Avenida da Liberdade

Lisbon’s great boulevard runs in one straight line from the Restauradores square up to the roundabout of the Marquis of Pombal, under plane trees and along black-and-white mosaic pavements. For more than a century the A Brasileira in the neighbouring Chiado and the kiosks of the avenue itself have anchored the daily ritual of coffee and shopping along its length.

From walled park to boulevard

The avenue began as the Passeio Público, a walled garden laid out in the years after the 1755 earthquake, then reserved and gated against the city. In 1879 the walls came down: the engineer Frederico Ressano Garcia reworked the ground into a Parisian-style boulevard, lined with symmetrical façades and planted walks, renamed Avenida da Liberdade. Its lower end reaches the old quarter within minutes, where the Elevador de Santa Justa climbs to the ridge above.

The living avenue

Today the avenue is Lisbon’s address for luxury shopping and its grandest hotels, but the pavements still belong to walkers: shaded side lanes run between the carriageways, kiosks serve drinks under the trees, and at the northern end the memorial to the dead of the First World War closes the axis at the Pombal roundabout.

What to see

• The calçada mosaic pavements
• The tree-lined central walks and kiosks
• The First World War memorial at the top of the avenue
• The historic hotels and shopfronts
• The side streets of the Liberdade quarter

Practical information

The avenue runs north from the centre of Lisbon, with the metro running beneath it and buses along its length. It slopes gently down towards Restauradores, so the classic walk is downhill, ending near Rossio and the Baixa. Summer shade is thinner than it looks: carry water on the climb from the river side.

Image credit: Avenida da Liberdade by -wuppertaler — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.