Lisboa Baixa

Although Baixa claims few historical sights, the lively pedestrian traffic and dramatic history surrounding the neighborhood’s three main praças make it a monument on its own. Beware Baixa’s softly cooing pigeons, well-trained by countless statues of distinguished leaders on which they’ve made their mark.

Around Rossio. Begin your tour of 18th-century history Lisboa at its heart: Rossio, or Praça Dom Pedro IV as it is more formally known. The city’s main square was once a cattle market, public execution stage, bullring, and carnival ground. Today, it is the fast-paced domain of tourists and ruthless local drivers circling Pedro’s enormous statue, and shadier characters by night. Another statue, this one of Gil Vicente, Portugal’s first great dramatist , peers from atop the Teatro Nacional de Dona Maria II (easily recognized by its large, Parthenon-esque columns) at one end of the praça.

Around Praça Dos Restauradores. In Praça dos Restauradores, a giant obelisk celebrates Portugal’s hard-earned independence from Spain, achieved in 1640 after 60 years of Spanish rule. The obelisk stands by a bronze sculpture of the “Spirit of Independence,” a reminder of the centuries-old Spanish-Portuguese rivalry. The tourist office is housed at Palácio da Foz, and shops line the praça and C. da Glória, the hill that leads to Bairro Alto. Pr. dos Restauradores is also the start of Avenida da Liberdade, one of Lisboa’s most elegant promenades. Modeled after the boulevards of 19th-century Paris, this mile-long thoroughfare ends at Praça do Marquês de Pombal. There, an 18th-century statue of the Marquês still watches over the city he whipped into shape 250 years ago.

Around Praça Do Comércio. After the earthquake of 1755 leveled this section of Lisboa, the Marquês de Pombal designed the new streets to serve as a conduit for goods from the ports on the Rio Tejo to the city center. The grid formed perfect blocks, with streets designated for specific trades: sapateiros (shoemakers), douradores (gold workers), and bacalhoeiros (cod merchants) each had their own avenue. The roads lead to Praça do Comércio, on the banks of the Tejo. Today the praça, watched over by a 9400 lb. statue of Dom João I, serves as a tourist hub, providing a wide and inviting space between the Tejo’s many boats and the city’s buzzing crowds.