Street Art Route

Time Out Magazine recently prepared a route of Lisbon’s street art, combining several styles and artists making a unique combination that can’t be missed. 

In this post we’ll highlight the ones closest to us:

1 - Universal Personhood by Shepard Fairy.

Foto Bruno Lopes

The man who created the famous Obama poster “Hope”, came to Lisbon and left his mark in Rua da Senhora da Gloria, a shared work with Vihls, Universal Personhood is a series of works that stand for women rights.

2- Calçada by Vihls
Vihls first work in “Calçada Portuguesa” (Portuguese sidewalk) is located between Cable car 12 stops in Rua de S. Tomé e Rua dos Cegos and it is a work that celebrates Portugal.

3 – Desassossego by Aka Corleone 
Located on Rua Damasceno Monteiro, by Senhora do Monte viewpoint it’s a tribute to Lisbon’s most representative character, Fernando Pessoa.

4 - André Saraiva Tile Mural
With an incredible 52 738 tiles, this was Lisbon’s last big street art event. Located in Santa Clara, the 188m mural reinterprets the city combining some of Lisbon’s monuments with other elements such as the Eifel Tower.

Foto Ana Luzia

5 – Estátua de Pichi&Avo
Executed under the exhibition “Versus” by Galeria Underdogs and located in Calçada de Santa
Apolónia, it is a perfect example of the quality of the work by the duo Pichi&Avo, artists that like to combine classic art and graffiti wildness.

6 – Disquietheart by Tamara Alves
Near “Time Out Market” in Cais Sodré, one can enjoy Tamara Alves’s work inspired by José Saramago’s words “If you have an iron heart, enjoy it. Mine is flesh and bleeds all day”.

The full route here.

Exhibitions in Lisbon

May is just starting and although the good weather invites to outdoor activities, Lisbon’s cultural program can’t be left behind and so, we are happy to suggest 3 exhibitions not to be missed on your visit to Lisbon.

The Marvelous Variety of the World

Until June 3^rd the Padrão dos Descobrimentos hosts extraordinary beings and wonderful creatures, imaginary or real, of today and from the past.

The natural and social world is a permanent source of wonder, whether through the regularity of its order or through the irruption of the unusual. These two sides go hand in hand: the extra-ordinary breaks the usual landscape of the world, whilst simultaneously confirming it.

“The amazing variety of the world” is an exhibition that promotes a reflection on the unusual, associated with the unknown, the difference and the rarity, through objects, fantasy drawings and representations from the real.

For more information on www.padraodosdescobrimentos.pt

A Museum from Another World

José de Guimarães conceived an unprecedented and specific intervention for the Museu do Oriente, whose starting point is the Museum's wide and diverse collection, in articulation and dialogue with the artist's pieces, his collection of Chinese art, as well as other objects and images that constitute the universe of references of the author.

In many cultures, the "other world" is where the dead live life beyond death. In turn, the work of José de Guimarães is deeply marked by the rituals of ancient cultures, tracing an arc of influences that goes from America to the Far East.

“A Museum from Another World” promises visitors a contact with ancient Chinese artworks and José de Guimarães’s reliquary boxes, as well as with the objects and images that the painter has collected. This exhibition seeks to open the door to a reflection on the museum as a form of otherness while inviting people to step into this “other world”.

More information on www.museudooriente.pt

Post-Pop. Beyond the commonplace
Pop detours in Portugal and England, 1965-1975

This exhibition presents, in its entirety, works produced almost exclusively between 1965 and 1975, in Portugal and England. Some of them are united by a witty divergence from the commonplace put forward by Pop Art.

And, in the case of the Portuguese artists, true defectors from the mediocrity which characterised Portugal, we find a common link in seeking inspiration and motivation from abroad, in Paris and in London in particular, which was a true Mecca in the 1960s.

More information on www.gulbenkian.pt

Lisbonland

From December 14th to the 23rd the Luminous Fountain of Alameda hosts a show of lights and colors called Lisbonland- Father Christmas’ House.

Created by OCUBO, Lisbonland promises to bring joy and entertainment and to warm up the winter season with an exciting story about Christmas told through a 4D projection synchronized with pyrotechnics.

