Tree-lined Avenida da Liberdade was modeled after Paris’s Champs-Élysées and is covered with some of Lisbon’s most beautifully designed cobblestone pavements. It’s home to most of the city’s luxury stores, and down its central lanes are several food kiosks open throughout the day, each with its own specialty (from smoothies to seafood). Like the Parisian boulevard, it ends at a square with a traffic circle, Praça Marquês de Pombal, named after the man who oversaw downtown Lisbon’s reconstruction following the Great Earthquake of 1755 and whose statue stands at the center, overlooking the city. Behind him is Lisbon’s Central Park (Parque Eduardo VII), laid out in the 19th century and home to a beautiful greenhouse garden.
At the other end of the avenue is Praça Dos Restauradores, a square with an obelisk commemorating the restoration of the Portuguese crown in 1640, ending 60 years of the Iberian Union, when Portugal and Spain shared the same king. Surrounding it are a number of attractive buildings, most notably Foz Palace, built in 1777 with an interior inspired by the Palace of Versailles and home to a tourist office.
Rising up the hill to the west of the Avenida is romantic Príncipe Real, a neighborhood of stately mansions, trendy restaurants, concept stores, antiques traders, and green spaces, for a break. It’s also known as Lisbon’s "gayborhood," with discreet LGBT bars and clubs on quiet residential streets.
