Places to visit

Heavenly pillows

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No trip to Portugal is complete without visiting Sintra and no visit to Sintra is complete without eating a travesseiro at Piriquita. Travesseiro means large pillow, and that is what these pastries look like. But, instead of cloth and feathers, these pillows have layers of puff pastry filled with an egg and almond cream.

Despite many attempts, no one has been able to copy these travesseiros since Piriquita first opened its doors to the public in 1952. Some say that fairies sprinkle them with star dust. Others claim to hear sirens singing while they prepare the pastry. All we know is that for us, mere mortals, these heavenly travesseiros are one more reason to go to Sintra.

Piriquita-Antiga Fábrica de Queijadas, Rua Padarias 1/7, Sintra, tel. 219 230 626. Lines can be long in the Summer but, if you go up the street, you’ll find a second Piriquita café with much shorter lines (please don’t tell anyone!).

An enchanted bookstore

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Lello, a bookstore in Oporto founded in 1906, is famous for its exuberant neogothic architecture. In the early 1990s an English teacher called Joanne Rowling spent many hours here, in the small coffee shop on the second floor, working on a book about wizards. The book’s hero, a boy called Harry Potter, goes to Hogwarths, a school of witchcraft and wizardry whose revolving staircase and gothic motifs are likely to have been inspired by Lello’s interior.

If you visit Oporto, don’t miss the chance to visit Lello. And, if you do, please buy a book. In a world where bookstores are becoming extinct, we need to preserve places where we can still find magic.

Lello bookstore, Rua das Carmelitas 144, Porto.

Dreaming of Sintra

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Sintra is a village near Lisbon where Portuguese monarchs used to seek respite from the Summer heat. It is a place like no other, with its lush vegetation and fairy-tale palaces. The National Palace (shown above) is the oldest and most historically significant. It was remodeled so many times that it looks like a visual dictionary of Gothic, Manueline and Moorish styles. The Pena Palace is the newest and most romantic. Built in the 19th century, it sits on top of a hill where, in ancient times, the Romans worshiped the moon.

On the way to Pena you can visit a 9th century Moorish castle with wonderful views to the surrounding region. From here you can get a glimpse of other palaces, Monserrate, Seteais (an 18th century palace converted into a luxury hotel), and Quinta da Regaleira. They are all worth visiting.

Staying in Sintra is a privilege. In the morning, you can see Pena while the fog hides the modern world and brings back the 19th century. And at night, you can walk to Seteais to see the moon paint the hill with silver light, waiting to be worshiped.

Lisbon’s most famous café

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If you are near Chiado, don’t miss the chance to have an espresso in Lisbon’s most famous café, A Brasileira. The poet Fernando Pessoa spent here many golden hours, writing words that became immortal. If you want to pay homage to his genius, do not take a photo with the awkward Pessoa statue resting in the esplanade. Sit instead at a table and write a poem.

The blank page can be intimidating, so it might help you to know that Pessoa’s first poem was a modest effort. When he was seven, his widowed mother decided to remarry and start a new life in South Africa. Pessoa, worried that she might leave him behind in Lisbon, gave her this poem :

Here I am in Portugal
In the land where I was born
As much as I adore it
I love you even more

These simple words were Pessoa’s ticket to South Africa. So, summon the muses and write their whispers on your blank page. Who knows where those words might take you!

Island cheese

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Queijo da Ilha is a wonderful cheese produced in the Azores archipelago since the 16th century. The most famous variety comes from the island of St. Jorge. It is hard and has a sharp, spicy flavor.

What makes queijo da Ilha so unique is that it is made from the milk of cows that roam freely across the pastures of the Azores. Farmers spend their days following their cows to milk them. It is not uncommon for cows to wander into a bookstore or a museum, perhaps looking for the famous Andy Warhol cow paintings. It is a privilege to taste cheese from animals who are such free spirits.

Pizza in Lisbon

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It happens to the best of us. You are in Lisbon, enjoying the fresh fish and the wonderful seafood when, suddenly, you have a craving for pizza! There’s no need to rush to the airport and fly to Naples. You can satisfy your longing for Italian food in Lisbon.

In the 1970s, Maria Paola Porru moved from Italy to Portugal to study cinema. Years later, she opened Casanostra, a restaurant in Bairro Alto, planning to go back to the movie industry once she made some money. But the restaurant was so successful that she continued to run it while working as a sound engineer in several motion pictures.

A few years ago, Porru opened the Pizzeria Casanova in a beautiful location by the Tagus river. The Pizzeria does not accept reservations and there is often a long line. It is here that young people go to see and be seen because, while they wait for some of the best pizza on this side of the Tiber, they feel they’re in a movie.

