Lisboa no NY Times

36 Hours in Lisbon

Joao Pina for The New York Times


CHEAP. That’s the label usually slapped across the forehead of the Portuguese capital. Around the Continent, the waterside city is mostly seen as the charmingly faded seat of a centuries-gone trade empire where you can plunk down some coins to ride an old yellow cable car, visit Baroque churches and squares, fill up on cut-rate seafood meals, sip 2-euro glasses of Portuguese red and retire to your budget hotel. But Lisbon is getting fancier every month. By day, ambitious upstart museums and renovated industrial districts offer an infusion of contemporary art and design. By night, a fledgling wave of neo-Portuguese restaurants, stylish night spots and innovatively designed hotels provide happening places to play. The best part? The city remains a terrific bargain.

Friday
5 p.m.
1) INDUSTRIAL CHIC

Lisbon’s metamorphosis comes vividly to life at LX Factory (Rua Rodrigues de Faria, 103; 351-21-314-3399; lxfactory.com), a disused manufacturing complex housing young architecture firms, Internet start-ups, boutiques and cozy cafes. Housed in a hangarlike space that’s filled with enormous old printing machines, Ler (351-21-325-9992; lerdevagar.com) is packed from floor to soaring ceiling with new and used books (many in English) on everything from Madeira architecture to Jack the Ripper. The shelves of Organii (351-21-099-9763; organii.pt) display organic cosmetics by Myeko, a specialty Portuguese brand, and other international cult labels. For a snack, hit Landeau (351-91-727-8939; landeau.pt), which produces only one thing — devilishly good chocolate cake (2.80 euros per slice, or about $3.70, at $1.31 to the euro).

8 p.m.
2) MATERIALS MADE NEW

Raw plywood boards might seem more fitting to a construction site than a chic restaurant, but Restaurante 560 (Rua das Gáveas, 78; 351-21-346-8317; restaurante560.com) puts the material to stunning effect. Cut with small illuminated squares, the surfaces take on a pixelated feel. The kitchen also recasts simple substances in unexpected forms. The appetizer menu is filled with snacks for a foodie gentleman farmer, from honey-drizzled phyllo pastry filled with creamy farinheira (a black pork sausage) to thick toast slabs topped with fat mushroom chunks and gooey melted cheese from the Azores. For the wine-soaked main courses, muscatel forms the sauce for the duck confit, while a syrupy Madeira reduction tops the card’s most bombastic combination: grilled swordfish with sliced bananas. Dinner for two, without drinks, runs about 50 euros.

10 p.m.
3) ON THE WATERFRONT

For most of its life, the waterfront Cais do Sodré district was a mire of sailors, sirens and sleaze. These days, new night-life spots are popping up amid the seedy old dives. Proving that Lisbon offers more than just melancholy fado music, the cavernous new Gloria Live Music Club (Rua do Ferragial 36A; 351-91-359-6474; glorialivemusic.com; cover 7 euros) hosts funk, soul and pop bands on its blue-lighted stage. Another 2010 vintage, Sol e Pesca (Rua Nova do Carvalho 44; 351-21-346-7203), pays homage to the city’s maritime history with fishing tackle covering the walls, and hundreds of small tins of sardines, tuna, anchovies and other fish — all for sale — piled like Pop Art soup cans in lighted display cases. All pair well with a glass of Super Bock beer (1.50 euros).

Saturday

11 a.m.
4) STYLISH FANTASIES

Ever dreamed of strutting about in a Jean Paul Gaultier crocodile-skin gown while pouring chai from an Andrea Branzi silver teapot with a white birch-log handle? Sartorial and furniture fantasies come to life at Mude (Rua Augusta 24; 351-21-888-6117; mude.pt), a former bank converted into a fashion and design museum that opened in 2009. The underground vault and second-floor gallery host rotating shows, while the ground floor showcases a permanent collection of iconic and experimental clothing, housewares, furnishings, album covers — even a Vespa.

1:30 p.m.
5) A BOHEMIAN BRUNCH

Like bees to flowers, Lisbon’s cool kids and creative set have been buzzing in swarms to the fast-rising Principe Real neighborhood, which has become a haven of cafes and design shops. The afternoon hangout of choice is the airy Orpheu Caffé (Praça do Príncipe Real, 5A; 351-21-804-4499; orpheucaffe.com), where artist and musician types lounge about in vintage armchairs between visits to the well-stocked brunch bar. The spread of breads, toast, jam, cheese, ham, cereal, yogurt, fruit, cakes, tea and coffee — served with eggs and sausage — will set you back a starving-artist-friendly 15 euros.

