Alfama

"Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa"
...
"Cheira a castanha assada se está frio"
"Cheira a fruta madura quando é Verão"
...
"Lisboa tem cheiro de flores e de mar"

"It smells good, it smells of Lisbon"
...
"It smells of roast chestnuts when it's cold"
"It smells of ripe fruit in Summer"
...
"Lisboa smells of flowers and the sea"

These lines are taken from a "Fado" sung by Portugal's most famous "fadista", Amalia Rodrigues. Fado is traditional Portuguese music, often using melancholic or mournful tunes and lyrics about life at sea, or the everyday lives and loves of the working classes.

The music will usually refer to some form of "saudade", which can be loosely translated as nostalgia or a longing for someone or something. It can perhaps be thought of as a kind of Portuguese "blues".

Alfama, together with the Bairro Alto, are the "bairros" or neighbourhoods par excellence for listening to fado. Alfama is the oldest district of Lisbon, having survived the terrible 1755 earthquake, and its streets and inhabitants have been the subject of many Fado songs down the times. Today this famous "bairro" includes many excellent Fado restaurants, and some of the best are of the "Fado vadio" variety, where non-professional singers get up to put their hearts and souls on show for all to see.

Alfama stretches across one of the seven hills of Lisbon, which leads from the foot of St. Jorge's castle and sweeps down to the Tagus estuary. It consists of narrow, cobbled streets and alleys, steep steps from one area of the district to another, small patios and picturesque squares. It maintains its traditional churches, shops, markets, cafeterias, restaurants and buildings, all maintained by the local inhabitants, many of whose families have been living in this old part of the city for generations.

The best way to get to know Alfama is to get lost in its timeless labyrinth of intertwining alleyways, as inevitably you will. But this is no problem - it will allow you to fully enjoy and experience the sights, sounds and smells of the oldest part of the city, enabling you to discover small taverns, traditional shops and good restaurants.

If you keep walking you'll eventually emerge, having almost travelled back in time, and find yourself once again in the 21st Century and probably just 10 minutes away from your destination, realising how small and compact this area is and yet at the same time how much it has to offer tourists and inhabitants alike.

Don't forget to check out our Alfama map, on which you can find the location of our tourist apartments and the nearby Alfama sights and attractions, all within walking distance. And read about the special Alfama Walking Tours available to all our guests!