How to Escape the Crowds and Find the Authentic Lisbon

How to Escape the Crowds and Find the Authentic Lisbon

Just people everywhere. Why is it so full? So crowded? I’m not the only one. Another queue. And now look at this! Portugal’s capital city Lisbon is beautiful. And often crowded. But hey, maybe it’s all worth it. Find out what you can do in a day in Lisbon and watch me try to avoid the crowds. Lisbon is located on the Atlantic
coast and spread across seven hills. I start my day in Alfama,
the oldest inhabited district. The narrow streets were
built long before cars existed. That’s obvious: Many of the streets are stairways. And even with a map, it’s easy to get lost. These tiles are typically Portuguese. You’ll find these painted
ceramic tiles all over Lisbon. Some are hundreds of years
old, especially here in Alfarma. They were traditionally
used to protect houses from moisture and heat. Some tell stories and
some are just for decoration. It’s only a ten-minute-walk
from here to Castelo de São Jorge, located on the highest hill in the city. A ticket costs 15 euros and there’s a free
audio guide for your phone. Susana from Lisboa Cultura
shows me around the fortress. It was built by the Moors in
the 11th century and later used by Portuguese kings. Now I’m going to show you
my favorite spot at the castle. From here you can see from Christ the King [monument]
to the neighborhood of Graça. You can see almost the whole city. You can hear the city, smell the city. And enjoy. My highlight was the periscope that projects a live image of the city onto a table. We have a mirror on the top
of the tower outside. That mirror kept all the images around. And with the help of two lenses,
the images are projected on this table. So this table will be the screen. Just one thing, the weather
is not too good today, so the image is not perfect —
but just to show you. The idea originally came
from Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century. The technology was
later used in submarines and for observation purposes. Ok, the tower, that black circle. It’s definitely better to come early. When I got here there wasn’t
anyone queuing and now look at this. These old yellow trams are
THE image of Lisbon I had in my head. So of course I want to ride one. Lots of people had the same idea. Tram 28 runs 7 kilometers across the old town. The tram line is more than 100 years old. You see it on postcards
and movies and on Instagram. You can easily explore
downtown Lisbon on foot. The huge Praça do Comércio
square is a good starting point. And since Lisbon is built on hills,
there are other unique ways to get around. This lift opened in 1902, and
it connects downtown Lisbon with the upper part of the city. It’s a tourist attraction, but it’s also part of the public transport system. But be prepared to wait in a line here, too. It’s not even moving. I’m tired of this. Instead, I leave the old town
to have lunch at a tasca. A tasca is a traditional restaurant in Portugal that serves home-cooked food. And to get to a real one
that’s not a tourist trap, go to the suburbs and don’t stay in the center. What’s on the menu today? So the dishes of the day:
pastéis de bacalhau, codfish cakes. Cakes, that are deep fried
and come with a coriander rice. It’s a rice with a lot of butter and coriander. Sounds good. Do you want something very Portuguese? Yes. I think you should do the açorda order because you won’t find it
anywhere outside of Portugal. Yeah, so I’ll have that. My main course is açorda:
a bread stew with garlic, coriander, olive oil and egg. I also ordered salt cod croquettes
and Portuguese cream cheese. I’m really impressed with this food. It’s a lot of dishes I’d never tried before. And it’s lots of different flavors. Really great. It’s so different from just eating
fast food or typical tourist food in the center, so a really good experience. Now I want to check out the LX Factory, one of the coolest places in town. Located on the site of an old textile
factory, you will find street art shops, studios and what might be the
most stylish restrooms in Lisbon. The factory’s former printing shop is now home to a particularly spectacular bookstore. On the first floor I discover
a miniature puppet theater. That’s a really cool alternative
if you can’t get on the tram 28. I mean, that’s a way to
have a ride in just two minutes. Further west in Belém, a heroic monument commemorates
Portugal’s voyages of discovery since the 15th century, the
beginning of the colonial expansion. But there’s no mention of the victims here. The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
is a 16th century monastery built with money from overseas trade. Next door, you should definitely stop
at the Pastéis de Belém pastry shop. The puff pastry tarts with custard
cream have been baked here since 1837, following a secret recipe of the monks. Great, so I’m getting a tour of the bakery. The bakery is open 365 days a year
and bakes around 25,000 pastéis a day. They’re sold fresh on site. We have today five chefs that know how to make both the pastry and the custard. And we call them “mestres do segredo”, which translates to like “the masters
of secret”, or something like that. Almost everything is done by hand here. What is so special about your pastries compared to all the other ones? You cannot find this recipe
anywhere else in the world. And that already makes
them a one-of-a-kind. And the recipe that came from
the monastery in the early 19th century has been kept exactly
as it was in the beginning. And the production is still artisanal. They’re all still handmade. And keeping the recipe and
the production as it was alive, all of this tradition really makes a difference. It’s a little less sweet than others I’ve tried before. And I can also sense the salt in the pastry. I end my day where I started it, in Alfama. In the evening, the neighborhood is filled with Lisbon’s most famous music, Fado. In an alley I meet Marta, a singer. It’s an urban sound, so it’s
really tied to the city of Lisbon. It’s bled throughout the years
through other parts of the country. But it was born here. So you can imagine a Lisbon that was one of the most
important port cities of the entire world, filled with merchants and
sailors from around the world. And they were coming to the
typical neighborhoods of the city like this one, Alfama, and gathering in the old taverns to drink, drown their sorrows and
sometimes sing them. And that’s basically how Fado was born. The lights are dimmed and
there’s no talking allowed. That’s one of the rules of Fado. My conlusion: Lisbon is crowded, but I still discovered a lot of authentic places. So yes, the hype is justified. Did I miss anything during my day in Lisbon? And would you brave the crowds
or rather skip the city? Let me know in the comments.

Lisbon is one of Europe’s most popular city destinations. Is the Portuguese capital still worth a visit – even when it’s packed with tourists? DW’s Gönna Ketels spent a day exploring and shows you what makes Lisbon special – and how to escape the crowds.

00:00 Intro
00:26 Alfama district
01:10 Castelo de São Jorge
03:09 Lisbon’s yellow trams
03:46 Praça do Comércio
03:56 Santa Justa Lift
04:20 Authentic food in Vida de Tasca restaurant
05:36 LX factory
06:26 Monument of the Discoveries
06:41 Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
06:53 Pastéis de Belém bakery
08:55 Spend the night in Alfama, listening Fado

CREDITS:
Report: Gönna Ketels
Camera: Marco Borowski
Editing: Andreas Hyronimus
Supervising editor: Christina Deicke
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