The Lisbon issue
Walking Lisbon's Avenida da Liberdade and Marquês de Pombal
A 1.1km climb up Lisbon's wide central boulevard, from the Restauradores obelisk to the park at the top, past shellfish counters, tiled palaces and rooftops.
By Robin AaltinkLisbon on foot, timed to the tram
The Avenida da Liberdade climbs 1.1km from Restauradores to Marquês de Pombal, 90m wide, with double rows of plane trees and jacarandas down both flanks. Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior and Cartier sit behind the trees on one side (€€€€), and cast-iron kiosks with café tables hold the shade on the other. Walking it costs nothing, and the calçada underfoot runs in a black-and-white wave pattern the whole way.
Walking the boulevard from south to north
Start low and climb. Praça dos Restauradores is the southern gateway, a calçada-paved square under a 30m stone obelisk with bronze allegorical figures at its base, raised for the 1640 restoration of independence from Spain. The pink-and-white Palácio Foz palace facade holds one flank of the square, the art-deco Eden Teatro frontage the other.
The main tourist information office is inside Palácio Foz. The interiors, a Hall of Mirrors and a Gothic-revival basement, open only on pre-booked monthly tours. Arrange that tour before you travel, or you will see the outside of the building and nothing more.
The Glória funicular that used to leave this square has been suspended since 2025, and its replacement is due in 2029. Bus 51E covers the route in the meantime.
Walk north from the obelisk. The side promenades are wide and shaded for the full climb, with boutique windows along one edge and kiosk esplanades along the other, and you can sit down at a kiosk table at any point without leaving the boulevard.
Praça do Marquês de Pombal closes the top end. A tall stone column stands at the centre of a wide traffic roundabout, the bronze Marquis beside a lion at the top of it; he is the minister who rebuilt Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake. Use the pedestrian underpasses rather than crossing the traffic lanes. This is the metro interchange most people arrive at, and the green slope of Parque Eduardo VII rises directly behind the column.
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Parque Eduardo VII and the Estufa Fria
Parque Eduardo VII is central Lisbon's largest park, and it begins where the boulevard ends. It was created as the Avenida's extension and renamed in 1903 for Edward VII. A long formal lawn of clipped box hedges in geometric knot patterns runs straight uphill between tree lines, and the column crowns removed in 2023 were reinstated in 2026.
Climb to the crest, where the 25 de Abril monument stands under a giant Portuguese flag. The view from that top terrace runs back down the whole Avenida to the Tagus, and it is worth the climb. The park is unfenced, always open and free.
Estufa Fria is inside the park, three greenhouses built between 1926 and 1930. Entry is €3.10, it closes Mondays, and it is free on Sundays and holidays until 14:00. The main house is a sunken ravine garden roofed with wooden slat laths that throw striped shade over tree ferns and palms, with stone bridges crossing still ponds. A glazed hot-house of tropicals and a cactus house stand alongside it.
This is the quietest stop in the area. The paths are narrow, so split a larger party at the entrance and let it reassemble at the ponds. Check ahead for event closures before you build a morning around it.
The viewpoint at Jardim do Torel
Jardim do Torel is the quiet viewpoint over the boulevard, a small two-level terrace garden on a steep slope up from Largo da Anunciada. An 18th-century mermaid statue stands in a shallow pond and pastel townhouse facades crowd the edges, with the rooftops of the Avenida and Baixa spread out below.
The Lavra funicular that used to carry you up closed indefinitely after the 2025 funicular accident, which leaves a steep walk from Largo da Anunciada. The garden is free and the kiosk pours a coffee for €1.50. Take it to the lower terrace and sit with the rooftops.
Clocks and silver at the Museu Medeiros e Almeida
Museu Medeiros e Almeida is a street back from the boulevard, five minutes' walk from Marquês de Pombal metro. Entry is €8 and it closes Sundays. This is the area's one serious museum, and it is still laid out as the collector's private mansion.
One room is lined with hundreds of ticking antique clocks. A Lalique glass fountain, cabinets of Chinese export porcelain, cases of silver and a tiled courtyard with blue-and-white azulejo panels fill out the rest of the house.
Free guided visits run on the first Saturday of each month at 10:00 and 11:30. The museum takes groups by arrangement.
Shows at the Teatro Tivoli BBVA
Teatro Tivoli BBVA is set back from the Avenida behind a 1924 frontage with lit marquee lettering. Inside is a red-and-gold horseshoe auditorium of 1,100 seats under a deep balcony, and it runs concerts, musicals, comedy and dance year-round (€€). Seats are allocated, and the box office handles group bookings, so reserve blocks well in advance of the date.
Eating around the Avenida
Casa do Alentejo occupies the 17th-century Alverca Palace, once Lisbon's first casino and now an Alentejo social club. A plain street door opens onto a Moorish-revival patio of horseshoe arches and blue-and-white tilework, with a grand staircase up to a chandeliered ballroom under a painted ceiling. Walk in for that courtyard even if you do not eat.
