Lisbon or Porto?

Mar. 21 2014

by Laurence Ogiela / TÊTU

You want a romantic getaway: draw
Lisbon, the city of seven hills, offers one of the most beautiful panoramas in Europe. To stroll from one neighborhood to another, use the elevators and funiculars, such as between the Baixa and Chiado neighborhoods. In addition, they offer great views of the city. The Santa Justa elevator, built by a student of Gustave Eiffel, is particularly beautiful. Anyway, it is better to bring sneakers, especially to tackle the popular Alfama district and its narrow streets. If you are afraid to climb the long street that goes up to the Sao Jorge castle, you can take the tramway n° 28, an institution.

The industrial capital of northern Portugal, Porto has long had the image of a noisy, dirty city that is constantly under construction. It has recently given itself a successful facelift. The historical center spreads out on the banks of the Douro river. From the bell tower of the Clérigos tower, you can see the whole city. Laundry hangs in the windows, women grill sardines on the quays, kids play in the street.

The ideal stroll will take you along the Foz do Douro promenade, before taking streetcar line no. 1 that goes from the city center to the Ribeira. Stop at the Sao Bento train station to admire the huge azulejo frescoes, before going to the docks to cross the Dom-Luis-Ier double steel bridge and reach the famous wine cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia.

Ifyou want to party, you'll have to take advantage of Lisbon
Porto has a well-founded reputation for being wiser than Lisbon, even though the hard-working city is becoming more and more lively. Gay life in Porto is limited to a few bars and clubs like Boys R Us (rua Dr Barbosa de Castro, 63), which hosts drag shows, and Pride Bar (rua do Bonjardim, 1121).
Other alternative places, such as Plano B (rua Candido dos Reis, 30), a converted industrial building, offer gay-friendly parties. In the same vein, you can try Gare Club (rua da Madeira, 182) near Sao Bento station, and Industria (Avenida do Brasil, 843 Lojas A/F) next to Parque da Cidade. There are even a few gay saunas, like the Scorpius (rua do Bonjardim, 628).

In one of the streets of Bairro Alto, the gay and festive district of Lisbon © Laurence Ogiela

In Lisbon, gay and gay-friendly places are almost all in Bairro Alto, and around Principe Real square, the local Marais.
The Clube da Esquina (rua da Barroca, 30), the Side (rua da Barroca, 33), the Maria Caxuxa (rua da Barroca, 6) are all in the same area, and the Sétimo Céu, in a perpendicular street, offers Madonna-style drag shows. a few steps away, Favela Chik (rua do Diario de Noticias, 66) and Portas Largas are a must. Moreover, their bartenders are just sublime.
Then, we go to Finalmente for its drag shows at three in the morning. It is a tiny and crowded place, where everybody rushes for the atmosphere and the wandering hands.
Finally, we end up at Fragil, a historic club, or Lux Fragil on the docks, one of the most beautiful clubs in Europe. For sex, go to the private club Labyrinto (rua dos Industriais, 19), and to the dark room of the BricaBar, open some nights.

You want to be cultured: dare Porto
In Lisbon, in the slightly offbeat neighborhood of Belem, in addition to the famous Jerónimos Tower and Monastery, masterpieces of Manueline art, there's the Belém Cultural Center Design Museum. The Berardo Museum of Modern Art with its collection of Warhol, Koons, Klein... In the city center, the Museu do Chiado presents a beautiful collection of contemporary Portuguese art.

Porto is not to be outdone, especially thanks to its modern art museum in the Serralves Foundation, which makes Lisbon "the intellectual" green with envy. Another pride of the northern capital is the Casa da música, an ultramodern concert hall designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. Porto is also home to the Portuguese Center of Photography, the only museum of its kind in Portugal.

Find all the gay and gay-friendly addresses in Lisbon