This free video mapping show will be project on the Luminous Fountain of Alameda presenting the virtual interaction between the elves and Father Christmas with the façades of the fountain.

The show introduces Father Christmas at work, inventing and building toys that will make dreams come true, and unveiling the secret of his address.

Every day from December 14th to the 23rd at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm.

Gulbenkian Music in December

The Gulbenkian Music Season 17/18 reaches December with a vast and eclectic program. As Gulbenkian well states “music can arouse different emotions in different listeners”.

And this is why the season 17/18 is so diverse because “while one listener is alert to the technical capabilities of the musicians, another may be interested in broader relationships between music and philosophy or between music and the world around us.”

So the conclusion is obvious, “there is no right way to enjoy music”.

This is the complete program for December:

1st - Vicente Amigo
Considered “the next Paco de Lucía”, Vicente Amigo is a flamenco guitarist with obvious value, having shared the stage with Camarón de la Isla, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Milton Nascimento and, of course, Paco de Lucía, among others.

2nd- András Schiff 
Born in Budapest, András Schiff started taking classes at the age of 5 and is one the world’s most famous interpreters of Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. He believes that some parts of the piano repertoire should wait for the right age and so, Schiff waited until he was 50 to tackle Beethoven’s sonatas.

3rd - Peter and the Wolf - The Carnival of the Animals - Gulbenkian Orchestra
Written in 1936 by Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf was referred as a “musical tale for children”, offering to young people an attractive musical approach to the instruments of the orchestra with its musical and narrative qualities.

8th and 9th - The Wizard of Oz - Gulbenkian Orchestra
This weekend, the Gulbenkian Orchestra accompanies the screening of the all-time classic, The Wizard of Oz, a film directed by Victor Fleming in 1939 with the enthralling Judy Garland as the protagonist. It is an irresistible fantasy that has become a cinema classic.

12th - Mozart’s Requiem - Cadaqués Orchestra 
Directed by Gianandrea Noseda, the Cadaqués Orchestra was founded in 1988 to explore collaborations with living composers, recover the legacy of long-forgotten Spanish music and boost the careers of emerging artists, composers, and conductors.

13th - Christmas Oratorio - Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir
As we are getting closer to December 24th the program gets into Christmas’ spirit. Composed to celebrate Christmas in 1734, J. S. Bach’s famous Christmas Oratorio re-uses, adapts and expands some of the music he previously wrote, notably in his cantatas.

20th and 21st - Musicals and Christmas around the world - Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir
Just a couple of days before Christmas, Gulbenkian Music presents Sofia Escobar trained at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is appearing for the first time at Gulbenkian Music, in a program filled with tunes from famous musicals and well-known Christmas carols.

31st - Te Deum at São Roque - Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir
December ends with a classic, Jorge Matta conducts the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra in an event that is already one of Gulbenkian Music’s traditions, the “Te Deum at São Roque”. This time it presents the first modern performance of the “Te Deum Laudamus”, by Bráz Francisco de Lima (1752-1813).

Há Fado no Cais – Gonçalo Salgueiro

CCB’s Há Fado no Cais presents one of Fado’s new voices, Gonçalo Salgueiro, on November 17th at the Grande Auditório.

Born in 1978 in Montemor-O-Novo, Gonçalo Salgueiro, one of Fado’s new rising stars, started his record career with a tribute to Amália Rodrigues but soon grew in his own style.

Photo: João Portugal

Along the way he received several “blessings” from some of Fado’s great names, such as Maria da Fé or João Braga.

Sombras e Fado (“Shadows and Fado”) is an introduction to Gonçalo Salgueiro as well as the title for his most recent album.

It is a show that revisits some of the themes from his earlier recordings and others that he has recreated and which have made him famous among wider audiences. Joining him will be some of those who have been important to his musical career, and the concert will have several surprises in stored for everyone.

Haru Ishii Tiles – From the Shadows of Kyoto to the Light of Lisbon

Until December 31^st, the Museu Nacional do Azulejo hosts the exhibition “Haru Ishii Tiles – From the Shadows of Kyoto to the Light of Lisbon”.

The exhibition is divided into two rooms. The first one is where the artist claims its Japanese origins and where the environment part is displayed, materializing its roots in shadows - the sea, the rain that feeds the green forests, the fish-based diet, and the culture, such as the ceremony of tea.

