In Lisbon, the borough of Graça offers many charms: restaurants, bars, belvederes and gazebos, a cosmopolitan tourist attraction with a twist of what used to be a quiet, proud and typical quartier. It still is, if you’re ready to find the working-class neighborhoods of the turn of the century, like Vila Berta, Estrela d’Ouro (both from 1908) and Vila Souza (1890).
With the massification of train travel in the early 1900s, people came from the villages of Portugal to try their luck in the big cities of Porto or Lisbon, hoping for a steady job on some steady industry. But where were they supposed to live? In the capital city, employers provided the solution, bad shape houses in most cases, but the exceptions were surprisingly beautiful, the so called ‘vilas operárias’, working-class homes in different shapes, from a building to a full-size street, down to a courtyard. And they were all ‘planted’ in Graça…
Vila Souza, Vila Berta and Bairro Estrela d’Ouro are the places to visit. Descendents of both bosses and workers still live there, saying good-morning and talking about things past. The ‘vilas’ are well kept and still inviting, a reminder of a peaceful and pleasant Lisbon in the middle of tourist euphoria and tuk-tuk noise.
GRAÇA'S GUIDE
