Before you cancel me, I need to say: I’m going to reveal to you a Portugal that I travel to and please, don’t pretend you don’t know it. I live in Baixa-Chiado. And, honestly, there are days when I think I no longer speak Portuguese. I speak a hybrid, comfortable, international language, where “obbrigada” coexists peacefully with “brunch” and “natural wine”.
The truth is simple: the only Portugal that is still cheap is the Portugal created by foreigners. And, believe me, Portugal still drives us crazy, for better or for worse.
An American friend, for example, went into an existential collapse when he discovered that an Imperial costs two euros here, while in the United States it costs eight dollars. Basically, he became an alcoholic for this market opportunity. And no, it’s not an exaggeration: Portugal is capable of fascinating anyone with these little “miracles” of everyday life.
But there is still a Portugal that continues to have “Portugal” prices. However, you need to know where to enter. It’s the Portugal of gourmet life. From prolonged tastings. From the organic vegetable markets on Saturdays in Príncipe Real, with bargain prices (as we say in Brazil). In fact, there are the best sweet blackberries in this country!
Of the existential Taureans and I include myself in that group, who live for the aesthetic pleasure of the next dish. From the bon vivants who turned Monday into a concept.
Here, the people look like something out of a lost casting call for a Woody Allen movie: slightly neurotic, deeply interesting and impeccably dressed at four o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon in a cute kiosk.
They have time. They have well-treated skin. They have yoga and pilates bodies.
And they still pay for sessions at prices that, miraculously, remain “Portuguese”. Miracle? No. International financial organization.
Praça das Flores: the itinerary of pleasure
Praça das Flores is a kind of microcosm of gourmet happiness. Every corner offers experiences that would make any foodie swoon with joy. So let’s get to the tips foodies?
Burrata with pesto that probably causes instant gastronomic orgasm. The price is for those who can pay, but, honestly, when the pleasure is that big, the price is no longer relevant. The place is also inviting to find a good match, beautiful, rich and International.
Vnatural wines served with stories of passionate producers, volcanic soils and fermentations that seem to smile at those who drink. The wine list is a guide to liquid happiness, you wonder if you’ve been transported to a secret mixology laboratory. With beautiful people. Cups for just 7 euros. A paradise on Earth. If we compare it to the horrible wines from NY with prices starting at 15 eurecas + tips. Black Sheep is Disney! By chance, I don’t deny it, you can find me there.
Among other bars and cafes in the square, everything turns into a sophisticated choreography: a glass here, another there, a dish that turns into dinner, a dinner that turns into a late night. Every step, every bite, is carefully choreographed to maximize pleasure and minimize any reminders of stress or bureaucracy.
Modern, organic food, hybrid menus, little surprises with every bite. Between dishes, wines and laughter, a gastronomic microclimate was created where Portugal seems to reinvent itself at every turn.
The problems exist. They just don’t live here
Yes, Portugal has problems: health, bureaucracy, salaries, endless queues and a certain structural fatigue. But in Baixa these problems are almost abstract. They are a distant cloud, outsourced to another geographic and social reality.
Public health? We’re really sorry, but someone has to take care of this.
The bureaucracy? A friendly accountant will do the trick. World chaos? It’s very far away, probably on the other side of the Tagus.
An alternative society has been created where everything is beautiful, tasty and manageable. A silent pact that we came to Lisbon not to suffer, but to experience pleasure. Here, the commitment is different: to be elegant escapees from global stress. Problems? They exist. But they are outsourced.
A carnival with fado content
This Portugal has no glitter. It has lightness. It’s a restrained carnival, with a soft fado soundtrack and a glass of biodynamic wine.
And the most fascinating thing?
Still cheap. Cheap for those who arrive with an outside salary.
Cheap for those who convert hard currency into tropical European quality of life. Cheap for those who can choose to live Portugal as an experience and not as survival.
Maybe true luxury isn’t natural wine or pilates at eleven in the morning. Perhaps the true luxury is being able to live in Portugal without having to experience the real Portugal. And this, ironically, is the only Portugal that still fits into the budget, but not for the Portuguese. Then I ask: The Portuguese first?
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