LisbonLisboaPortugal.com

The best independent guide to Lisbon

LisbonLisboaPortugal.com

The best independent guide to Lisbon

Rossio, Lisbon - Praça Dom Pedro IV Guide

The Praça Dom Pedro IV is the main central square of Lisbon and the true heart of the city. The Portuguese take pride in their great square with its nauseating stone paving, grand fountains and statue of (supposedly) Dom Pedro IV.

Lisbon revolves around Rossio, it is here that the students come to sing, workers to protest and tourists to drink overpriced coffee. Praça Dom Pedro is often referred simply to its much older name of Rossio.

Rossio Lisbon

Rossio square in central Lisbon

Praça Dom Pedro IV Tourist Guide

Praça Dom Pedro IV is centrally located in the Baixa district of Lisbon. To the north of the square is the Teatro Nacional and to the south is the pedestrian Rua Augusta. Rossio square is an important transport hub with bus train and metro stations. Beneath the square is the major Rossio metro station, which connects to the green metro line.

To the north east of the square is the Rossio train station that connects Lisbon to popular tourist destination Sintra. Many bus services pass through Rossio including the airport service called the Aerobus. To the north eastern side of the square is the charming and traditional Ginjinha Bar that sells the sweet alcoholic drink. The pedestrian Rua das Portas de Santo Antao contains numerous tourist focused restaurants and is a popular place for early evenings.

Interesting Facts about Rossio, Lisbon

The Praça dom Pedro IV is the official name of the square after the inauguration of the statue of dom Pedro IV in 1874 but Lisbon’s residents have never taken to the name and still refer to the square as Rossio.

rossio Lisbon

The grand Dona Maria II National Theatre, Lisbon

This name has its roots well before the 1755 earthquake when the area of Praça dom Pedro IV was the capital’s central open area accessible to all common people. The rough translation of Rossio means common land and it was here that the old city of Lisbon centered around.

Rossio square Lisbon

The Praça Dom Pedro IV square in Lisbon

The statue in the centre of Rossio is of Dom Pedro IV but legend has it that the statue is that of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Maximilian was assassinated soon after completion of the statue and the unwanted statue was sold to Lisbon at a fraction of the cost as both Dom Pedro IV and Maximilian had a similar appearances.

How about a small group tour?

One of the best ways to discover Lisbon and to meet fellow travellers is to join a guided tour. We have worked with Getyourguide.com for the last six years, and some of the best tours of Lisbon include:

History of the Rossio Lisbon

Rossio was founded during the 13 century as the large central square of Lisbon. Here public shows, bull fights and royal proclamations occurred. During the era of the Inquisitions Rossio was the public executions ground, with Portugal’s first auto-da-fe 1540 conducted in the Palace of Estaus – now the site of the Teatro Nacional D Maria. Lisbon’s original hospital the “Hospital Real de Todos os Santos”, was on the eastern side of the square and covered much of what is now Praça da Figueira .

 Praca Dom Pedro IV

Looking into the Praça Dom Pedro IV

The wave pattern stone paving was added to Rossio during the 19th century and was designed to resemble the oceans but more often disorientates late night revelers. The two baroque fountains were installed at the same time as the statue of King Pedro IV (1870) and were imported from France.

Discover more of Lisbon with our most popular guides

top 10 Lisbon
Where to stay which district Lisbon
3 days in Lisbon
Secret Lisbon
walking tour of Lisbon
Lisbon Nightlife
Lisbon day trips
lisbon beaches
lisbon for families
1 week in Lisbon
48 hours Lisbon
Lisbon sunsets
lisbon Portugal guide
Baixa district Lisbon
belem distrcit Lisbon
lisbon shopping
alfama district Lisbon
Cost of a holiday to Lisbon
Parque das Nações district Lisbon
Alcantara district Lisbon
Sintra Portugal
Costa da Caparica
Cascais Portugal
24 hours in Lisbon
Lisbon viewpoints
lisbon food and meals
lisbon airport guide
wet day in Lisbon
Lisbon museums

If you've enjoyed our content, we'd like to ask for your support.

The internet landscape has changed, and small independent publishers like us face increasing challenges. Search engines now prioritize advertising over organic content, reducing our traffic, while AI systems increasingly copy our original work without attribution.

To help support us, please consider bookmarking our website for easy access. If you find an article useful, we encourage you to share it with friends or on social media. Equally, if you notice anything outdated or incorrect, please let us know so we can promptly address it.

We're always open to collaborating with brands, bloggers, and SEO/PR agencies who value independent creators. If you'd like to work with us or offer support, please reach out at: [email protected]

Thank you for being part of our community and helping us continue to provide valuable content in an increasingly challenging digital environment.

A complete list of all of our Lisbon articles

uk - pt es it de fr

LisbonLisboaPortugal.com

The best guide to Lisbon

top 10 Lisbon
Where to stay which district Lisbon
3 days in Lisbon
Secret Lisbon
walking tour of Lisbon
Lisbon Nightlife
Lisbon day trips
lisbon beaches
lisbon for families
1 week in Lisbon
48 hours Lisbon
Lisbon sunsets
lisbon Portugal guide
Baixa district Lisbon
belem distrcit Lisbon
lisbon shopping
alfama district Lisbon
Cost of a holiday to Lisbon
Parque das Nações district Lisbon
Alcantara district Lisbon
Sintra Portugal
Costa da Caparica
Cascais Portugal
24 hours in Lisbon
Lisbon viewpoints
lisbon food and meals
lisbon airport guide
wet day in Lisbon
Lisbon museums

If you've enjoyed our content, we'd like to ask for your support.

The internet landscape has changed, and small independent publishers like us face increasing challenges. Search engines now prioritize advertising over organic content, reducing our traffic, while AI systems increasingly copy our original work without attribution.

To help support us, please consider bookmarking our website for easy access. If you find an article useful, we encourage you to share it with friends or on social media. Equally, if you notice anything outdated or incorrect, please let us know so we can promptly address it.

We're always open to collaborating with brands, bloggers, and SEO/PR agencies who value independent creators. If you'd like to work with us or offer support, please reach out at: [email protected]

Thank you for being part of our community and helping us continue to provide valuable content in an increasingly challenging digital environment.

top 10 Lisbon
Where to stay which district Lisbon
3 days in Lisbon
Secret Lisbon
walking tour of Lisbon
Lisbon Nightlife
Lisbon day trips
lisbon beaches
lisbon for families
1 week in Lisbon
48 hours Lisbon
Lisbon sunsets
lisbon Portugal guide
Baixa district Lisbon
belem distrcit Lisbon
lisbon shopping
alfama district Lisbon
Cost of a holiday to Lisbon
Parque das Nações district Lisbon
Alcantara district Lisbon
Sintra Portugal
Costa da Caparica
Cascais Portugal
24 hours in Lisbon
Lisbon viewpoints
lisbon food and meals
lisbon airport guide
wet day in Lisbon
Lisbon museums