In the second space you will find a more vibrant and luminous room, where Ishii recalls the Portuguese-Japanese ties so well portrayed in the namban screens, recovering the voyage of Portuguese ships between continents, sailing seas, surpassing winds and tides, to bring to the West the most exotic and exquisite that Japan has to offer.

Haru Ishii is a Japanese artist who first came across azulejos (tiles) in 1995, when she came to Portugal and spent a month working in a traditional Portuguese workshop, in Palmela.

From then until now she has dedicated all her creativity to this art, uncovering the most hidden secrets of this traditional Portuguese art to recreate and reinvent it in the Japanese style, taking advantage of her cultural roots.

With public works on display in several Japanese cities, from Tokyo to Kyoto, from Shimane to Hiroshima, from Kochi to Okayama, just to name a few, and in addition to a number of collections, at the Museu Nacional do Azulejo in Lisboa, Ishii displays a show that is a synthesis of 474 years of Portuguese-Japanese understanding.

Big Bang LX 2017

On October 20th and 21st, Centro Cultural de Belém, hosts another edition of the Big Bang LX, Adventurous Music Festival for a Young Audience.

On this 8th edition the festival promises an amazing journey of shared discovery for children between the ages of 4 and 12 and for the parents accompanying them.

Once again the Centro Cultural de Belém/Fábrica das Artes offers a space where Portuguese artists can create new artistic approaches to music for children and see their work recognized within the country and across Europe.

In an initiative of Zonzo Compagnie the goal of the festival is to create a platform where composers, musicians and performers can meet and also contribute towards the development and presentation of non-commercial music for children.

From choral to instrumental music, from jazz to classical, from traditional to experimental instruments, all combined to offer full contact with a borderless, constantly expanding musical universe.

Program:

Nocturno | Joana Gama and Victor Hugo Pontes
20th and 21st October, 10:30 am and 1:45 pm

Futurina | Sonoscopia
20th and 21st October, 11:45 am and 3 pm

3ACH - A stairway to heaven | Zonzo Compagnie
20th and 21st October, 10:30 am, 1:30 pm and 4 pm

Quarto da Joana | Joana Guerra
20th and 21st October, 10:45 am, 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm

Extension | Vincent Martial
20th and 21st October, 11:45 am, 2:45 pm and 4:30 pm

Como dormirão meus olhos | Filipe Faria and Pedro Castro
20th and 21st October, 11:45 am, 1:30 pm and 4 pm

Tocá Rufar | Orquestra Tocá Rufar
20th and 21st October, 12:30 pm and 5 pm

Jukebox e Caixa de Ressonância | Ofício das Artes
20th and 21st October, 10:30 am, 1 pm and 2 pm

Pilar 7 – Bridge Experience

Last week, Lisbon’s new attraction, Pilar 7 – Bridge Experience - opened to the public.

Located in the Avenida da Índia, this new attraction features a panoramic viewpoint on the bridge’s deck level and a virtual reality experience on its pillar.

Areas inaccessible to the public can now be visited through a sensory experience lived inside this vital bridge’s pillar, resulting in a journey through the history and construction techniques of this national monument, which ends with the construction of an elevator that goes up 80 meters to the top by the road, allowing an unprecedented view of the city, in particular of such as Belém, Almada and the Tagus River.

The visit starts in the area outside the central massif of Pilar 7, where it is possible to contemplate the scale of the structures of the Bridge, as well as getting to know some of the peculiarities inherent to its construction.

Within Pilar 7, it is possible to see 360° projections about the Bridge’s construction with four short films that show the interventions and the grandeur of this work.

In a contiguous room, the visitor is surrounded by the blue waters of the Rio Tejo, climbing on a platform that will allow him to emerge from these virtual waters, and when reaching the top of the platform one can feel, hear and see the train that crosses both margins, approaching.

A suspended staircase will give you access to another room where a set of upper and lower mirrors provides an illusion of depth and grandeur of the interior of the Pilar 7 massif, where the project’s main attraction is located, the viewpoint with a panoramic view, where the visitor will have an unparalleled experience.

Do not miss this unique experience.

