Lisbon Food Quarters, One by One

Every choice you make about a Lisbon food tour comes down to one question: which quarter does it walk? Baixa is flat and was rebuilt on a grid. Alfama is stairs. Mouraria is where the city's Mozambican, Goan and Chinese kitchens are. Pick the quarter and the rest of the decision makes itself — then compare the walking food tour Lisbon that go there.

Baixa — the flat one, rebuilt after 1755

The earthquake of 1755 flattened the lower town, and the Marquis of Pombal rebuilt it as a grid. That is why Baixa is the one quarter in central Lisbon you can cross without climbing. Two operators sell the flat route as a feature, and if steps are a problem it is the answer.

What you eat here is the classic register: petiscos, grilled sardines, salt cod, a bifana, a custard tart. Most of the walks that meet at Praça do Comércio or Rossio work this ground. Expect eight tastings and four drinks in three hours, with the tables booked ahead.

Alfama — the quarter the earthquake missed

Alfama kept its medieval street plan because the shock did less damage on the hill. The lanes are narrow, the surfaces are cobbles and steps, and one operator counts about fifty of them on its route. You will climb less than you fear if the walk starts at Largo das Portas do Sol, because from there everything runs downhill.

The food is home cooking: cod done four ways, grilled fish, cheese from the Alentejo, wine poured by the glass. This is also the quarter where an eighteen-tasting walk stops being a tasting session and starts being dinner.

Mouraria — where fado was born, and where the city eats widest

Mouraria is the old Moorish quarter and it has been the arrival district ever since. Fado began here. So did most of what is new about Lisbon food: Mozambican stews, Goan curries, Chinese kitchens behind unmarked doors, Bangladeshi groceries. Several walks put a seated tasting on Rua de São Cristóvão for exactly this reason.

It is hilly, and the streets are unglamorous in a way people either love or do not. If you want the city rather than the postcard, book a walk that names Mouraria.

Chiado and Bairro Alto — bookshops by day, tascas by night

Chiado is the smart shopping quarter, one steep climb up from Baixa, and it levels out once you are there. Bairro Alto sits above it: five hundred years of cobbled lanes that are quiet at six and loud at eleven. The evening walks work this ground, and one of them starts up at Príncipe Real as the light goes.

Eat here in the evening rather than the afternoon. The tascas open late, the wine lists are longer, and a fado house is a short walk in any direction.

Cais do Sodré and Bica — the market end

Down at the river, Cais do Sodré is where the fish came in and where the Mercado da Ribeira still trades. Half of that iron hall is now Time Out Market, open until midnight and until two in the morning at weekends. The Bica funicular climbs from here towards Bairro Alto, which is the shortcut everybody photographs.

One of the most-booked walks in the city finishes in this market, and it is the natural end for an afternoon that started in Baixa.

Graça and Campo de Ourique — where the city stops performing

Both sit outside the circuit and both are worth the tram. Graça is high, with two of the best viewpoints and a handful of tascas that have not changed. Campo de Ourique is residential, and its market hall is the one Lisboetas actually shop in. The longest walk here spends five and a half hours between the two, and includes lunch.

Which quarter should you eat in?

Frequently asked about the quarters