A charming funicular and a terrace with a view
Behind Camões Square,
Rua do Loreto separates Bairro Alto from the
neighborhood of Santa Catarina. This area of endearing streets with
pastel-painted houses has a few restaurants and bars but is mostly known for
its garden with a terrace offering river views. Facing the terrace, the
river, and 25 de Abril Bridge is a stone figure of Adamastor, a mythical sea
monster from the epic poem "The Lusiads." There is also a pleasant café
where locals go to admire the dawn view over the Tagus.
The pink building behind the terrace to the left will become the Design & Fashion Museum in 2008.
Standing behind it is a yellow mansion housing the Museum of
Pharmacy which presents the historic evolution and technology of
pharmacy through instruments, old flasks, and other pharmaceutical
paraphernalia.
Before reaching this miradouro walking up Rua do Loreto, one comes
across a yellow funicular chugging down the hill. That's Elevador da
Bica, inaugurated in June of 1892, at the time operated by a water
counterweight.
São
Roque Church - Home of the world's most expensive chapel
Miradouro
de São Pedro de Alcântara - A garden with a panoramic view over the city.
Camões
Square - A busy square and meeting place between Chiado and Bairro Alto.
Chiado
Museum - Museum of Portuguese contemporary art.
São
Carlos Theater - The city's La Scala-inspired opera house.
Carmo
Church - Romantic Gothic ruins evocative of the Great Earthquake.
Principe
Real - Charming leafy square.
Botanical
Garden - An enchanting botanical garden.