Rossio Fashion Day

On September 21st, the Rossio Square hosts another edition of the “Rossio Fashion Day”.

The Praça D. Pedro, mostly known as Rossio, welcomes another edition of the “Rossio Fashion Day”, an event that aims to promote the best that the Downtown area has to offer to locals and tourists.

After last year’s success with over 40 models in a 50 meters catwalk, the expectations are high but be aware that the collections to be displayed are not from Paris or Milan, they are from local Portuguese stores, established on the downtown district.

Come and see what the local stores are selling, in an event promoted by the “Associação Dinamiza Baixa Pombalina”.

World’s Best Aquarium

For the 2nd time the Oceanário was elected by TripAdvisor’s Travelers Choice the world’s Best Aquarium.

This famous travel portal presented the Top 10 Aquariums in 2017, and after an analysis on the quality of the service and visitors reviews, the Ocenário got 1st place.

Photo Ocenário

The Oceanário de Lisboa is a public aquarium whose prestige is widely recognized, not only in Lisbon and Portugal but also across the world. Its exceptional exhibitions and the architectural features of its buildings, full of symbolism, allow a unique and unforgettable experience.

The Oceanário consists of two buildings connected by a large forecourt: the original Oceans Building and the new Sea Building. The forecourt, from which the exhibitions and the educational area can be accessed, boasts a magnificent panel featuring 55 thousand tiles.

Last year the Oceanário received visitors from 180 countries that shared more than 29.000 reviews, most of them classified as Excellent.

With more than 20 million visitors since its opening in 1998, the Ocenário is one of Portugal’s most important touristic attractions.

LISB-ON #Jardim Sonoro

Lisbon doesn’t stop and September starts with a new edition of LISB-ON #Jardim Sonoro.

A sound garden opened from 2 pm to 12 am in a special corner of Parque Eduardo VII, LISB-ON #Jardim Sonoro is an experience to awaken the senses and, probably, the coolest party in Lisbon that stands out for its uniqueness.

Going for its 4th edition LISB-ON #Jardim Sonoro is a combination of heritage and music, tourism and culture, leisure and pleasure in one single concept, a day party in a garden we consider our own.

A three-days party at an almost secret sound garden in the city's most emblematic park "blessed" by Lisbon's incredible light. LISB-ON #Jardim Sonoro is a compulsory event for music lovers who want to enjoy an urban experience in broad daylight with the city as center stage.

These are some of the names present in this edition: AMP Fiddler, Cassy, De Los Miedos, DJ Koze, Etienne Jaumet, Francisco Coelho, João Tenreiro, Kiamos, Lerosa and much more.

A special groove to be watched, heard and felt.

Lisbon's Best City Views

One of the beauties of Lisbon is its landscaping nature, made out of valleys and hills, giving it a unique asymmetry.

Visitors can consequently see the city from various points of view, continuously discovering new details and new treasures, once hidden.

In this article, we will share five of the most interesting and beautiful views to find in Lisbon.

1 - São Pedro de Alcântara
This is one of Lisbon’s best known viewpoints. Located in Bairro Alto the view extends itself across Restauradores and Baixa and up to the Sé and the Castle.

2 – Senhora do Monte
One of the highest points of view in the city is Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of the Mount), with a small chapel behind the viewpoint, a view which includes the Castle, the Graça church and the Mouraria quarter.

3 – Santa Luzia
One of the most famous, near the Largo das Portas do Sol. It has all the proper trappings, including a pergola with tiled pillars, walls and benches forming a veranda for the view.

4 – Castelo
With a view over Alfama, Baixa and Bairro Alto this is one of the viewpoints not to miss. The light here is particularly warm in the late afternoon, encouraging you to linger.

5 – Elevador de Santa Justa
Last but not least important, the Elevador de Santa Justa provides the best close-up overview of Baixa and Rossio, with the Castle above. It is reached thru an extremely tight spiral staircase, but it is worth the climb.

Restaurants in Lisbon

Before diving into the unknown, which might be Lisbon’s restaurant offers, stop by our concierge desk, he will help you decide and most importantly will help you avoid the worst ones.  

