There is a woman leaning out of a window full of hanging clothes. She sees the trams go by and she gets nostalgic, because he won’t come back. And she looks for him in the streets, and she chases sunsets, between the rhythms of fados and funaná. She reaches the end of the slopes full of questions but the answer is always the sea. That lady’s name is Lisbon. Or rather: Barrio Alto.
The great triumph of the capital of Portugal is a labyrinth where saudade, or nostalgia, sighs; between streets with a bohemian atmosphere and the old seafaring memories that still float between its elevators and squares. The history of Lisbon here evokes traditional music concerts, markets and restaurants where you can taste the best bacalhau. And sometimes, the best opportunity to miss.
There is something in the Barrio Alto that merges us with different eras to make us lose track of space and time. A different energy, the sum of so many historical episodes. Located on a hillside overlooking the Tagus, shortly before making love to the Atlantic Ocean, the Barrio Alto (or Vila Nova dos Andrades), was built in the 16th century by order of King Manuel I to welcome the seafaring community outside of the city walls during the time of the Discoveries.
Its streets not only encouraged the construction of ships and epic landings, but also the movement, stories and that melancholy that only fado understands and is lost on the horizon. The streets are narrow and eroded, hanging clothes fall in the form of waterfalls and the sun seems to reflect here more than in any other corner of the city.
The name of the neighborhood refers to its location with respect to the Alfama neighborhood and the Baixa Pombalina of Lisbon, a place from which the Barrio Alto could be accessed through elevators such as the Santa Justa, one of the most famous. And the elevators and trams make up one of the most irresistible sights in the area. All you have to do is admire the Bica elevator that reaches the Barrio Alto from Cais do Sodré through the rails; or play catch-up with tram 28, the most iconic of all and which runs a route between Moniz and Prazeres.
You get off of history, and get lost among the alleys until you reach the Príncipe Real antique market, the most famous meeting point for artisans in Lisbon and which takes place on the last Saturday and Monday of each month in the Príncipe Real garden. An unmissable event for lovers of antiques in a bucolic and peaceful environment.
Although if the Barrio Alto were a person, the squares would be its lungs: from the Luís de Camoes square, built around the Portuguese poet, to the Flores square, next to the botanical garden; without forgetting the Plaza de San Pablo, built after the earthquake that devastated the city in 1755 next to the church of San Pablo. The Barrio Alto cannot be understood without these havens of peace where you can watch life go by before you look out.
If the squares are the lungs, the viewpoints are their eyes. The altitude favors these urban balconies where you can enjoy the best panoramic views. At the San Pedro de Alcántara viewpoint you can discover the views of the Alfama neighborhood and the iconic San Jorge neighborhood. And at the Santa Catalina viewpoint, people drink beer while the sunset surrounds everything and the planes reach the international airport.
Night comes, and only then does the Barrio Alto abandon its peaceful routine to give itself over to the party, the bustle and the best atmosphere. Starting in the 1980s, Portuguese people began the most hedonistic pilgrimage until this area became a symbol of leisure, partying and a certain nostalgia. Here the fado bars coexist with fashionable nightclubs and bars, as well as a large selection of restaurants where traditional and modern cuisine merge in a single bite.
Gastronomy, that other common thread of the Barrio Alto: from the typical bars where you can taste the different types of bacalhau, such as bacalhau à brás, served with onion, or bacalhau à margarida da praça, with boiled potatoes; passing through that after-dinner drink called beirão, made from different herbs. Or even regional dishes from other places in Portugal such as broth green, made with Galician cabbage and collard greens from the north of the country; the Alentejo pork, or the francesinha, that filling sandwich that is served in Porto. All this without forgetting, of course, the pastel de Belém, the delicious cream tartlet originally from the Belém neighborhood.
The Bairro Alto is just the beginning of a journey through the senses through the city of Lisbon. There are viewpoints waiting in Alfama, literary cafes where the poet Fernando Pessoa spent his days reading and a Belém tower that points to the past. And if you get lost, nostalgia will guide you, the saudade that boats bring. The trams that seem to play with the eras and return you to some place lost in memory.
