Intendente é um bairro animado e elegante que tem evoluído significativamente nos últimos anos. Apesar de sua localização central, o bairro definhou por anos, com muitos de seus prédios antigos caindo em ruínas. No entanto, a área sofreu grandes melhorias e os preços dos imóveis, assim como os bairros étnicos, têm sido os motivos pelos quais muitas pessoas procuram comprar um imóvel no Intendente.
Localizado na freguesia de Arroios que foi coroada como o bairro mais moderno do mundo pela Timeout, o Intendente recebe o nome de Praça do Intendente, uma praça de formas divertidas a apenas uma rua da Avenida Almirante Reis. Esta área é vista como um retrato fiel da Nova Lisboa, onde culturas e tendências se fundem.
O Intendente é ideal para estudantes e jovens profissionais, graças à abundância de espaços de co-working, cafés e locais de brunch. A região é descontraída e ao mesmo tempo possui uma vida noturna vibrante, que muitos consideram a melhor dos dois mundos. Há também uma série de projetos interessantes sendo realizados aqui, o que permitirá que muitas empresas desenvolvam ainda mais seus pequenos negócios.
Make a beeline for Casa Independente, which is responsible for bringing Arroios neighbourhood back to Lisbon's nightlife scene. It's a bar, restaurant, and concert stage housed in a former palace dating from 1863, with perhaps the best balcony in Lisbon overlooking its iconic courtyard. It has held countless dance nights, but it also hosts open-air film screenings and provides good meals at its Tasca Tropical restaurant.
For something much more underground, go to the Vlada Lounge, which seems to be a contender for the title of "smallest bar in Lisbon" – you'll find the narrow hallway that leads to the back room which hosts nightly burlesque shows.
After opening a few stores in Lisbon and Porto, A Vida Portuguesa came to Intendente with its flagship store. In this space, you will find genuine Portuguese products, from soaps to canned food, with delightful retro packagings.
This place features a world of vintage Portuguese items, so you can and should expect to lose inside its many rooms, and expect to see thousands of Portuguese designed products from the early 20th century, depicting a time when the country was isolated. The visual styles found here is also a designer's dream and amongst the most beautiful in Europe.
Largo do Intendente was known as a degraded space until it was rehabilitated in 2012. It was after this renovation that Largo do Intendente returned to being an inviting space, part of a more modern Lisbon.
After its rehabilitation, several buildings were recovered, including one of the best known today, built in Art Nouveau style and awarded a Valmor prize in 1908 - the 4-star hotel 1908 Lisboa Hotel.
In the middle of the square, there’s a running water fountain, and a wrought-iron sculpture by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos which helps to give another colour to the Largo do Intendente.
Situated at Taberna das Almas (Tavern of Souls), Feira das Almas happens once a month and it is one of the spotlights of Intendente’s cultural rebirth. It is an alternative market, you will find pieces by new designers, second-hand items, antiques, books, among other things for sale.
Located 7 kilometres away from the capital, Lisbon Portela Airport is the main international airport in Portugal and is one of the largest in southern Europe. Because of its close location to Lisbon city centre, getting from the airport to Lisbon is straightforward using a metro taxi or bus service. Lisbon Portela Airport is the nearest airport to Intendente. It takes 13 minutes via car (follow E1 or Avenida Almirante Gago Coutinho and Avenida Almirante Reis) and around 40 minutes via tube, if you take the nearest metro station in Martim Moniz, Anjos or Intendente.
Being close to the most central neighbourhoods in Lisbon, Intendente offers good transport links. The metro station of Martim Moniz, Anjos and Intendente can get you anywhere in central Lisbon. There are also frequent trams and buses passing by through the day that can take you from northwest to southeast central Lisbon.
Similar to the other southern European countries, Portugal typically tends to see warm temperatures and nice weather conditions throughout the whole year. Santos has a mild climate. You can expect to find 25°C during the summer months and, as the colder months start to creep in, the temperatures will drop to around 11°C. November is the month that sees the most rainfall, which can be around 128mm on average.
Lisbon is located by the Tagus river, hence has different beach coastlines nearby. To the west of Lisbon lies the Oeiras-Estoril-Cascais coastline, where there are beautiful sandy beaches, blessed with a calm sea in the summer months. You can find the Sintra coastline in the northwest of Lisbon, which is made up of cliffs and embodies wild scenery, where you can truly immerse yourself in nature. The Costa da Caparica coastline is in the south of Lisbon and is sought-after for its wide-open beaches. This coastline comprises a large stretch of beaches, spread along to the western coast, highly popular among surfers all year long.
Thanks to its evolution, the Intendente area has transformed into a hotspot for numerous cafes, pubs, and restaurants. Stews, grills, barbecues, hamburgers, kebabs, pizzas, empanadas, fish, seafood, molluscs, curries, noodles, baba ganoush... a multitude of options for omnivores as the Arroios area is a quite multicultural neighbourhood. Here’s a list of must-go places around Intendente:
– Bar & bistro ‘Josephine
– O das Joanas
– Restaurante & Bar Infame
Intendente is a multicultural neighbourhood, so here you’ll find a lot of original stuff to buy around, starting with Anjos Rua Market, which brings together a diverse range of food choices, fresh produce, artisans, and second-hand items in a unique and vibrant environment.
If you want to buy genuine Portuguese and vintage products, you can visit the flagship store of A Vida Portuguesa, which is the main shops in Largo do Intendente. There’s also Retrox Vintage Shop, with contemporary yet vintage finds on second hand for those who love to collect antique items.
There’s also a once a month fair happening in Intendente, called Feira das Almas, and it is one of the spotlights of Intendente’s cultural rebirth. It is an alternative market where you can find pieces by new designers, second-hand items, books, and many other finds.