Good morning, Portugal! [in Portuguese]
[music]
Filmed before the pandemic
Lisbon is one of the most beautiful and friendly cities in the world.
Best of all, things here are normally cheaper
compared to most capitals in Western Europe
and a lot of the most famous attractions are within walking distance.
As an example, right there is the Eduardo VII's park.
This is a statue here in honor of Marquês de Pombal (Marquis of Pombal)
He was a very important figure in the history of Lisbon.
I'm going to talk more about him later,
but we're gonna see how much I'm gonna walk today.
There are lots of videos online showing what to do and see here,
and with this series, my goal is to also make you understand Lisbon.
The different areas, how to get around.
If you have a good understanding of the city, what's close to what,
you'll easily be able to plan your trip here.
Let me introduce myself if you're new here in this channel.
I’m Renata, I'm a journalist, and this is what I do.
I share as much information as I can about the places I visit,
so that it becomes very easy for you to plan a trip to the same destination.
And I travel with my husband, Gordon.
Say hello!
He also helps me shoot these videos with this camera here.
He doesn't say a lot on camera. He's very shy.
[laughs]
But he's a fun character. Sometimes, right?
-Marquis de Pombal.
-Yeah. [laughs]
Look at him practicing his Portuguese.
How is your Portuguese today?
-Very bad -Very bad!
[laughs]
First thing you need to know: Lisbon is a city full of hills.
There are lots of ups and downs here,
so your best option is to get a transport until the upper parts,
and then you just walk downhill.
I'll start this series showing you Bairro Alto and Chiado.
But before getting there,
let me talk about this part where I am right now.
This is Avenida da Liberdade.
It's my favorite place to stay because it's almost flat.
Almost. There's a slight slope here.
And then, you have hills on both sides slightly ahead.
There are lots of hotels here,
expensive and inexpensive in the area in general.
Lots of shops, also very expensive and some inexpensive.
And the metro is right here, really easy for transportation,
especially when you land at the airport.
You can get the metro with €1.50.
One connection and you're here.
Look at them.
Easy to get the subway and go to the airport.
There's another flat area in the city,
very, very beautiful.
It's called Baixa, with lots of things to do and see,
but it is very touristy,
and it is harder to find hotels at good prices there.
If money is not an issue, then go for it.
From here it's an easy walk until Baixa.
You just keep going that way.
You can also get the metro - two or three stops ahead,
depending on where you are.
And just out of curiosity, 'Bairro Alto' means upper town,
while 'Baixa' means lower town.
Perfect descriptive names.
Look at Gordon here just waiting for me.
What a good life you have, huh?
Oh, come on.
-Huh? -[laughs]
What a good life you have. [laughs]
Just enjoying Lisbon...
-I work very fast [in Portuguese]
-Ah! [laughs]
Renata not so much.
-[laughs] That's kind of true.
Second thing you need to know about Lisbon:
there are two main tourist areas here in the city.
There is this city center and surroundings,
where you find Bairro Alto, Baixa, Chiado, Alfama,
all these famous neighborhoods, they're all within walking distance,
and there's also Belém, a little further down the coast,
and I'll save that for a future video.
Now, let's make our way to the upper town and Chiado,
and there are various ways you can get up there.
You can walk, you can get a tram,
get an elevator, the metro.
The best way depends on where you are,
but also some are way cheaper and faster than others.
Which one do you think is the fastest?
The elevator? That's the worst.
I'll explain why later on in this video, so keep watching.
Let me show you my favorite way to get there.
Here you can choose in English.
See? You can put that in English, the screen.
And it's very easy to buy the ticket.
The cheapest way for you to walk around is to choose a rechargeable card.
You have to buy it, €0.50.
But it is worth it because...
then you add credits, it's called zapping.
And the prices are cheaper as compared to single rides.
[music]
The best way to get around here in Lisbon is to buy this card.
It's called Viva viagem.
It costs €0.50, and then you can reload with credits.
Or you can pay €6.40 and get unlimited rides
in the metro, buses, trams, elevators... for 24 hours here.
If you add credits, instead of paying for unlimited rides,
bear in mind that trams and elevators are more expensive
than the metro and buses.
Just from here to here
[music]
By far the best way to go uphill.
Welcome to Chiado.
Here you arrive already at Largo do Chiado.
There's a very famous coffee shop there
called A Brasileira, the Brazilian.
I swear to you, it is important historically here,
not only because I'm Brazilian.
[music]
This coffee shop was opened in 1905
because they wanted exactly to import coffee from Brazil
which was rare at the time.
And then, over time, it became a meeting point
for intellectuals, artists in general.
There's even a statue here of Fernando Pessoa,
one of the most famous writers in Portugal.