3 p.m.
6) MADE IN LISBOA

Nothing works off a hearty brunch like vigorous window-browsing and credit-card swiping around the upstart boutiques of Principe Real and its environs. A former bakery, Kolovrat 79 (Rua Dom Pedro V 79; 351-21-387-4536; www.lidijakolovrat.org) now showcases delicate web-like silver necklaces (440 euros), scarves printed with tiny images of long-ago Portuguese royalty (155 euros) and more from the designer Lidija Kolovrat. An even more diverse selection awaits at Loja do Chiado (Rua da Misericórdia 102; 351-21-347-2293), which opened in 2010 to showcase work by three Portuguese indie brands: elegant leather footwear by Catarina Martins, richly embroidered Asian-inspired fashions from TMCollection and cowskin handbags and accessories by Muu.

6 p.m.
7) HIT THE TAGUS

Most Lisbon visitors neglect its greatest natural resource: the Tagus River. For sublime sunset views, head to the Cais do Sodré ferry terminal (351-808-20-30-50; soflusa.pt) and hop one of the regular boats across the river to Cacilhas (20 minutes; 3.20 euros round trip). After debarking, walk to the right for about 10 minutes along the thin waterside path to arrive at Atira-Te Ao Rio (Cais do Ginjal 69-70; 351-21-275-1380; atirateaorio.pt). The rustic whitewashed riverfront restaurant is the perfect spot to sip a glass of white port (3 euros) while watching the sun cast its final rays on the 25 de Abril bridge and the venerable hilly cityscape of Lisbon.

9 p.m.
8) TOP CHEF, LOW COST

For a celebrity chef meal at a common man’s prices, you can’t do better than Tasca da Esquina (Rua Domingos Sequeira 41C; 351-21-099-3939; tascadaesquina.pt), opened in 2009 by the Portuguese food guru Vitor Sobral. Featuring cheerful décor — red concrete floor, unadorned white walls, big windows — and friendly young servers, the restaurant fills mostly with middle-aged business folks and couples who tuck into a menu of small and medium-size plates intended for sharing. You’ll find everything from pig tails in coriander to sautéed quail legs (in a buttery and lemony garlic sauce) to ultra thin slices of warm black pork on toast. Abbot Priscos, a lush pudding made with a dash of port wine, provides a fine finale. A sampling of several dishes — enough for two people — cost 40 to 50 euros.

11 p.m.
9) THE GLASS PALACE

The name of this very new bar is French for “the cat,” but the elegant and softly glowing glass-box architecture of Le Chat (Jardim 9 de Abril; 351-91-779-7155) instead suggests a long rectangular aquarium in which boozefish swim on tides of Porto Flip cocktails (ruby port wine, brandy, egg yolk, nutmeg; 10 euros) and D.J.-spun house music. The space, with hillside views over the Tagus, is a striking contrast to the impressive stony Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (www.mnarteantiga-ipmuseus.pt) next door.

Sunday

11 a.m.
10) AN ARTFUL EXCURSION

Cross the Surrealist with the grotesque, toss in some Freud and Jung, add huge dollops of folklore and mythology, and you begin to have a recipe for the wild oeuvre of Paula Rego, perhaps the most important living Portuguese artist. And now there’s a fittingly unusual structure to exhibit her works and those of her late husband, the British painter Victor Willing. Known as Casa das Histórias (Avenida da República 300, Cascais; 351-21-482-6970; casadashistorias.com) — “House of Stories” — the red fortress-like museum is situated in the upscale oceanside suburb of Cascais, a 45-minute train ride from the Cais do Sodré station (www.cp.pt; frequent trains; 3.60 euros round trip). Their canvases are by turns psychedelic, naughty and downright strange, but always thought-provoking. Better still, like much in Lisbon, museum admission is a fantastic deal: It’s free.

IF YOU GO

Opened in 2010, Inspira Santa Marta Hotel (Rua de Santa Marta, 48; 351-21-044-0900; inspirasantamartahotel.com) has 89 rooms of Scandinavian-cool design in four color themes (earth, fire, metal and tree). There’s also a spa, bar and nouveau Mediterranean restaurant. Doubles from 99 euros (about $132).

Another 2010 newcomer, the very blue LX Boutique Hotel (Rua do Alecrim, 12; 351-347-4394; lxboutiquehotel.pt) features wall-size photo murals with Lisbon themes in the 45 rooms. The hotel restaurant specializes in sushi. Low-season doubles from 80 euros.

Boutique hostels have also infiltrated Lisbon, notably the Living Lounge Hostel (Rua do Cruxifico, 116; 351-21-346-1078; livingloungehostel.com). Rooms — singles (from 30 euros), twins (from 60 euros) and dorm-style spaces (from 18 euros) — are decorated by local artists.