon’s earthier answer to Barcelona’s La Boquería. From 0600, it is an eye-popping medley of slippery octopus with bloated bags of ink, bloody entrails, coiling innards and a kaleidoscopic bounty of fruit and vegetables. On the second floor is the tamer, more polished and tourist-orientated Loja de Artesanato, Mon-Thu 0900-2000, Fri/Sat 0900-2100, collectors’ fair on Sun 0700-1500, which sells port, nuts, honey and olive oil at inflated prices and a twee assortment of regional handicrafts. Exiting to the rear of the market, take a diversion to medieval Lisbon. Rua dos Remolares is a raffish rough-hewn street of old cobblers, bakeries and hole-in-the-wall cafés where salt-ravaged fisherman sell tackle on street corners, fishwives gossip and dogs run amok.

T 21 275 10 00. 0900-1800. The commuter ferry leaves for Cacilhas every 20 mins.

For less than a euro, the Cais do Sodré commuter ferry across the river to Cacilhas provides exhiliarating views of Lisbon spreading along the banks of the Tagus, the city’s architectural DNA. The decision to construct a kind of mini-Corcovado was made in 1940, when eminent Portuguese bishops met in Fátima and voted to erect a statue overlooking the capital in case Portugal should suffer the same pummelling as war-torn Europe. The concept was the brainchild of Cardinal Cerejeira, who had visited Rio de Janeiro in 1934 and wept with joy at the majesty of Corcovado. It was completed in 1959 and financed by public donations. The sanctuary, a riot of religious kitsch, was built as a symbol of national gratitude. You can take the lift to the top of the statue for unrivalled 360° views of Lisbon, which draws in the Costa Caparica and Sintra and spectacular perspectives of Ponte 25 de Abril. Erected in 1966 the bridge was conceived as an overt imitation to the Golden San Franscisco icon. Never one for modesty, Salazar christened the bridge, Ponte Salazar. When democracy was restored in 1974, it was renamed Ponte 25 de Abril. There is a small bar at the foot of the statue, but little else to detain in the area.

Largo do Carmo, T 21 347 86 29. E3. Tue-Sun 1000-1700, free Sun,

The extraordinary Convento do Carmo was constructed between 1389 and 1423 and was one of the largest churches in Lisbon. It was built during the reign of King Dom João I by Nuno Álvares Pereira, a military commander who was instrumental in Portugal’s victory at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, which secured Independence from Spain. The convent was destroyed by the earthquake in 1755, when the roof caved in on the congregation who had come to worship on All Saints Day. All that remains of the original construction is the main chapel. Reconstruction work of the Gothic vaults was never completed, leaving an eerie skeletal frame. It is a truly ethereal place where feral cats loiter, grass sprouts surreally from what was the nave and weeds writhe over altar pieces. The convent now houses the Museu Arqueológico do Carmo, established in 1834 to house religious artefacts from across Portugal that were in danger of being destroyed following the abolition of the religious orders. An order decreed by new the constitutional monarchy which resulted from the defeat of Dom Manuel I following the Civil War.

The first of a series of rooms is dedicated to medieval sculpture, including the 14th-century tomb of Fernanado Sanches, with its intricate carved depiction of a wild boar hunt. Alongside is the 14th-century tomb of King Fernando I, decorated with finely sculpted relief scenes from the life of St Francis of Assisi. The 18th-century tomb of Queen Maria Ana of Austria is the work of Machado de Castro, the master behind the equestrian statue of Dom João I, in Praça do Comércio. There is a collection of pre-Columbian artefacts, including rather agonized-looking mummies from 16th-century Peru and lustrous 16th-century azulejo tile panels depicting the Passion of Christ. There are also fragments of Visigothic architectural sculptures, and funerary stones and plaques that date to the 11th-century Moorish period. The final exhibits concern the Lower and Middle palaeolithic periods and a range of artefacts that relate to the discovery of a late Neolithic settlement (3,500-1,500 BC), including tools, vases, necklaces of teeth, bone and shells which look like they could have been made yesterday. It is best to arrive at 1000, before the crowds engulf this peaceful enigmatic site and when skeletal arches cast sinister bat wing shadows against the convent walls. Have breakfast at the nearby Panificacão do Chiado , then wait in the peaceful Largo do Carmo for first entry.

Rua Serpa Pinto, 4, T 21 343 21 48. Tue 1400-1800, Wed-Sun 1000-1800, E3, free on Sun 1000-1400. Guided visits for temporary exhibits available.

Chiado’s contemporary art museum, opened in 1994, houses an impressive collection which focuses exclusively on the period from 1850-1960 and includes the works of great Portuguese masters from the Romantics to the surrealists and modernists. The building itself, designed by French architect Jean Michel Wilmott, is a postmodern masterpiece of industrial glass and steel walkways and exposed brickwork, harmoniously carved from the original 17th-century Convento de São Francisco.

The most engaging exhibits feature the works of the Grupo de Leão, Lisbon’s avant garde circle of 19th-century painters who would muse and booze in the cafés of Chiado and the Baixa, Café A Brasileira and Nicola. The spirit of the group is captured in one of the museum’s showpieces, the self-portrait by Columbano Bordelo Pinheiro (1857-1929), famous for his biting satires. The painting features José Malhoa (1855-1933), whose sensual and haunting landscapes are also displayed. Malhoa was most renowned for his poignant O Fado, the visual embodiment of the national song.

From José de Almada Negreiros (1893-1970), the master of Portuguese modernism, there are two art deco diptychs, entitled Bar de Marinheiro (1929) and Jazz (1929). There are works by Portugal’s most celebrated sculptors, A Viuva (The Widow) by Antonio Teixeira Lopes (1866-1942) cast in carerra marble and the neoclassical allegories of Antonio Soeres dos Reis (1847-89) including A Riqueza (1877). A small collection of French sculpture climaxes with Rodin’s The Bronze Age (1876-77). Originally titled The Wounded Warrior, it depicts with uncharacteristic realism a naked young man clasping a spear. So lifelike was the masterpiece that Rodin was accused of taking a cast from the model and debate raged for years. There is a small courtyard café and bookshop.

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