TODAY’S TOURING
After 3 weeks of traveling, we are starting to slow down. It was another late start on a beautiful day. Today we followed two (2) of Rick Steves Libson walks:
- Alfama walk
- Elevador Baixi – free elevator that saved us climbing several stories.
- Elevador Castelo – free elevator that saved us climbing several more stories.
- Enjoyed the view from the Elevador Castelo viewpoint.
- Walked around the narrow streets of Castle Town around the castle.
- Visited the Church Santa Cruz do Castelo.
- Wondered down hill to the Baixi district
- For lunch we had a Pizza stop at Pizzeria Romana Bio. It included the mandatory espresso :).
- Baixi district
- Visited the Santa Maria Maior Church (Lisbon Cathedral, .
- Visited the Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square)
- Ended our walk near the hotel at Pasteis de Nata and brought some nata custard tarts back to the hotel for a snack.
Dinner was at Taberna da Baixa. We’ll miss the good food and wine at such low prices.
REFERENCES
through the easy-to-miss door at #178 (… you’ll see faint, white lettering spelling out elevador castelo on the red rooftop — illuminated at night). Ride the elevator to the top floor and exit, angling left across the street and through the little square. Then head up Largo Chão do Loureiro, where you’ll see the second elevator (elevador castelo; handy supermarket with WC at bottom, view café and fine panoramic terrace at top). When exiting the second elevator, simply follow brown Castelo de S. Jorge signs up to the castle.
stories of the discovery of the Holy Cross (by Roman Emperor Constantine’s
mother, Saint Helena, on the left) and the life of St. Augustine (on the right;
the church is of the Augustinian order).
Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square) (Lonely Planet)
With its grand 18th-century arcades, lemon-meringue facades and mosaic cobbles, the riverfront Praça do Comércio is a square to out-pomp them all. Everyone arriving by boat used to disembark here, and it still feels like the gateway to Lisbon, thronging with activity and rattling trams.
At its centre rises the dashing equestrian statue of Dom José I, hinting at the square’s royal roots as the pre-earthquake site of Palácio da Ribeira. In 1908, the square witnessed the fall of the monarchy, when anarchists assassinated Dom Carlos I and his son. The biggest crowd-puller is Verissimo da Costa’s triumphal Arco da Rua Augusta, crowned with bigwigs such as 15th-century explorer Vasco da Gama; come at dusk to see the arch glow gold.
