We had only two days in Lisbon. We weren’t even trying to see everything. But whatever we looked at, we kept our eyes—and our hearts—open.
At first, we just wanted to see how Lisbon lives. Because we arrived on Sunday, it seemed like a perfect day to visit a local art fair, have a cup of coffee at a popular neighborhood café, or relax on a park bench after thousands of steps up and down the hills. We were open to surprises.
The Connection Between the Greenery and the People
The first thing that caught my eye was the deep connection between the greenery and the people. Lush, exotic, overgrown trees with hundreds of years of history decorate every corner of the city.
Some of the trees, like the Moreton Bay Fig, have their roots shamefully exposed. They look as if they claim their right to be included in the urban life beyond the ground. The trees confidently spread their gigantic, overgrown roots, which then become branches, creating their own wild architecture.
New Zealand Christmas Tree (Metrosideros Exceisa) at Jardim Alfredo Keil
Mosaics of Portuguese celebrities proudly line the parks’ beautiful alleys.
Speaking of Lisbon’s parks, they are lifesavers. After trudging up the hill, you look for a bench in the shade like a ship lost at sea looking for land.
When we found ourselves on a bench under the enormous umbrella of the famous Bucaco cedar, I turned to my husband:
“I just discovered that it’s a two hundred-year-old tree!” I said enthusiastically. “During the Feast of Saint Anthony, people hang snippets of poetry from its branches to celebrate art and literature.”
“And who reads them?” he asked with a characteristic sarcasm. Then he thought for a moment. “You know, there’s a sequoia in California that’s 600 years old. And yet, nobody hangs anything from it.”
At that point, I had to walk away. I was laughing too hard.
Then he got into the mood for botanical trivia about Lisbon. When he spotted a beautiful tree with pink and white flowers, he wanted to know its name. He stopped a girl passing b; he is old school.
What followed amazed me.
She ran across the street and touched the trunk as if it were a part of her backyard. Then she proudly announced:
“This is Ceiba speciosa—a Silk Floss tree. These pink flowers bloom only in September! I love this tree!”
Greenery continued
Almost every balcony has plants. Flowers hug dilapidated facades; leaves stubbornly peek out from half-ruined vases. It feels as if the greenery has its permanent address in the city.
Local Life Inside Lisbon
Within those two days, we wanted to soak up the city’s atmosphere. We explored a craft fair, found a place with perfect cider, and ate at two restaurants serving hearty local food. In other words, we witnessed life spoken in Portuguese.
From carefully assembled bouquets to slightly unruly plant installations, everything worked together in Lisbon’s eateries and cafes.
Most places we entered had an imaginative vibe and tons of personality.
Bohemian at its core and artfully mismatched, most parts and pieces felt nostalgic and familiar. Nothing was polished; everything felt alive and breathing, not a hushed, designed-for-Instagram showroom. Like freckles on the face of a beloved – things were imperfect but so much loved.
Tiles translated into Portuguese
The Portuguese are masters of tiles and ceramics, so naturally, we started paying attention- not only to antique azulejos, but to the modern tile work as well. It was interesting to see how playfully and effortlessly they interpreted them.
Street Art and Wall Art
And, of course, the walls never went unnoticed. From little doodles to enormous murals, every place seemed to have something to say.
Speaking of walls, Lisbon’s street art is practically a modern museum in its own right.
It would take hours to cover all the amazing wall art we discovered. Here, I will cover only a few that were especially interesting.
Add Fuel “Adapta”
Add Fuel created the Adapta mural in 2020, after COVID. It reflects his optimism about the future, as well as people’s ability to adapt to the “surrounding space.” This enormous artwork is as playful as a delightful storybook.
That huge dark-teal shape reads like a cartoon face with two white oval eyes and a wide pale grin. And the funny thing is that once you see it as a face, it becomes almost impossible to turn it back into “just ornament.”
More little face-like forms are tucked around it, too. That tension is exactly what makes Add Fuel’s work so much fun: at first glance it looks like an elaborate azulejo pattern; then the pattern develops before your eyes as you find different amusing details.
André Saraiva,”Mr. A” Tile Mural, Jardim Botto Machado, Lisbon
André Saraiva reimagined Lisbon in more than 52,000 hand-painted azulejos, mixing the city’s landmarks, the Tagus, and its traditional blue-and-white palette with his mischievous Mr. A signature everywhere. Saraiva described his creation as “cidade imaginaria”- an “imaginary city.” It has characters and memories of other cities where he has lived and worked. The result is part traditional Portuguese tile mural, part enormous street-art piece.As you walk along it, you suddenly discover a lunatic with an X-eye, enormous legs, wings, and flippers flying across centuries of Portuguese ceramic tradition.
Bordalo II (Artur Bordalo) X Super Bock. “Let’s bring nature back to the city. Join the movement.” LX Factory, Lisbon.
Bordalo II is Lisbon’s street artist known for making animals and other works from discarded materials. He uses the waste produced by consumer society to depict nature and, especially, animals affected by that waste.
Paula on Wheels – A tuk-tuk guide in Lisbon
Paula on Wheels is a guide who inspired me to fall in love with Lisbon. A tuk-tuk ride is an adventure by itself. It is impossibly loud as it trots along Lisbon’s Calçada Portuguesa, a mosaic pavement that stretches all over the city. Like a conductor in an orchestra, Paola cuts through the street’s cacophony and creates a coherent melody.
Because there are so many tuk-tuks in Lisbon, they create traffic. But Paula has the city logistics down. She knows everyone, and everyone knows her.
Lisbon is more like a tiered cake than a pizza pie. Its hilly topography layers different sections of the city; each section has its own distinct character. As we moved from one area to another, she pointed out places for us to see later. Effortlessly, she was sketching out our day ahead.
It was the tour within the tour.
On one side, we were immersed in Lisbon’s history; on the other, the living, breathing city came to life under Paola’s spell.
Actually, I don’t know what I enjoyed more – her extraordinary tour or constant remarks about the people around us. “Here comes a guy who always honks at me!” She said. “There is the woman who doesn’t know how to cross the street.”
During the tour, I noticed that we passed the same street twice in one hour. The same men were leisurely drinking coffee at the same coffee shop. I asked her if that was common.
“Yes, It’s a retirement community.. They will be at the same spot all day,” she said.
She instantly became the kind of friend you want to see again.
Getting My Feet Wet by Torre de Belém
I couldn’t help but visit the iconic place: the Tower of Belém (Torre de Belém), where the Tagus River welcomes the Atlantic Ocean.
I was just getting my feet wet (quite literally) in Portugal, touching on Lisbon’s history, the life of its inhabitants, and its landscape. It reminded me how small our planet is and how connected we all are. I live twenty minutes from the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey. I crossed the Atlantic to the other side of the globe to see how people in Portugal live.
Lisbon unfolded at the start of my trip, and whatever I managed to experience in those two short days revived, informed, and inspired me – all at once.
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