The city of light seduced me especially in the dark, when the evening sun languished between the enigmatic horizon of the Cais de Colunas or slowly melted through the peeling walls of Alfama. From any of its viewpoints -that of San Pedro de Alcántara, In the Bairro Alto, It is one of my favorites-, Lisbon He joins the gloom with the composure of a self -absorbed city in its sides but, while, very aware of its greatness. It was then, at nightfall, that Lisbon was reborn as the city of the shadows and there it seemed much more seductive, At times Canalla in the surroundings of Rossio, Always bustling in the cup premises behind the Luis de Camoes square, so surprising that he wanted to sleep by day.
Lisbon lets himself be loved in daylight with the calculated roller of a great lady accustomed to the flattery, But it's dusk when, locked prejudices and heavy memories in their history, The city denies its sorry spirit and seduces the visitor with its magic to the sound of the characteristic trachetening of the tram through the labyrinthine streets of the Alto neighborhood.
At dusk, locked prejudices and heavy memories in their history, The city denies its stunned spirit
Imposible Pasear for low, where beats the heart of old Lisbon, and not stop at the lighting of the Rossio train station (From which we can get to Sintra and his palace is sorrow 40 minutes), The monumental facade from which the child Don Sebastián, Carlos V's grandson, The tear of the empire of intrepid navigators cries, When Portugal had the boldness to look out the world with the determination of dreamy souls. The descent by the pedestrian Augusta street in the direction of the Tajo estuary, With the arch of triumph in the background, It is simply spectacular. And there in the end, Where Lisbon ends, melting with the river, the Commerce Square oozes symbolisms with their columns bathed by the waters, A perennial monument to melancholy that accompanies the sunsets.
Other treasures of Low They go unnoticed, as Doll hospital (doll hospital) of the central Figueira Square, Next to the busiest of Restorers, Surely one of the most original shops in the world, where dolls of all kinds and condition are repaired. The entrance only costs two euros, But they are amortized by leftovers listening to Manuela Cutileiro's stories between the grocery of child.
It is impossible not to stop at the lighting of the Rossio train station
Chasing shadows we return on our steps in the direction of the almost crowded elevator of Santa Justa, work of an Eiffel disciple. It is the most tourist option to overcome the Chiado, Traditional refuge of writers now nourished by candles and rumors of polyglot conversations, in the direction of Bairro Alto, but not the only. If we don't want to go up on foot, We can take an elevator and some mechanical stairs, In the Chiado Shopping Center, that will allow us to save the unevenness without efforts.
The first commandment of Bairro Alto It is to wander, To be able to be aimless. And surprise in any of its viewpoints, as the already pointed out of San Pedro de Alcántara, Next to the Jesuit Church of San Roque, Seeing the day in the walls of the Castle of San Jorge, Lisbon night torch. Turning your back to the Plaza del Universal Camoes, tracing the Rua do Loreto between tram agonies, We focus our steps to another viewpoint, that of Santa Catarina, This much less busy and in which they abound, Instead of the busts of pro -hombres of the previous, The young idle bored of so much crisis.
The first command of Bairro Alto is to his rage, To be able to be aimless, and surprise in any of its viewpoints seeing the day die
And then, the cocktail bars, and the offers in five languages ??of the "best fado of the city" shown by the cazaturists to commission, and a restaurant, as simple as memorable ("Glorious" according to the New York Times review), THE HOUSE OF GOOD EAT, Memory of an unforgettable rodaballo.
Alfama It is its castle in San Jorge and its trams by tracing endless slopes on the side of the SE, The Lisbon cathedral. But Alfama is, especially, The essence of old Lisbon, The steep streets, The succession of stairs and railings, narrow streets and casts in the air, The ashrisable facades that seem to cry and the grass killings on the sidewalks. Alfama smells like a town of childhood and roasted sardines, A old neighborhood of fishermen where the neighbors take balcony to balcony, in which the footsteps of children who have not forgotten play in the street are still heard. Alfama does not need to show himself European or show any modernity, because its roots are anchored in the Middle Ages.
Alfama smells like a town of childhood and roasted sardines, A old neighborhood of fishermen where the neighbors take balcony to balcony
A tram, the 15, brings us closer to Bethlehem, West Lisbon, And to his imposing Jerónimos Monastery, where you have to go even if only to pay tribute to the memory of the great Range Basque, that rests between its walls, And to that of so many Portuguese sailors who prayed here their last prayers before they were searched for impossible routes and dark corners on the maps. Opposite the monastery, On the banks of the Tagus, Portugal keeps alive the feats of her children who made her great with a modern monument erected on the occasion of the 500 anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. At his feet, a gigantic wind of the winds that, From the viewpoint that culminates the succession of discoverers, It is a permanent invitation from searching of unknown horizons.
To the monastery of the Jeronimos you have to go even if it is only to pay tribute to the memory of the Great Basque of Gama
Very close to there, in the Torre de Belém, Ancient Military Fortress of the 16th century, We must lose a few minutes looking for a rhino car carved in its northern wall, that records the animal that the Sultan of Cambaia gave King Don Manuel I. The expectation was such that they tried to measure their forces with those of an elephant on the river, But the fight was not celebrated because the pachidermo flee. After, The sovereign wanted to entertain Pope Leo X sending him the rhinoceros, Although the gift did not reach its destination, Well, the animal died during the journey. Another special corner where to see the shadows fall on the city of light.
