When we booked our apartment in the Alfama district of Lisbon we hadn’t realised it was Festival season. This runs during June and July with the two important days being 12th and 13th June, Saint Anthony’s Day and yes, we were there then and our apartment was right in the middle of it. Huge street parties take place from late afternoon until the early hours. Stalls sell all different kinds of food, especially the locals favourite, grilled sardines washed down with beer which is also on sale everywhere. It’s one big pop up street market set up along the narrow cobbled streets of this historic area. I must mention too that the PA system belts out contemporary music from around 17.00hrs but to hear the authentic fado music you need to eat in one of the restaurants which has fado singers performing …which we did.
We really liked our apartment Alfama 44 even though we could hear the music through the double-glazed windows and by the third night we were looking forward to a peaceful sleep at the next place we were going to. If you prefer a quieter stay in the Alfama district, then avoid the Festival season other than that, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy this interesting area.
As well as visiting the Museum of Fado we also wanted to hear a live performance. A little research was done and the restaurant that appealed to us was just up the street from our apartment. The taverna, A Baiuca was the perfect choice. It’s tiny inside with about eight tables and at the back, the smallest kitchen you could imagine producing delicious, traditional, fresh food. We had a fantastic night enjoying superb food and listening to authentic Fado performances. The main singer, Fernanda was accompanied by two traditional fado musicians and when Clara had chance in between serving everyone she also sang for us. We would thoroughly recommend A Baiuca for a dining experience like no other. We are hooked on Fado. It is melancholoic and mournful in many ways but incredibly powerful and romantic and rooted in Portuguese culture. It’s usually performed by a soloist and talking during the performance is very much frowned upon. By the way, you must book beforehand to get a table at this taverna.
The majority of tourists visiting Lisbon will head off to Sintra for the day. The easiest way to get there unless you have a car or you are on a coach tour is to go by train which is only a 40 minute journey from Lisbon. The last time we came we visited the 8th Century stone Castle of the Moors and Pena National Palace both up in the hills and a bus ride away from the station. Both are worth a visit and do-able in a day. This time we were heading for Quinta de Regaleria which is short walk although we stopped along the way to have a cold drink and a pastel del nata before starting the climb up to la Quinta de Regaleira.
Some accounts describe the estate as ‘mysterious’, others as ‘enchanting’, I would say it’s quirky and interesting with a fairy-tale persona with delightful gardens too. According to the website for Quinta de Regaleira it was built at the end of the 19th century by a millionaire who was a Freemason. This probably explains why there are several cryptic symbols on the walls, mysterious caves to walk along and an Initiation Well. To save queuing it’s best to buy a timed entry ticket (as at 2025), adults 15€, seniors over 65, 10€.
Once we were in …and it was quite a wait until our time slot we realised you can wander wherever you wanted. Because the estate is so large it didn’t seem very busy until we arrived at the queue for the Initiation Well … it was long, very long. Not surprisingly all visitors want to see the well and it is worth the wait which was only about twenty minutes. Apparently it was built for clandestine rituals although there are several theories about its purpose. There are nine levels which is great fun to walk down although I’ve since read each platform is thought to represent the nine circles of hell! The circular floor at the bottom which doesn’t show fully in my picture has The Knights Templar cross and the symbol of a compass. There’s a network of tunnels which takes the visitor to an underground lake, waterfalls and outside into the gardens.
Visiting the well gave us an appetite for lunch so we headed through the grounds and up to the cafe which is by the Regaleira Chapel which we popped into. The cafe is the only place to eat within the grounds and although it was busy we managed to get a table. We had a very pleasant lunch washed down with a glass of wine, enjoying the sight of the rather bizarre buildings.
Unless you’re in a hurry, visiting Quinta de Regaleira including the walk to and from the railway station takes up most of the day. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this very individual site and thought it was good value.
Our last day in Lisbon was spent wandering around the city. We didn’t manage to get on one of the iconic trams as the whole central network was jammed due to crowds of people and much activity at the Cathedral. It was June 12th and what we hadn’t realised was that on this day 16 couples get married in the Cathedral and the iconic #28 tram goes right by the Cathedral. It’s part of the Saint Anthony tradition which started in 1958. There was a ‘gap’ betwen 1974 and 2019 but now this Festival has been reinstated and these weddings have become an important day, not just for those couples but for the whole city. We didn’t wait for the couples to be paraded down the street after the Ceremony as it would have meant a couple of hours hanging around with all the crowds but I’m sure it’s an amazing spectacle.
Lisbon is a great city which is why we decided to go back a third time. There’s lots to do; it’s easy to walk round and if it’s not the ‘Wedding Day’ you can also take a tram to explore the different areas. We enjoyed staying in the historic Alfama area even though it was pretty manic at night but it all added to our holiday. There is a lot more to do than I’ve written about here but maybe this Blog has inspired you to go and see for yourself. We were sorry to leave after being there just three days however we were heading off north, to discover another area of Portugal.
Travels with the Booths.blog 