Lisbon

The video below comes courtesy of Audi TV. It is a promotional video for the Audi Q5, but it shows the wonderful city of Lisbon more than it promotes the car!

This is a good visual guide to Lisbon, showing some of the city’s main sights – certainly not all of them, but enough to give you an idea of what there is to see and do in Portugal’s capital.

The video starts with a view from the River Tagus of the majestic 25 de Abril bridge, which is often compared to San Francisco’s Golden Gate, and also the Cristo Rei statute which is basically a copy of Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer. The action then moves to a “Cacilheiro”, which is the name given to the Lisbon ferries that cross the river between the city on the north bank and the Setúbal peninsula to the south, giving marvellous views of Lisbon as they cross.

We follow the main actor as he disembarks in Lisbon, and catch a quick glimpse of the CarrisTur Red Tram, for which tourists can buy tickets for a great ride through the city.

We then visit the Cervejaria da Trindade, a 19th century ale house and restaurant which was originally a convent, founded in 1294. This establishment is famous for the internal decor with beautiful azulejos, or typical Portuguese tiles, depicting the seasons and the elements.

The next sight we see is the Elevador do Lavra or Ascensor do Lavra, inaugurated in 1884 and Lisbon’s oldest funicular. It was constructed by the Portuguese engineer Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard who was also responsible for Lisbon’s other urban lifts, those of Glória, Bica and Santa Justa, this last one also in the video and described below. The Ascensor do Lavra was originally steam or hydro powered and currently has a capacity for 22 seated passengers and 20 standing.

The video continues, passing by the expansive Praça do Comercio square in central Lisbon, and on to the Tavares Rico restaurant, the oldest in Lisbon since it was founded in 1784 by two brothers. The interior decor is gilded and luxurious and well worth seeing.

The protagonist of the video next visits Alfama, the historic Old Town, walking through the narrow, cobbled streets and past typical cafés and Fado houses, finally stopping at the Fado restaurant Parreirinha de Alfama to hear some typical Fado music. This establishment is located near the Museu do Fado, and just 5 minutes walk from our twin apartments at Calçada do Forte. The Alfama district is Lisbon’s oldest, and also where our Alfama Duplex apartment is located.

The actor then moves on to the Elevador de Santa Justa mentioned previously. This is Lisbon’s only vertical urban lift, inaugurated in 1902 and, like the Ascensor do Lavra, originally steam-powered. Magnificent views of all the city’s important sights are to be enjoyed at the top, including Lisbon’s Castle, the Castelo de São Jorge.  This iron construction is within walking distance from, and can be seen from, our Mouraria Duplex apartment.

Next, we see the Bairro Alto district, a lively and vibrant area of pubs, bars, restaurants and Fado houses, and Lisbon’s emblematic nightlife area. The action stops just outside the Café Luso, arguably the city’s best known Fado restaurant where Portugal’s most famous fadista or Fado singer, Amália Rodrígues, sang.

Finally, our hero enjoys a brief stop at one of the city’s miradouros, or viewpoints, taking in the breathtaking views of the rooftops and river before driving back towards the Tagus past the Sé, Lisbon’s Cathedral, through Baixa, the downtown shopping area, and back to the Cacilheiros.

So, with no further ado, here’s the Audi video, well worth watching!

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