Walk Lisbon Like a Local: Bairro Alto & Downtown Experience

Our route starts in Rossio and passes through some key areas before heading to the heart of Bairro Alto.

The station was commissioned by the Portuguese Royal Railway Company and was designed between 1886 and 1887 by Portuguese architect José Luís Monteiro. It was built in one of the most important squares of Lisbon, the Rossio, and connected the city to the region of Sintra. It was completed in 1890. The Neo-Manueline dominates building and is a Romantic recreation of the exuberant Manueline style, typical of early 16th century Portugal. Its most interesting features are the two intertwined horseshoe portals at the entrance (saying Central Station), The station is an important example of Romantic (façade). The outside façade of Rossio Train Station Lisbon more closely resembles a temple than that of a train station.

National poet, author of the epic poem OS LUSIADAS which describes Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India. It is said the he lost one eye in a battle in Ceuta. The influence of his masterpiece is so profound that Portuguese language is sometimes called ‘language of Camões.

In the late 15th century, Lisbon was packed with people from all over the world, d PSp ue to the discovery time. There was a need of enlarging the centre and the place we know as Camões square today, used to be one of the entrances to the city. Earlier, we had the fernandine wall and the door of Santa Catarina at the place where today, after the earthquake, we have 2 churches (Encarnação and Loreto). On the other side of the wall there were areas that belonged to rich noble families and also, on the top of the hill a cemetery of the victims of black plague. In 1506 King Manuel I. requested a relic of Saint Roque from Venice and placed it in a hermitage near the cemetery. Due to the demographic increase and the arrival of the black plague in the city, the less fortunate and the sick ended up moving to this area to be closer to the church. Meanwhile, an urban plan was developed to receive these people.

The church and convent were built in 1389 after Nuno Álvares Pereira - a general who was helping king John repel the Castilian troops - vowed to build the world's most beautiful church if he would defeat the Castilians in 1385 at the battle of Aljubarrota. The Portuguese came out victorious and the general kept his word: he funded the construction of a Carmelite church and convent. After its completion in 1423 he joined the Carmelite order and spent the rest of his life in the convent.