Arroios, the coolest neighbourhood in the world!
When you're deciding where to spend your vacation, you might think about famous attractions or gorgeous natural wonders.
But if you really want to get to know a city like a local, your best bet is to look for the neighborhoods where they hang out, where the most interesting new restaurants, art galleries and coffee shops emerge.
The staff of Time Out, which has publications in cities all over the world, have put together an A (Accra) B (Beirut) C (Copenhagen) list of the world's 50 coolest neighborhoods, based on their own local intel.
The staff of Time Out, which has publications in cities all over the world, have put together an A (Accra) B (Beirut) C (Copenhagen) list of the world's 50 coolest neighborhoods, based on their own local intel.
Together with Graça Arroios is our favorite part of Lisbon
There are lots of independent things happening, young people, artists and people from all over the world. A neighborhood that people used to be afraid of is now Lisbon’s dynamic, intercultural hub…
These words could be ours. But they aren’t. They are Time Out’s reasons for choosing Arroios as the coolest part of Lisbon – end eventually the coolest neighborhoods in the world.
The Heart of Arroios – as seen from Google Earth’s drones. Start your Arroios visit here and work your way up to Graca via Penha de Franca.
The world is big and packed with cool cities. Many of them, places we know – and among them, a few places we really love and know better than our own backyard.
I was curious and gave the list a quick look. When I reached #32 and found my childhood part of Copenhagen listed. I almost laughed. I was born on Vesterbro, spent my childhood years there and hung out there until the mid 90ies – when the money and the rednecks took over and the charm and soul disappeared. I go there every time I visit Copenhagen – the last time only a few months ago – so trust me on this: The only thing you can’t call Vesterbro is cool… it lost this position ages ago to NV and Valby – but that’s another story.
The point is – these lists are created by individuals with different tastes, cultures, experiences etc. and far from the ‘truth’.
So use them as inspiration.
Dali in Berlin? Interesni Kazki in Arroios. One more Underdogs Wall from 2l13
Still it was a pleasant surprise to get our pick of location for Tings Lisbon ‘endorsed’. When we bought the house people either shook their heads or laughed. They thought we were crazy.
Together with Graça’s other neighbor Penha de França and the eastern part of Arroios from Av. Almirente Reis and up-hill these we have the neighborhood we fell in love with – the perfect place to stay for independent travelers like ourselves.
A neighbourhood of contrasts, Arroios stands out from the other parishes of Lisbon for the multiculturalism of its people and places. Cradle of Amália, the greatest Portuguese fado singer of all time, and home to almost a hundred nationalities, Arroios is the largest parish in central Lisbon, though you can walk across it in half an hour.
More than a neighbourhood, it’s a world in itself, and its many impressive kilometres of streets are packed with open-air galleries, restaurants from all corners of the world, public services, cultural and sporting venues…
More than a neighbourhood, it’s a world in itself, and its many impressive kilometres of streets are packed with open-air galleries, restaurants from all corners of the world, public services, cultural and sporting venues…
A few of our Aroios picks
Time Out's Arroios Picks - is this a joke?
When I saw Time Out highlighting Ramiro as the place to go if you only have one pick I laughed out loud.
Ramiro is the classic Cervejaria that people have lined up in front of for at least the 25 years we have visited Lisbon (probably longer). It’s good but expensive and far from as legendary as it used to be. And it’s the complete opposite of cool – it’s not even kitsch. We used to go there – but now we go to O Palacio in Alcantara, one of the coolest seafood places in Lisbon!
The beautiful circular Mercado is surrounded by cool places – including some of our favorite bars and restaurants. Time Out doesn’t even mention it.
There are a few good picks in Time Out’s Arroios feature, like our cocktail bar Vlada Lounge and the vegetarian picks. Grande Palácio Hong Kong is also OK, we just prefer the secret Chinese Restaurants in Lisbon’s China Town or the Asian food court at Martim Moniz that opened a few years ago.
But where is our favorite Indian restaurant Costa do Mamabar next door to Vlada Lounge? And what about all the new eateries that have taken over the old Mercado. And how can you do an Arroio feature without even mentioning the Mercado named after this freguesia – the coolest market in Lisbon?
We are not specialists in Lisbon or Arroios for that matter. We are only interested in our own neighborhood which we love a lot. That happens to include the part of Arroios located on the eastern side of Av. Almirente Reis and up – that part we know well enough to have our own favorites – most of them not listed in Time Outs feature – check the above. Or spend a few hours in this ‘cool’ part of Lisbon and find your own?
Enjoy
Thomas
