C I TY LI F E LISBON


Trams and tuk-tuks roller coaster through the hills of the Portuguese capital, a city of enticing lookouts, al fresco lunches and daring street art


WORDS: KERRY WAL K E R . PHOTOGR APHS: MARK PARREN TAY LOR


Morning breaks over Lisbon’s seven hills. In the medina-like lanes of Alfama — one of the city’s oldest, loftiest neighbourhoods — the light is beginning to creep through window shutters, washing over the azulejo tiles and bathing the terracotta rooftops in an amber glow; in the distance, the Tagus river glitters. Slowly, pearl-white domes and spires come


into focus, and then the facades in a fresco painter’s palette of pastels. At this hour, there isn’t another soul with me at the Largo das Portas do Sol, the original Moorish gateway to the district. It’s a vantage point that offers views over Lisbon’s historic heart that are worth rising early for. Ever since the Moors built their castle


here in the 11th century, this has been a city that has made the most of its lofty position. Miradouros (viewpoints) cling to the hilltops like eyries, each one giving a different eagle’s- eye view. You’re forever climbing, catching your breath and trying to keep your footing on the steep, cobbled lanes. When an earthquake razed most of Lisbon


to the ground in 1755, Alfama remained resolutely standing. As I wander deeper into its alleys, the aroma of coffee, the crackles of a poorly tuned radio and the barking of a dog drift towards me through open windows. A woman in a floral pinafore beats a rug against


a wall, greeting me with a broad, toothless smile and a ‘bom dia’. The district feels timeless — but in nearby Graça, the situation couldn’t be more different. While Alfama is high, Graça is even


higher still, set on the tallest hill. Over the past decade, the district has been reimagined as a blank canvas for street artists, enabling it to reach new heights on Lisbon’s cultural scene. “To understand this city, look at its


walls,” Véro Léon van Grieken tells me with a shy smile when we meet later that morning. She’s a Belgian expat working as a guide with Lisbon Street Art Tours, wrapped in layers of hand-knitted cardigans. As we trudge uphill from Alfama to Graça — Véro’s little dog trotting obediently in our wake — she points out Half Young Panda: a shockingly bright 3D mural of a panda, created from street rubbish by Lisbon-born ‘trash art king’ Bordalo II, otherwise known as Artur Bordalo. Afterwards, we admire the intricacy of


homegrown artist Vhils’ portrait of fado superstar Amália Rodrigues. It’s a tidal wave of hundreds of cobblestones rolling halfway up a wall, pieced together in collaboration with an expert team of calçada portuguesa (Portuguese paving) masters.


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