A recent scandal hit a couple of restaurants in Lisbon’s downtown. Apparently, they were picking clients on the street, showing a menu with some prices but, once the clients were seated they would immediately try to sell different items, way overpriced, but hidden on the bottom of the menu.

Obviously, the clients followed the waiter’s recommendations, but in the end of the meal, the bill come bearing bad news: 140€ for a swordfish dish, 250€ for a mixed shellfish platter or 15€ for bread and these are just some of the examples.

After being confronted with that rip-off, clients asked for the menu and realized that the prices were really there, they just didn’t check them, as they followed the waiter’s recommendations.

So, our first recommendation for today is: always check on the menu what you’re going to eat, be picky, make the waiter point it out for you, “couvert”(yes you have to pay for it), dessert and of course wine, you can take recommendations but please check the list and its prices.

Our second recommendation is: if you’re staying in a hotel listen to the Front Desk staff, they will help you avoid some of these troubles. In our case, guests can always find support in our Concierge Desk.

These are skilled employees that know by experience the restaurants they are recommending and they try to match your wishes to the offer available in the city.

Further down, you will find some of our Head Concierge’s suggestions, other references are also available on our APP.

Largo
Established in one of the most iconic areas of Lisbon, the square do Teatro S. Carlos, in Chiado, space mixes aspects of the original construction of the cloisters, with modern, bold design in a combination of architectural concepts absolutely unique.

As Velhas
Located near the Avenida da Liberdade, this typical Portuguese restaurant, offers a comfort and family atmosphere, and a menu that emphasizes all the best that Portuguese cuisine has to offer.

Monte Mar 
Monte Mar Lisboa was created in an elegant and urban-chic atmosphere that Monte Mar Lisboa, presenting fresh fish, shellfish, and all the traditional Monte Mar Cascais cuisine. The hake fillets with cockle rice, our signature dish, has a simple name but is very rich in flavor. Since Monte Mar Lisboa is not just a fish and seafood restaurant, if you prefer a more traditional option, choose "iscas", a delicious and tender liver dish served in a skillet.  

Cervejaria Ramiro
The tradition of well-serving seafood
Founded on the 7th of April of 1956, Cervejaria Ramiro is known nationally and abroad for its excellent quality of seafood, for its level of service and for the price-quality relationship.

Mar ao Carmo
Located in the well know Chiado district, more exactly in Carmo Square, is a seafood restaurant in a modern and elegant space, with neutral tones, which invites you to sit down and enjoy a pleasant relaxed meal.

Sacramento
The Sacramento is a relaxed venue, located in the heart of Chiado's historic district, in the former Confeitaria Nacional, once stables of the old Palace of the Counts of Valadares. With its traditional Portuguese cuisine with a touch of innovation and a careful presentation, the Sacramento promises to delight its customers.

Gambrinus
Situated in the heart of Lisbon, Gambrinus is a reference point in Lisbon’s Cuisine. Over the past 78 years, national and international personalities, artists and politicians have met to enjoy these meeting places.
The Restaurant has maintained a comfortable environment, with high-quality products and service of excellence, since the remodeling done in 1964 by the architect Maurício de Vasconcelos.

Lisbon Music Fest - Essex Youth Jazz Orchestra

Lisbon Music Fest is an international festival featuring orchestras, choirs, jazz big bands and chamber music ensembles, bringing together young musicians from all over the world.

The Essex Youth Jazz Orchestra (EYJO), England, was formed in 1991 and since then has hosted numerous jazz students from different schools throughout the region.

The repertoire covers different composers and musical genres, from the big band standards to works by modern and contemporary composers.

Young musicians are selected through public auditions, participating in a project that includes a series of rehearsals, concerts, short courses, workshops, and tours.

The event will take place this Friday at 5 p.m. at the Museu Nacional dos Coches and the entrance is free.

Beaches not to miss this summer

Summer is at the door and so, today, we introduce you to 3 beaches not to miss this season.

Although Lisbon is not a typical summer destination our location makes it very easy to visit some of Portugal’s most beautiful beaches. Here are 3 that you should definitely visit this year:

Foz do Arelho
The Foz do Arelho beach, next to Óbidos Lagoon is a place where nature has given us, with its exceptional therapeutic qualities and an extensive beach, a place of choice for surfers, the peacefulness and the calm waters of the Lagoon are a charm for the children. In the area of the small quay, you can buy all the different species that the Lagoon has to offer, from cockles to clams, on this beach you will find great esplanades and restaurants, where you can delight yourself with fish dishes, fried eels, clams and the magnificent “caldeirada da Lagoa” .

