WITH ROSSIO AS A STARTING POINT AND GOING ACROSS PRAÇA DOS RESTAURADORES, AVENIDA DA LIBERDADE KEEPS THE OLD TRAITS OF A ‘PASSEIO PÚBLICO’, THAT IS A PROMENADE, AND JUSTIFIES INCREASINGLY ITS AMBITION OF BEING THE PARISIAN CHAMPS ELISÉES IN LISBON STYLE.
This is where fashion is law. Reference brands’ stores and temples of good taste live side by side along this avenue that, though not endless appears so from such an array of tempting distractions. But the statue of Marquês de Pombal sets the territory, framed by the greenery of Parque Eduardo VII and the freshness of the Estufa Fria.
If the modern and up to date commerce reassures customers and tourists get to the avenue already tired of the ‘very typical’, for locals what really tickles the taste buds is the surroundings. Starting with Portas de Santo Antão. They open the way to Largo de S. Domingos, where one can enjoy the world famous sour cherries nectar at Ginjinha do Rossio, right next to the church of S. Domingos, at the same time unsettling and fascinating with its walls of stone carved by fire. At Portas most every door belongs to restaurants welcoming different purses and appetites, proving that Baixa and Chiado does not fail in bringing to table every corner of the amazing Portuguese cuisine. Passing the moorish exuberance of Casa do Alentejo, the Coliseum and the remains of what could have been Lisbon’s Broadway (on the other side of the avenue, the Parque Mayer theaters played the rival), and just next to the Mirandela flavor of Solar dos Presuntos, the Lavra lift will take you up to the Torel garden, reminding us that, even though Avenida da Liberdade is flat, it also includes an hill and matching viewpoint.
The avenue enjoys being the main stage for demonstrations, whether political, from football club fans or just of barrio culture, such as the famous Marchas Populares parade.