Rumor has it that this was not even his favorite coffee shop,
but it got famous anyways.
Do you want to have a coffee with Fernando Pessoa?
There's even a book here.
Not sure if it belongs here or someone left it.
-One more [in Portuguese] -Thank you [in Portuguese]
That's a little tiny for your American taste.
Are you sure that's enough coffee for you?
[laughs]
I think you need at least 10 times this amount.
[laughs]
-It's strong.
-Is it strong? -Yeah.
First pastel de nata here in Lisbon.
And we're gonna try various others on this trip.
Mmm, it is very, very good.
If you've never had this Portuguese custard tart,
you got to try, it is so good.
Mmm.
It's so crunchy.
So good.
[music]
Chiado is also a very famous shopping destination.
You'll find a lot of nice shops here.
And also here in this area is where you find the famous Tram 28.
This Tram is almost an attraction on its own here
because you can get to see
some of the most famous attractions in Lisbon.
Here is a stop.
All these people here are probably exactly waiting for it.
But do you want to know the truth? Avoid it.
Because it's more pain and suffering than anything, honestly.
It is so touristy today,
so full of tourists all the time,
you can rarely find a place to sit down.
And also tram is not like the metro,
it stops with traffic.
So, if there are people crossing in front of it, it stops.
If there are cars poorly parked, it cannot move.
So, sometimes it is faster for you to walk as compared to getting this tram.
Plus, it's not very safe anymore because as there are too many people,
a lot of pickpocketing going on there.
A lot of Portuguese people always tell me to be aware
in public transportation here.
[music]
Two minutes of walking and here we are at Largo do Carmo.
Look at what a beautiful place. And it gets better.
[music]
Right here in the center, there is this fountain
that at some point was the main source of water
for the entire district.
Today, not as much of a fountain here.
Largo do Carmo is very well known for two main reasons
that in one way or another,
totally changed the history of Portugal.
You may not know this, but Portugal was a dictatorship,
a fascist dictatorship that lasted for 48 years,
one of the longest in the world if not the longest.
And it all came to an end right here in that building.
That is the National Guard Museum.
And this is where the dictator at the time surrendered himself.
This was the Carnation Revolution.
Why carnation? Because this is a revolution of flowers and not bullets.
Long story short, the soldiers had carnations in their weapons,
and in their uniforms.
And another thing that makes this location here very unique
is this church,
actually the ruins of Carmo Church.
Fo you see? There's no ceiling over there.
This is the living representation of a devastating earthquake
that happened here in Lisbon in 1755.
It destroyed the city.
And they left the church Iike this exactly
as a reminder of that.
I'm going to talk more about how this earthquake changed Portugal
in the next video.
But here, you can already have a glimpse.
Hi, good afternoon. Two, please
-8 euros
[music]
-It is very, very impressive to walk here
and see no ceiling. Wow!
This church was built in 1389,
and for centuries, it was considered a really beautiful example
of Gothic architecture.
Until 1755. There was the earthquake, the roof fell down,
and a lot of people died here.
Today this is an archaeology museum.
[music]
-The body escaped from this one.
-Yeah. There's an opening there, that's true.
-Renata, I'll stick my hand. -No, don't, don't, don't.
No, don't!
[music]
There are various pieces here from right before the earthquake.
Like here on the walls,
this is from 1663.
And over here, this sculpture,
this is really from right before the earthquake.
What year does it say there?
That is 1743,
12 years before.
In that part behind the altar where the altar was,
there's a museum today with some very interesting pieces there,
lots of tombs.
You're just gonna film there, only photograph with no flash.
Right next to the church, a very well-known landmark here in Lisbon.
From here, you can already see it, at least the top, the viewpoint.
It's right there, the elevator.
Elevador de Santa Justa.
This is how most tourists get up here to the upper part of the city.
And remember I said in the beginning
that in my opinion is the worst way you can choose?
Let me show you why.
[music]
A lot of people choose the elevator because of the view.
But let me tell you what,
there's no view inside the elevator.
All the view is here.
And when you come from this upper part,
you get all this for free.
Also there's a viewpoint up there, you pay €1.50.
And if you're coming via elevator,
you also gotta pay €1.50 to have that view.
So, you end up paying €5.30
which is the cost of a round trip in this elevator for a 20-second ride,
and you wait for more than an hour in line.
Seriously, a lot of tourists here.
[music]
Amazing view from up here. You see it all.
Look at the castle up there.
The church is right here, Carmo Church.
And over there, you even see the river, Tagus river.
Really worth your €1.50.
Here you can perfectly understand Lisbon.
This is Baixa, the flat area right here in between the two hills.
This hill over here is Alfama,
and over here...
this is Chiado and Bairro Alto.
Do you want to see where I started the story?