Praia Grande (Big Beach)
As its name indicates, it is a wide beach, very popular amount surfers and body boarders. Praia Grande has the longest unbroken stretch of sand in the area, offering a good variety of bars and restaurants.
As a curiosity, be sure to observe the remains of the dinosaurs’ presence that are engraved in the south of the beach.

Lagoa de Albufeira 
Located in Sesimbra, in the lagoon, it is a unique combination of fresh water from the streams of Apostiça, Ferraria and Aiana, and of salt water from the sea, and when it reaches the 15 meters of maximum depth, the Lagoa de Albufeira is considered the deepest of Portugal.
Surrounded by pine forest almost all around its perimeter, it has small sandy areas by the sea and on the north shore. The calm waters and the wind create perfect conditions for the practice of windsurfing, kitesurf and sailing.

What to do around the Hotel - 10 tips by the Concierge (part 2)

Here is the 2nd part of our Concierge's recommendations of what to know around the hotel, enjoy.

6.  Baixa - Downtown Lisbon

Europe's first urban planning - downtown Lisbon's broad square and pedestrian streets.
Baixa, or downtown Lisbon, is the heart of the city. The main shopping and banking area district that stretches from the riverfront to the main avenue (Avenue Liberdade), with streets named according to the shopkeepers and craftsmen who traded in the area. It was completely rebuilt after the Great Earthquake of 1755 with streets flanked by uniform, neoclassical buildings.

7.  Lisbon's Cathedral

Lisbon's oldest building. Lisbon's ancient cathedral was built by Portugal's first king on a side of an old mosque in 1150 for the city's first Bishop, the English crusader Gilbert of Hastings.

From outside (with 2 bell towers and a splendid rose window) it resembles a medieval fortress, while inside it appears predominantly Romanesque, with a Gothic choir and ambulatory.

8. Castle of St. George

Overlooking the city from millennium-old walls
Saint George's Castle can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. Its oldest parts date from the 6th century, when it was fortified by the Romans, Visigoths, and eventually the Moors. It served as a Moorish royal resident until Portugal's first king Afonso Henriques captured it in 1147 with help of Northern European crusaders on their way to the Holy Land. It was then dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of England, commemorating the Anglo-Portuguese pact dating from 1371, and became the royal palace until another one (that was destroyed in the Great Earthquake) was built in today's Comércio Square.

9.  Miradouro Nossa Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of the Hill Viewpoint)

This is the highest point in the city, and its serene atmosphere attracts young couples. A small image of the Virgin standing in front of a chapel dedicated to the Saint Gens overlooks the city.

10.  Comércio Square

Lisbon's monumental riverside square.

The vast waterfront square also is known as Terreiro do Paço or the "palace's square", is where the Royal palace stood for over 2 centuries until 1755, when it was destroyed by the Great Earthquake. The royal family moved to another residence in the district of Belem, and the new arcaded buildings acted as the port of entry to the city.

Marchas Populares 2017

Monday is the big day! The day that the Avenida da Liberdade will host another St. Anthony’s parade.

The Marchas Populares are a long-standing tradition of the city of Lisboa and a source of the purest neighborly cultural pride.

Each year on the evening of June 12th, the different city neighborhoods descend one of Lisbon’s most iconic avenues, Avenida da Liberdade, in a parade showcasing the dedicated efforts of the different city communities and districts.

There are 20 marches competing against each other with songs, lyrics, costumes, choreographies and overall impression judged by a special jury. The first parades took place on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June at Meo Arena, but it is in the Avenida da Liberdade that the competition is taken to another level.

This night is also the scene to an enormous party, street festival and dance, unmistakable for the smell of grilled sardines and manjericos (basils) permeating the entire city. A party that is uniquely lisboeta and that each year draws thousands of people onto the streets of the city and that only winds down early in the following morning.

Come and join us in this unique celebration that will join roughly 2000 participants.