Restaurante Casanostra, Travessa do Poço da Cidade, nº 60, Bairro Alto, Lisboa, tel. 21 342 59 31, email Italma@sapo.pt. Restaurante Casanova, Avenida Infante Dom Henrique Cais da Pedra à Bica do Sapato, Loja 7, Lisboa, tel. 218877532. 

100 maneiras

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The name is a play on words. “Cem maneiras” means one-hundred ways. But trade the “c” for an “s,” and you get “sem maneiras,” which means without etiquette. Both expressions hint at what makes this tiny restaurant in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto so special.

Yugoslavian chef Ljubomir Stanisic is a magician who combines traditional Portuguese ingredients in inventive ways. But his restaurant is not one of those culinary temples where diners must eat in reverent silence, heads bowed in a show of appreciation for the chef’s genius. The atmosphere at 100 Maneiras is unpretentious, and the only important etiquette rule is that guests have some great gourmet fun.

Restaurante 100 Maneiras, Rua do Teixeira, 35, Bairro Alto, tel. 910 307 575, email: info@restaurante100maneiras.com. Click here for 100 Maneiras’ web site.

Tram number 28

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One of Lisbon’s hallmarks are the “eléctricos,” the yellow trams that have helped residents negotiate the city’s narrow streets and steep hills since 1901. A very popular way to see Lisbon is to board tram number 28.

You can make Campo de Ourique your first stop and have a wonderful lunch at Tasca da Esquina. Save some room for dessert because, around the corner, you can eat a slice of life-changing chocolate cake. Don’t drink coffee yet; the tram takes you to Chiado where you can have an espresso at Brasileira, one of poet Fernando Pessoa’s favorite cafés.

Next, the 28 goes downtown. You can stroll in Rossio and sit in the esplanade of Café Nicola, enjoying the views and drinking another cup of coffee. Then, walk to Terreiro do Paço through Rua do Ouro (goldsmith street) or Rua da Prata (silversmith street). In Terreiro do Paço you can contemplate the Tagus river and have yet another coffee at Martinho da Arcada, another Fernando Pessoa favorite.

Now that you are fully caffeinated, board the 28 to go uphill to Alfama, the only neighborhood that survived the 1755 earthquake. You can walk to St. Jorge’s castle and enjoy the sunset views. Then, back to Chiado, where you can have a great dinner at Cantinho do Avilez, followed by some ice cream at Santini. As the day ends,  you’ll realize that the tram 28 is much more fun than the Orient Express.

The Berlenga island

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The Berlenga is one of the crown jewels of the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by small, diamond-shaped islands, adorned by emerald waters, and decorated with sparkling crystal caves. It is a place loved by birds of all stripes. Not just sparrows, crows, pidgeons, seagulls, woodcocks, and turtledoves, but also rare birds with unpronounceable Latin names, like ruticcilia tithys and puffinus kuhlii.

The island is close enough to be visible from the coast, but far enough to be shrouded in mystery.  Fishermen attribute to it all sorts of mystical powers. “Expect good weather if there’s fog on the island and rain if it’s clear,” they say.  But ask a fisherman whether the Berlenga inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s movie The Birds, and he will shrug his shoulders. The island does not need another legend. It is a place where, throughout the centuries, treasures were buried, pirates conspired, and lives were lost in harrowing shipwrecks.

In the Summer, there is a regular ferry between Peniche and the Berlenga. You can visit the 17th century fort (shown in the photo), bathe on white sand beaches with crystalline water, and chart a boat to go around the island. It is a grand adventure.

You can catch amazing sea bass in Berlenga’s waters, but you have to know where to cast your line. Ask a fisherman for the best place to fish for sea bass, and he will quickly change the subject, perhaps by asking you: “Did you know that the Berlenga inspired Hitchcock’s famous movie, The Birds?”

Click here for the schedule of boats from Peniche to Berlengas. Boats depart from the port of Peniche.

Café Nicola

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Nicola, a famous café in Lisbon, opened its doors in the late 18th century. Run by an Italian emigrant, it became popular in literary and political circles. Here, you could listen to the latest government gossip, conspire against the prince regent, or hear Bocage, a bohemian poet, improvise brilliant verses.

All this fun came to an end with the Napoleonic invasions—French officers adopted the Nicola as their gathering spot. So, when the French retreated in 1808, Nicola threw a grand independence party.

In 1929, Nicola moved to its current location, featuring the art deco architecture that you can see today.

At Nicola you can do it all, improvise poetry, start an insurrection, celebrate independence, and have a great cup of coffee.