Chiado

On the west side of the Baixa is one of the city’s most affluent quarters, Chiado – the nom de plume of the poet António Ribeiro and pronounced she-ah-doo. The area suffered great damage from a fire that swept across the Baixa in 1988 and many old shops in Rua do Crucifixo were destroyed, although the original belle époque atmosphere has since been superbly re-created under the direction of eminent Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira. The heart of the district is Rua Garrett, with its fashionable shops and old café-tearooms. Of these, A Brasileira, Rua Garrett 120, is the most famous, having been frequented by generations of Lisbon’s literary and intellectual leaders. The street’s Igreja dos Mártires (Church of the Martyrs) occupies the site of the Crusader camp during the Siege of Lisbon. The church was later built on the site of a burial ground created for the English contingent of the besieging army. Music recitals are often held in the church; check the local press for details.