The Neighborhood of Lapa

What is it about rich people, always choosing the highest neighborhoods in which to live? Do they have to literally lord it over the rest of us? Apparently so, because in a hilly town like Lisbon, you can bet that the highest hills are going to be populated by the richest people. It’s a law as immutable as gravity, and should you be in doubt, then please check out Lapa. Just make sure to step out of the road as the Porsche SUV blasts by.

Lapa Neighborhood of Lisbon

I’m exaggerating a little. The days of the Portuguese aristocracy are a thing of the past, and although there is an elevated Porsche-per-capita ratio in Lapa, this neighborhood is no longer all that exclusive.

In fact, once we took a good look around, we noticed that while many of the buildings in Lapa are handsome, a good number of them are abandoned, such as the estate at 39 Rua Buenos Aires. You get the feeling that as the city started to expand, the rich people who like to hold themselves at a distance realized that Lapa was suddenly too central. “To Ajuda,” they cried, fleeing in panic. “To Belém!”

Tram Lapa and yellow house in Lisbon

We found Lapa nearly terrifying in its silence, although it must be said that we were visiting on a winter weekend. We’d go for entire blocks without seeing another soul, and had trouble finding a single restaurant open for lunch. It’s not like this is a ghost town; people clearly live here, but we hardly saw a single one of them.

Maybe they were all in their apartments, admiring the views over Lisbon. Lapa crowns one of the city’s highest hills, and the views are predictably impressive. Just looking down Rua São João da Mata, from Rua Lapa, we almost got dizzy. The long, steep, sloping street would work fabulously as a ski jump.

Hilly Streets of Lapa Lisbon

There are a few sights in Lapa, such as the prominent Basilica da Estrela and its neighboring garden, as well as the neoclassical Assembleia da República, which is Portugal’s parliament. But the best reason to visit the neighborhood is to appreciate the quiet residential feel, and check out the views from on high. It wouldn’t be a bad place to live, especially since it’s now accepting peasants.

Lapa Lisbon

Lapa

04 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02273

05 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02207

06 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02209

07 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02210

08 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02213

10 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02214

11 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02216

12 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02220

13 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02221

14 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02222

15 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02224

16 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02225

17 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02229

18 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02233

19 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02241

21 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02250

22 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02268

23 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02259

24 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02270

25 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02274

26 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02281

27 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02283

28 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02286

29 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02288

30 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02306

31 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02309

32 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02313

33 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02322

34 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02326

35 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02342

36 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02349

37 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02351

38 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02358

39 Lapa Neighborhood Lisbon DSC02365

Lapa Blog

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Joel

    Just beautiful!

Leave a Reply