What to do around the Hotel - 10 tips by the Concierge (part 1)

In Lisbon, there's always something to visit and to discover and a wide range of possibilities and experiences. 

Walking through this thousand years old city, rich in monuments and typical neighborhoods where the city finds its roots and remain close to its most genuine traditions is perhaps the best way to feel its life pulsating.

To help you discover the city around the hotel here are some of our Concierge recommendations.                                              
1. Miradouro São Pedro de Alcântara

A garden with a panoramic view over Lisbon Miradouro São Pedro de Alcântar is a garden with

panoramic views across the city to St. George Castle and central Lisbon. A map made of tiles marks all the distinctive buildings, and the lower geometric garden contains busts of heroes and gods from Greco-Roman mythology, such as Minerva and Ulysses.   

 2.   São Roque Church & Museum of Sacred Art Home of the world's most expensive chapel.

 The church with the plainest façade in Lisbon as one of the city's richest interiors. Each of the chapels is a masterpiece of Baroque art but the showpiece is the fourth one left, the world's most expensive chapel. Adjoining the church is a Museum of Sacred Art, containing 16th Century Portuguese paintings (including one of Catherine of Austria, and another of the wedding ceremony of King Manuel I), a display of vestments, and an impressive collection of baroque silver.

3.   Bairro Alto & Chiado

Lisbon's Cultural and bohemian heart; nightlife and shopping mecca.

Bairro Alto is a picturesque working class quarter dating from the 16th century that has traditionally been the city's bohemian haunt of artist and writers.

Neighboring Chiado is an elegant, sophisticated district of theaters, bookshops, old-style cafes, art
nouveau jewelry and luxurious international names such as Hermes and Cartier

4.   Carmo Convent and Church Romantic Gothic ruins. 

The ruins of this gothic church are evocative reminders of the devastation left by the 1755 earthquake. At the time of the earthquake is was the largest church in Lisbon, but today the roofless nave open to the sky is all that remains of the arches and rubble that caved in on the congregation as they were attending mass. In what used to be the main altar is now a small archaeological museum with an eclectic collection of tombs (the largest on in of King Ferdinand I), statuary, ceramics, and mosaics.

5.   Santa Justa Elevator

An Eiffel Tower-like landmark overlooking the city. On of the city's best-loved landmarks and also know as the "Elevator of Carmo" this extraordinary structure was built at the turn of the century by the Portugal-born French architect Raoul de Mesnier du Ponsard (an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel, explaining the structure's similarities to Paris' Eiffel Tower), to connect downtown to Bairro Alto (lowest and highest points of the city).

Top 5 – 2017’s most visited Museums

The Directorate General for Cultural Heritage just released the information regarding the most visited museums during the 1st trimester of 2017.

According to several publications, Lisbon is one of the cities to visit in 2017, and among the features mentioned by all of them are Lisbon’s cultural and historical richness.

The Directorate General for Cultural Heritage, the organism in charge of museums and monuments, released the number of visitors all through the 1st trimester. As expected, the Museu Nacional dos Coches, just reopened, was the most visited museum of the 1st trimester, with an increase of 1,4%,  followed by Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, but the big surprises come from the Museu Nacional de
Arqueologia and the Museu Nacional dos Azulejos both presenting good results, with increases around 20%, as seen below on the top 5.

1. Museu Nacional dos Coches - 70.227 visitors
2. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga - 47.089 visitors
3. Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea Chiado - 46.973 visitors
4. Museu Nacional de Arqueologia - 38.301 visitors
5. Museu Nacional do Azulejo - 33.568 visitors

Reopening of the National Coach Museum

The National Coach Museum reopens this Saturday with a new museum project.

On May 20th, the National Coach Museum, one of the most visited museums in the country, opens at 10 am and will remain open until midnight. Displaying a unique collection of the world of gala coaches and carriages from the 17th to the 19th century, mostly from the crown estate or private property of the Portuguese Royal House.

Among the pieces is the "Coche dos Oceanos", one of the coaches of the embassy sent to Pope Clement XI in 1716 by Portuguese King João V.

The reopening on this exact date is not a coincidence. On May 20th  it is celebrated the European Night of Museums, created by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, which will fill the Portuguese museums with special activities throughout the night.