Basilica Estrela

Estrela is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in all of Lisbon. I was lucky enough to move here and find a room in Estrela. The area is privileged and tucked away, it has a small town feel in a big city. It is also next to the Jardim Estrela, which is a huge plus. I guess the neighborhood is named after the Basilica Estrela depicted above. The jardim is right in front of the basilica. I know I have covered this area before in prior blog posts, but now that I live here, I wanted to make a dedicated post to this area.

Estrela and on the way to Lapa

So the neighborhoods of Estrela, Lapa, and Santos are pretty much adjacent to each other. They are west of Bairro Alto and the best way to get to these neighborhoods is by taking the Tram 28 towards Prazeres or walking from the Rato station at the end of the yellow line. I would suggest the tram.

Basilica Estrela Between Buildings

Very Portuguese Style Building Facade

Towards Santos and the Sea

I wandered around Lapa and then headed south towards Santos. Santos is the area where the funkier, local, and less touristy clubs in Lisbon are. One such club is called Vaca Louca, or the “Crazy Cow” in English. Here’s a photo from inside the crazy cow.

Church. Again!

Ok so you pretty much can’t walk ten minutes in any direction in Lisbon without running into a church of some kind. Here I stumbled into one that I forgot the name of. Maybe someone can post it in the comments?

Bottom of the Church Steps

Being in such close proximity to all these churches made me want to get a drink really badly. Luckily, there was a bar nearby called Le Chat. It is an amazing restaurant/bar that overlooks the Lisbon harbor.

Le Chat in Santos

It was a hot day and I had walked very far from Estrela to Santos. If you look at a map you can see that it is a pretty far way to walk. When I reached this veritable oasis on my journey I decided to get the most refreshing drink I could possibly think of. A pineapple mojito! MOJITOOOOOO!

Pineapple Mojito!

You’d think that a place like this would be exorbitantly expensive but it isn’t. Entrees are under 10 Euros and drinks are around 5-7 Euros a pop.

Out to Sea

So I drank my pineapple mojito and watched the ships sail out of the Tagus into the Atlantic. I eventually got into a cab and took a ride back to Cais do Sodre to catch the metro back to Estrela. The sun was still in the sky so I decided to go on the roof to get some bomb pictures of Lisbon.

The Roof - Basilica Estrela View

I’m very grateful to have found the place that I’m living in right now. Lisbon is a very old city and due to the rent pricing freeze under Salazar, not many landlords had the money to fix up or invest in their properties. That’s why you don’t see any skyscrapers or high-rise apartment buildings in the old city. I live on the 7th floor that gives me access to the roof in Estrela. From the top I can see the Basilica Estrela, Castelo São Jorge, and the 25 Ponte de Abril.

The Roof - Castle View

The Roof - Bridge View

The Roof - Lapa View

Here’s a 360 degree video of the view from my roof!

After hanging out on the roof (and doing some yoga) I came back to the apartment to cook me some dinner! Night fell and I snapped a few more pictures from the balcony off the living room and the balcony off my bedroom. If you wanna come visit, post a request in the comments below!

Living Room Balcony View

Bedroom Balcony View