The dining rooms off the ballroom are simple, and the cooking is Alentejo pork, migas and dense regional plates (€€). The rooms are large and function spaces take big tables by booking. It closes Sunday and serves dinner only on Monday.
Cervejaria Ribadouro has stood on the boulevard since 1947. Crab, prawns and percebes sit on ice behind glass at the entrance, white-jacketed waiters crack shellfish along a marble counter, and draught beer comes cold under tiled walls. Shellfish is sold by the kilo, so order by weight and keep an eye on the bill (€€€). Service runs until 01:30 daily. Walk-ins are normal and the queue builds at peak hours.
Solar dos Presuntos (Rua das Portas de Santo Antão) is just off Restauradores and has been family-run since 1974. Cured hams hang at the entrance beside an iced seafood counter, the narrow upper floors are papered in signed celebrity photographs, and the waiters work in waistcoats over white tablecloths. The cooking is from the Minho, with arroz de marisco and shellfish done plainly (€€€). It fills nightly and turns tables. Book ahead, and not for a Sunday, when it closes.
JNcQUOI Avenida is in a converted part of the Tivoli theatre building, where a full dinosaur skeleton hangs above a double-height dining room in dark green and brass art-deco fittings, with a long cocktail bar down one side. The menu runs Portuguese classics alongside international dishes, daily to midnight (€€€€). You need a reservation and smart dress. The same group runs Asia, Frou Frou, a deli-bar and a members' club on the Avenida. Say which door you are booking when you reserve.
Drinks at SEEN Sky Bar and Red Frog Speakeasy
SEEN Sky Bar is the ninth-floor terrace above the Tivoli, run by chef Olivier da Costa, with Mediterranean-Japanese plates and cocktails (€€€). Low white and timber seating and potted greenery surround a DJ booth in the corner, the boulevard's treetops are directly below the rail and the Tagus sits in the distance. Sunset is the slot to ask for. The door gets selective on busy summer nights. Reserve, and dress for it.
Red Frog Speakeasy (Praça da Alegria) keeps an unmarked door with a small brass red-frog bell to press, on the leafy square just off the Avenida. Inside is a dim candlelit 1920s room with jazz, bartenders in waistcoats and intricately garnished cocktails (€€€). It is a regular on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
It opens Tuesday to Saturday, 18:00 to 01:00, and closes Sunday and Monday. Reservations are mandatory and tables run in 1.5-hour slots. The room is small and will not take a large group, so send four people and leave the rest at a kiosk.
Where to stay
Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon faces Parque Eduardo VII across a long 1959 modernist block, built for the state elite of the 1950s (€€€€). Mid-century Portuguese tapestries and commissioned art hang in the public rooms, the balconies are deep and private, and there is a running track on the roof above the city. Two restaurants, a spa and a large function space are on site, and the hotel handles groups and events. Its restaurant, CURA, holds two Suns in the 2026 Repsol guide.
Valverde Lisboa Hotel & Garden is a Relais & Châteaux townhouse at number 164, behind a discreet door mid-Avenida (€€€€). The interiors run to black-and-white marble, animal prints and vintage art, and a palm-shaded courtyard garden holds the restaurant, which serves non-guests and is the quietest lunch on the boulevard. There is a small plunge pool on the roof. The house has 48 rooms, which covers a handful of friends and no more.
Planning notes
The Estufa Fria closes Mondays. The Museu Medeiros e Almeida, Casa do Alentejo and Solar dos Presuntos close Sundays, and Red Frog Speakeasy shuts Sunday and Monday. Book Red Frog Speakeasy, JNcQUOI Avenida, SEEN Sky Bar, Solar dos Presuntos, any block of Tivoli seats and the Palácio Foz tour before you arrive.
See the Lisbon guide and the Lisbon hotel search.
Gallery
Avenida da Liberdade & Marquês de Pombal in pictures
Avenida da Liberdade & Marquês de Pombal — your questions
How long is the Avenida da Liberdade walk?
It runs 1.1km from Restauradores up to Marquês de Pombal and is 90m wide, with shaded side promenades the whole way and kiosk café tables where you can break the climb. Walking it is free.
Is the Glória funicular from Restauradores running?
No. It has been suspended since 2025 and a replacement is due in 2029. Bus 51E runs the route in the meantime.
How much does the Estufa Fria cost and when is it open?
Entry is €3.10. It closes Mondays, and it is free on Sundays and holidays until 14:00. The paths are narrow, so split a big group at the entrance.
Can you get into Red Frog Speakeasy without booking?
No. You have to book, and slots run 1.5 hours. It opens Tuesday to Saturday, 18:00 to 01:00, and the room is too small for a big group.
Where can you look down on the boulevard?
SEEN Sky Bar is the ninth-floor terrace above the Tivoli, with treetops directly below and the Tagus beyond, so book ahead for sunset. Jardim do Torel has the same view for free and kiosk coffee at €1.50, up a steep walk from Largo da Anunciada.
