Principe Real

                                                         

February 6, 2017

Today we decided to explore another Lisbon neighborhood - Principe Real. This trendy area  sits atop the Bairro Alto area. As you might guess from the "alto" it's at the top of another of Lisbon's seven hills.

We walked to the Funicular Gloria on Avenida da Liberdade. This is one of three funiculars in Lisbon, all built in the late 1800s to assist residents (and others) traverse the very steep hills. Gloria was opened in 1885 and has been a designated national monument since 2002. It took us to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, a lovely park that overlooks the city with spectacular views of the castle and the river. A large statue honors the founder of Diario de Noticias - one of the largest and most prominent newspapers in Portugal. 

At the top of the hill. Funicular Gloria heads back down. There are actually two cars, one on its way up while the other returns to the bottom.

Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

 We continued walking up the hill and browsed in Principe Real. The shops were full of fashion, antiques and other interesting items. In a former palace we found a small shopping center that included a bar called Gin Lovers. They have over 80 brands of gin Who knew there were so many gins. The bartender said that gin is becoming THE drink, replacing vodka. No, we didn't sample this time.

We stopped, instead, for a cup of tea and a snack at a delightful little cafe in one of the several parks in the neighborhood.

Instead of taking the funicular back down the hill, we walked through Bairro Alto down to the Chiado neighborhood. On the way we passed my favorite chocolate shop, the Chocolateria do Equador. We had accidentally found this little jewel when we were here last April. Of course we went in and bought chocolate. ;-)

Then we continued down the hill and back to the apartment. Great day!