The Sunday Times September 3, 2017 7

THE BIG WEEKEND

isbon is not subtle with its K kitchen. Try the exploding olives, which OR NI C

charms. From the rst tram C burst with liquid saltiness at rst bite

ride up that cobbled hill, you (mains from £5; bairrodoavillez.pt). will be seduced by glittering The city’s twentysomethings drink beer MATTHE W river views, some of the most in the narrow bars lining the alleyways AND majestic architecture in Europe and, er, of the , but for more elegant

L IQBAL washing lines crammed with colourful surroundings, whizz north in a taxi to undies. Drink with arty locals at hip new ADEEL Procopio. Ring the doorbell to get in, bars, sway to fado, the city’s signature then pull up a velvet chair (glass of wine sound, and load your suitcase with retro from £3; barprocopio.com).

souvenirs. As city breaks go, they don’t ILLUSTRATION: get much prettier, and it’s outstandingly good value, too. SUNDAY Morning Start at Alcoa, a swish bakery in SATURDAY with provocatively named pastries, Morning including the custardy nun’s nipple (from Lisboetas adore sugar, so top up your Viva £2; pastelaria-alcoa.com). Tram 15 will Viagem (Lisbon’s travelcard) and hop on then trundle you west to the riverside tram 28 to the Doce pastelaria district of Belem. You are here for the to start your day with a slab of broa de Jeronimos Monastery, a spiky mass of Arganil, a spicy cake rammed with 500-year-old honey-coloured stone aniseed, walnut and raisins (from £1; lled with fountains, carved marble and Calcada da Estrela 251). Eat it with a milky vaulted ceilings. If you’re going to visit a coee over the road at Jardim da Estrela. monastery in Europe, make it this one Opposite, you’ll see the Basilica da (£9; mosteirojeronimos.gov.pt/en). Estrela, a towering cream-coloured Next, head to the sea to take a picture cathedral that dates from 1790. Stroll of the Belem Tower, a textbook example through the pink marble interior to the of sumptuous Manueline architecture. presepio, home to a wonderfully elaborate The rhinoceros carved into the o-white 500-piece terracotta and cork Nativity stone was inspired by the animal that scene, then burn o the morning’s sugar arrived by sea from India when the fort with a 112-step climb to the dome for a was built to defend the city in 1514. 360-degree panorama (£3.60). Walk a little further along the River From here, it’s a short stroll to the and you’ll reach the Museum of , where wide, leafy Art, Architecture and Technology streets are lined with tiled art nouveau (MAAT). This shimmering ceramic wave buildings. Buy a bottle of Tyto Alba red of a building opened last year to showcase wine for later at Adega & Sabores (Rua contemporary painters, designers and Coelho da Rocha 94), and duck into architects through exhibitions and Livraria Ler, a shop famous for hiding installations (from £7; maat.pt). censored books behind a fake wall during From here, you’re a short walk from the fascist dictatorship, which lasted until the LX Factory, where a former fabric the early 1970s (Rua do 4 de Infantaria 18A). company has been transformed into a cluster of hip cafes and shops. Take in Afternoon bold street art, ick through the travel Restaurante Europa has a retro vibe. and photography books at Ler Devagar, Feast on olive oil-drenched broad beans, then hand over your credit card for salt cod and chickpea salad, and house-printed textiles and handmade farinheira, a moreish pork sausage, with a ceramics at Pura Cal. Sunday is market glass of house white (mains from £5; Rua day, so get ready to rummage for vintage Francisco Metrass 57). Skip dessert and clothes and antiques (lxfactory.com). pop into Pastelaria , where the custard tarts have been winning awards Afternoon for years (£1; Rua da Regueira 39). Seafood is a big deal in , and you’ll Flag a cab to the Chiado district and nd the best at the rickety tables of stop at the last remaining gothic arches Restaurante O Palacio. Chase steamed of the 14th-century Convento do Carmo. clams and cold barnacles with cheap The roof of this white-stone church Sagres beer, then nish o, as the locals didn’t survive the 1755 earthquake, and do, with prego, a traditional garlicky steak now sunlight streams between the sandwich (mains from £4; Rua Prior do heavy pillars. The small archaeological Crato 142). museum on the site of the main The steep streets of the Alfama district altar houses a collection of Roman are just the place to walk it o. Take tram tombstones, ceramics, an Egyptian LISBON 28, jump o when it starts to climb, then mummy and 4th-century coins (£3.50; follow the tracks. Push on up to the top museuarqueologicodocarmo.pt). In one of Europe’s cheapest cities, Hannah Summers of the hill to reach the Moorish Castelo Nearby, in A Vida Portuguesa, the de Sao Jorge — climb the ramparts for shelves are crammed with the colourful the best river and rooftop views (£7.60; packaging of traditional Portuguese gorges on custard tarts and feels the force of fado castelodesaojorge.pt). products. Snap up ketchup-red tins of sardines and twee, vintage-style bars of Evening soap that look so good, you won’t want to GETTING THERE ingredients for making Lisbon is the birthplace of fado, and you Chiado use them (avidaportuguesa.com). Jeronimos Bairro TAP flies to cocktails on arrival, and can’t get an idea of the city’s soul without Monastery Alto Alfama Lisbon from Heathrow free walking tours of hearing it live. At cosy Tasca Bela, with its Evening and Manchester; returns the neighbourhood gingham linens and mirror-covered walls, It’s hard to keep pace with Lisbon’s Belem Tower MAAT start at £80 (flytap.com). daily at 5pm. Doubles eat fried cod and octopus salad before the booming bar scene. For a good try, start 1 mile River Tagus Or try easyJet, from start at £220 lights dim and the sorrowful music wafts at Nova, a new wine bar in Chiado with Bristol, Edinburgh, (memmohotels.com). around you (from £15 a meal; book ahead: wooden benches, oor-to-ceiling 1 mile Gatwick, Liverpool The funky LX Boutique 00 351 926 077511; Rua dos Remedios 190). Procopio Memmo Principe windows and a rotating selection of and Luton. Hotel has a sushi The intimate vibe continues at the Real less familiar Portuguese wines (from £3; Europa Castelo de restaurant, bright-blue new Le Consulat hotel, back in Chiado, Rua Nova do 18). Sao Jorge WHERE TO STAY walls and large french where we’re headed for one last drink. Basilica The Michelin-starred Portuguese chef Bairro The Memmo Principe windows with views The former Brazilian embassy has been da Estrela Real, next to the historic across the Tagus to the Jose Avillez is responsible for some of the de Convento dolled up into a moodily lit cocktail den, O Palacio Bairro Alto district, has Christ the King statue. city’s best new restaurants, and at Bairro Doce Avillez do Carmo with drinks including the Vilma Goes to de Avillez you’ll nd four of them under Estrela sleek, modern rooms Doubles start at £82 Hollywood — gin and sparkling rosé in a one roof. Taberna is a laid-back option, LX Factory LX Boutique in soft neutral colours, (lxboutiquehotel.com). ute coated in rose petals (cocktails with stools, small plates and an open from £8; leconsulat.pt).