In brief: The bounty was unexpected. This fall we found a wide range of new things to do in Lisbon after all the time we’ve been here.
A Presidential Palace. A weekend of drama and music. A museum of illusions. A bohemian neighborhood. A literary club lunch with friends.
We suspect that the exploration list might just keep growing…
Up the Rebels
On the 5th of October, 115 years ago, rebels in Lisbon declared the end of 800 years of royal rule and launched the Portuguese Republic. So, this was the perfect day to revisit that historic change by touring the Presidential Palace in Belém, six kilometers west of Lisbon. Here, from the early 18th century, the country’s kings and queens ruled their people. Here, after the 1755 earthquake, Joseph I hid out while his minister Pombal rebuilt the city some six kilometers to the east. And here, since the fall of the monarchy, Portuguese heads of state welcomed leaders from around the world, wrangled over power and politics, made and remade their government – while enwrapped in royal splendor.
It was about time…at 1am on the 5th of October 1910, using this watch now on display at the Palace Museum, 2nd Lieutenant José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior fired three cannon shots from a ship moored on the River Tejo. At that signal, the leaders of the rebellion moved to City Hall to declare the Republic was born. Ironically the current President is named Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The Presidential Palace as viewed from its boxwood gardens. Displayed on the façade of the building are large, tiled illustrations of the labors of Hercules. Is this an encouragement to modern politicians to work harder?
The patterned boxwood gardens of the Palace, looking out over the Tejo River, with the notable tribute to the Portuguese explorers visible to the far right beneath the umbrella tree.
A room we had seen many times on news broadcasts. This is the President’s official office, where he greets heads of the Portuguese political parties and world leaders. They are always sitting on that sofa. Sometime before the revolution, this had been a bedroom for Princess Amelia and, later, visiting dignitaries.
The so-called Golden Room, one of many formal spaces in regal style. The gilt, carved wood ceiling is remarkable.
Under a stunning ceiling, a visit starts at the formal reception room. Along the wall, a desk and patterned leather chair are flanked by two ancient lion-head fountains that still work.
Another sumptuous reception room dominated by a tapestry of King Alexander, who appears to extend mercy and graciousness to the family of the conquered Persian king Darius – a model for all rulers.
There are several gardens at the Palace, as well as land that has become a Botanical Garden for the public. Among the flowers we could see were these Bird of Paradise blooms.
The Waterfall Garden with a set of three graceful buildings constructed by Queen Dona Maria I in the late 18th century. In the central cascade, that Hercules fellow is depicted bashing the many-headed Hydra.
Arts and Leisure
Some weekends the stars align and we find ourselves very, very busy. This last weekend spanned 500 years of entertainment (as well as much of Lisbon), from a sweeping Hamlet outdoors at the Jardim Botânico, to Dario Fo’s satirical takedown of authoritarians at Teatro do Bairro in Chiado (followed by some pretty tasty Mexican food), to the boisterous arena concert of Post Malone’s European tour near Belém. So much fun!
Swearing on Hamlet’s sword
Star power at Hamlet: Broadway actor Andrew Chappelle as Polonius with the King and Queen
The cast of Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist
Posty at Estadio do Restelo
Gang of four at the Post Malone concert
A Wrinkle in Time
The delights of Lisbon’s Museum of Illusions gave us the illusion of being kids again. Playing with the exhibits – wild, puzzling, tricky, misleading – was such fun. Then we did the grown-up thing and lounged on a deck overlooking Lisbon’s rooftops near Senhora da Monte.
No, it’s not an illusion…she’s younger than ever, he observes.
The rest of these pictures, showing how much we enjoyed Lisbon’s Museum of Illusions, however visually wild or just a bit misleading.
Marvilious Marvila Meetup
If you’ve been in Lisbon a while, you’ve likely been enticed to visit the district of Marvila. This old industrial/warehousing zone to the east of the city has been transformed from a decaying one to bohemian chic. Old buildings have shifted into new uses. Artist galleries have occupied warehouses. Gracious facades front new housing under construction behind. Bars and restaurants fill the charming and once merely functional spaces. We’ve long wanted to take a look and finally had the best of opportunities in a social event. That way we not only encountered the shifting texture of this old district, but we befriended a dozen people from around the world. Marvilious.
Gathered for a glass of wine in the garden of the sprawling restaurant Braço de Ferro, our group melds over the creation of a story based on what we had experienced in our walk around Marvila. We all agreed in our reactions: transformation, the old and the new, the evolution of the past into the future.
This baroque building was built by a successful wine merchant, José Domingos Barreiros, as warehouse and commercial space. It faces the same plaza as the equally attractive facility built by another wine merchant, Abel Ferreira de Fonseca.
Still competing for attention, this other center of a successful wine production and distribution business boasts a gloriously eclectic façade. Inside is a re-purposed space called Marvila 8, now a combination of galleries, restaurants, and a warehouse-sized drinking and dancing spot.
A DJ spins the music in expansive space to the back of Marvila 8.
A dragon of many mechanical parts hovers above drinkers, sober and otherwise, in the warehouse-y bar at Marvila 8.
At the north end of Marvila, there’s a new housing complex designed by Renzo Piano.
An attractive line of chimneys adorn this older building along Rua de Açucar, Sugar Street, named for another commercial activity in Marvila – as were Rua de Tabaqueria and Material de Guerra. One other section was devoted to bread making.
New housing under construction behind an elegant old façade.
Booking it from Down Under
It’s not often we have friends visit from Australia, so our get-together with the Weston family was a special occasion – lunch at the venerable Grémio Literário club and then a stroll along the sunny banks of the Tejo.
Reception room and bar
Us with the Weston family on the verandah
Garden of Grémio Literário beneath the outdoor verandah
Outdoors, in back
Amusing fountain in the garden
(To enlarge any picture above, click on it. Also, for more pictures from Portugal as of 2025, CLICK HERE to view the slideshow at the end of the itinerary page. To see a slideshow of photos between 2017 and 2024, CLICK HERE)
