Email/Share
Digg

Single Page
Larger Font
Smaller Font

You may find it hard to put your finger on the city’s pulse, at first, because Lisbon’s pleasures are more clandestine than those of other world capitals. This is especially true in what is currently Lisbon’s hippest neighborhood, Bairro Alto. Meaning the “high quarter,” its undulating cobble streets became synonymous with nightlife in the mid-1800s, when Lisbon’s indigenous music style, fado, gained popularity among the area’s working-class inhabitants. Melancholic and emotional, fado has its roots in Bairro Alto’s seediest taverns, though today it’s more readily performed in casas de fado, accompanied by dinner and folk dancing. Bairro Alto’s oldest fado house, Café Luso (Travessa da Queimada 10. http://www.cafeluso.pt) opened in 1931. The “Queen of Fado,” Amália Rodrigues, is said to have made her debut here in 1939.

A more contemporary nightlife scene was the catalyst for Bairro Alto’s most recent rebirth. The transition from rundown residential area to Lisbon’s most happening neighborhood began on June 15, 1982 when Manuel Reis opened his night-

club Frágil (Rua da Atalaia 128. http://www.fragil.com). Lisbon had known nothing like it and Frágil soon attained a similar level of infamy as New York’s Studio 54. Numerous other bars and clubs appeared in the ensuing years, making Bairro Alto increasingly cosmopolitan.

Reis has since moved beyond the Bairro: he sold up in 1998 to open Lux Frágil (Warehouse A, Av. Infante Dom Henrique. http://www.luxfragil.com), a cutting-edge superclub in a former boat factory in Santa Apolónia that draws the likes of Prince, Scissor Sisters, and Antony and

the Johnsons. Although predominantly straight, it remains the place to see and be seen for every fashionable sexual persuasion. His newest venture is the retro-minimalist Bica do Sapato restaurant (Warehouse B, Av. Infante Dom Henrique. http://www.bicadosapato.com) opened in partnership with actor John Malkovich.

Since Reis’ departure, the original Frágil is not considered as crucial as it once was, but it’s still a popular and gay-friendly club. Moreover, Bairro Alto’s nightlife scene has continued to evolve, and is today augmented by stylish restaurants, quirky designer boutiques, beauty salons, and contemporary art galleries—the bairro that was born for the night is beginning to step into the daylight.

Like every lover of the nightlife, Bairro Alto is a late riser. Many of its shops don’t open until 2 P.M. during the week, and as late as 5 P.M. on Saturdays. For the rest of the day they lurk silently behind graffiti-covered grilles, like hung-over party girls who can’t face daylight without sunglasses. The first time I visited, I made the mistake of heading here during the brilliant light of day, when my sole companions were two old ladies pegging out laundry and a group of youths honing their soccer skills on a street corner. Realizing how unfashionably early I was, I desperately searched for any retail opportunity, and was duly approached by the soccer-playing youths, asking if I wanted to buy marijuana—I guess they assumed that’s the only reason why someone like me would be on these streets so early in the day. If you’re in the market for something less illicit, like a unique Lomo camera using Soviet-era technology (Embaixada Lomográfica, Rua da Atalaia 31. http://www.lomografiaportugal.com), a pair of ultra-rare special edition Adidas Original sneakers (Sneakers Delight, Rua do Norte 30-32. http://www.sneakersdelight.pt), or a stretchy neoprene laptop “e-condom” (Crumpler, Rua do Norte 20-22. http://www.crumpler.pt), then you’re in the right place. You just need to adjust your watch to Bairro Alto time.

The Adjacent Chiado area is another neighborhood to explore during the day. Operating since 1905, Café A Brasileira (Rua Garrett 120) is a great coffee pitstop, and something of a gay hangout in the early evening. Although its carved and panelled wood interior is magnificent, camera-touting tourists tend to covet the outdoor seating. Nearby is the flagship store of Brazilian designer brand Osklen (Rua do Carmo 9. http://www.osklen.com), while the vast fnac store in the Armazéns do Chiado shopping mall carries an extensive array of Brazilian samba and MPB CDs—illustrating how much of an influence Brazil has on modern Lisbon.

Continued
1 | 2 NEXT>>