That's the park right there, Edward VII,
all the way in the end.
And do you see all those trees over there?
That's Avenida da Liberdade
where I was walking in the beginning talking about Lisbon.
You can perfectly walk all the way here.
Do you see? It's an easy walk, beautiful walk.
I just got the metro because I didn't want to walk uphill.
[music]
Let's have lunch here at Fernandinho,
a homage to my sister, who's called Fernanda.
We're here at a 'tasca', which is a style of restaurant in Portugal
where the locals go,
and we're gonna try the national dish.
Obrigada [thank you in Portuguese] -Não há de quê [You're welcome in Portuguese]
Bacalhau à Lagareiro.
Codfish is very, very famous in Portugal.
You've got to try when you come here.
And if I say cod fish, you think of fish and chips?
Forget it, totally different.
The way they prepare here is totally different
and the way you eat as well.
This one specifically comes with potatoes and vegetables
and a lot of olive oil.
It is really good.
They don't even have cod here along the coast of Portugal.
It is imported and it comes in a lot of salt.
So there's a whole process to prepare the food,
and this is one of the ways to prepare it.
Now if you have Portuguese heritage like I do,
it is a meal that is very common in all family reunions,
like Easter, Christmas, or main religious festivities.
Look at how big this is.
Mmm.
Oh, my God. This is delicious.
It's so good.
The fish is swimming in olive oil.
Look at this.
And it tastes simply amazing.
This is outstanding.
So, so good.
This is interesting.
-Uh-hmm.
-[laughs] Happy face, huh?
It's hilarious. You got to go outside.
There's no signal inside to pay with credit card.
That was amazing.
Lunch for two people with drinks,
and we paid just a little bit more than €20.
That was the total check.
You eat very well in Lisbon.
[music]
Here in Chiado, you also find one of the most beautiful churches in Lisbon.
São Roque Church.
This one right here.
When you look at it outside, you can't make much of it,
but wait until you get in.
[music]
This is all good.
[music]
Oh, my God, look at this.
Have you ever seen so much gold in a church?
It's everywhere you look. It's so beautiful.
Look at the tiles and the walls! So beautiful.
This is a beautiful church mixing tiles and gold.
Now you see where all the gold is that came out of Brazil?
The church made Brazil 'pobre' [poor in Portuguese].
-[laughs] That is true.
If you're new in this channel, I'm from Brazil, that's why I say this.
When we were a colony of Portugal, gold was sent here, basically,
until the 18th century.
-She knows everything. -No, I don't, I don't.
-Everything. -No, I don't.
I do a lot of research, and I learn.
Rent a car in Lisbon is not a good idea.
Look at the traffic.
Plus, these narrow streets, hmm, not a good idea.
This is another way you can come up here to Chiado and Bairro Alto.
This is the Glória Funicular.
It's gonna take you one to two minutes to get up here.
It's very fast.
But it's gonna cost you almost €4.
Now, it is worth it if you have the unlimited transport card for 24 hours.
You can also use it here.
A lot of people choose this way to come up or downhill,
and that's because of the murals.
A lot of artwork on both sides,
some of them made by the top Portuguese artists.
Even the funicular reminds you of a mural, full of grafitti.
The funicular is very close to another viewpoint here in Lisbon:
São Pedro de Alcântara.
[music]
Very close to the viewpoint,
and São Roque Church is Bairro Alto, the upper town.
This is residential neighborhood,
but also where you find the most famous nightlife in Lisbon.
But to enjoy this, you got to come here late,
Much, much later, around 11 p.m.
[music]
-This establishment is one of the most famous in Lisbon
because it was here where Amália Rodrigues started singing
-Ready for a late night
in Bairro Alto? -Yeah.
You're gonna buy me drinks all night long.
-[laughs] No.
-Yes. -Don't count on that.
-Yes.
-Guess what's the famous drink here?
Something you know from Brazil.
-Caipiwhiskey.
-Caipirinha! [laughs]
[music]
What a fun place, isn't it?
Great energy, a lot of people, so fun!
And not expensive.
I thought a place like this would be touristy
with everything expensive, but no! What a fun night out.
Now, the best thing is to know that the trip to Lisbon is just the beginning.
-Hello, hello, hello.
Anybody there? -Yes.
[laughs]
[trying to speak Portuguese]
-I want a triple pleasure.
-[laughs] No way!
-I want a triple pleasure right there.
-[laughs]
It's just €3.
-Farta Brutos.
[laughs]
-Understand? [in Portuguese] -What are you trying to say?
-Your farts are brutal
[laughs]
-Farta Brutos.
[laughs]
Don't be creative with your English.
In Portuguese, it doesn't mean that.
-No? -No. Sorry to disappoint.