Lisbon Noir

A side project of Lisbon Noir is the Dolci page, which is an attempt to provide an overview of the various sweet pastries one can find in Lisbon.

It is work in progress, since a wide range of sweet pastries can be found all over the city and over time more will be added.

Vila Nova de Gaia, across the River Douro from Porto, is famous for the production of Port wines. The traditional port lodges are still located in its center and most of them are open to visitors.  While touring the lodges you can see (and smell) the barrels where the Port is kept, learn more about the making of Port and  taste various different Port wines.

It is best to visit on a weekday and to stay away from the riverside where it is more busy and touristy. In the smaller streets away from the river you will find yourself going back in time and you will find Port lodges such as Offley, that  offer tours and tastings but in a much more quiet, friendly and intimate setting.

Via Algarviana is a 300 km long foot-path in the Algarve in Portugal. It starts in Alcoutim, which is close to the Spanish border, and ends in Cabo de S. Vicente along the Atlantic Ocean, and consists of 14 sections, varying in distance from 14 km to 30 km.

The trail is sign-posted in both directions and can be done in parts during a (short) walking holiday or in its entirety for the truly dedicated, and the nice thing is that it shows a relatively unknown part of the Algarve, away from the busy beaches and tourist areas, leading through small Algarvian villages, past abandoned buildings and through unique  landscapes. It may have some challenges since it is not easy to get to and from certain parts of the trail due to a lack of public transportation, but it is worth the effort.

And if you end up in Salir, do not forget to visit the local pizzeria there, which in itself is almost worth the visit when you are in the area.

An abandoned warehouse along the river Tejo (Tagus) in Lisbon.

The Lisbon Electricity Museum is a unique example of a well-preserved industrial site.  It opened in 2006 and shows the equipment of the old electricity generating unit in a completely renovated building. It is worth a visit both for those interested in the workings of industrial machinery and those interested in  the esthetics of old machinery and industrial buildings. It is a pity that sites  such as the Battersea Power Station, a majestic building along the Thames in London, are not preserved in the same way.

The Cemitério dos Prazeres or in English “Cemetery of Pleasure” is a historic cemetery dating back to 1833. Its streets are lined with graves resembling little  houses. And the unusual and eerie thing about a lot of these graves is that they have little “front doors” with glass windows through which you can see the caskets and remnants of the dead and their visitors.

The cemetery also provides great views over the Alcântara valley, the river Tejo and the Ponte 25 de Abril and can be reached by taking Electrico 28, which is a traditional and charming Lisbon tram,  to its last stop in Prazeres.