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The best independent guide to Lisbon
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The best independent guide to Lisbon
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The Cais do Sodre district, Lisbon
Cais do Sodre, once the toughest district of Lisbon has been transformed into the capital’s most trendy.
Found in Cais do Sodré is Lisbon’s most vibrant nightlife, which is centred around Pink Street, with its numerous bars and clubs that party until the sun rises. By day the district is a favourite with artisans and modern creatives, with the rejuvenated Tejo Estuary waterfront to hang out, or the varied food stalls in the Timeout Market for lunch.
Cais do Sodre may be fashionable, but it still retains its edgy atmosphere and gritty appearance and is certainly the most unique neighbourhood of central Lisbon.
Related articles: Lisbon’s beaches - The Baixa district – 48 hours in Lisbon
Highlights of Cais do Sodre
The Timeout Market has gathered many of Portugal’s finest independent food stalls and housed them in the former city market
Pink Street, is the focus of Lisbon’s nightlife, with its characterful bars, relaxed attitude and social atmosphere that parties late into the night
The Ribeira das Naus waterfront along Tejo Estuary, lined with popup bars and stalls, is a popular hangout with tourists and locals alike
The Pensão Amor bar, a former brothel that has been converted into a bar has retained all the original décor
The Elevador da Bica, the historic funicular that for over one hundred years has climbed the steep hill between Cais do Sodre and Bairro Alto
The Mercado da Ribeira, the traditional market of Lisbon and a great location to experience typical Portuguese daily life.
A tour of Cais do Sodré
The Cais do Sodré district may not have the famed tourist attractions of other surrounding districts, but it is an area to meander and embrace the cool vibe.
Most tourists visit Cais do Sodré after the Baixa district, as it is the natural continuation along the waterfront. A typical tour of Cais do Sodré visits the Igreja de São Paulo, Pink Street, Jardim de Roque Gameiro, has lunch at the Timeout Market, along with visiting the Mercado da Ribeira.
Afterwards, most visitors head north to the Bairro Alto and Chiado districts, as there is not much else within walking distance to the west. The Rua do Alecrim is the main road north, out of Cais do Sodré, but a ride on the Elevador da Bica is much more enjoyable.
The suggested route is shown in the interactive map below, which combines both Cais do Sodré (green pins) and the Chiado district (yellow pins). The route begins at the Praça do Comercio and ends at the Rua Garrett, and the Elevador da Bica is marked by pin 8.
Cais do Sodré sights: 1) Ribeira das Naus 2) Jardim de Roque Gameiro 3) Time Out Market 4) Mercado da Ribeira 5) Pink Street 6) Pensão Amor 7) Igreja de São Paulo 8) Elevador da Bica
Chiado sights: 9) Miradouro de Santa Catarina viewpoint 10) Praça Luís de Camões 11) Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Loreto 12) Rua Garrett
Note: Usually the Chiado district is combined with the Bairro Alto district, and is to the north of the Praça Luís de Camões
Related articles: Bairro Alto and Chiado district
The Jardim de Roque Gameiro
The Igreja de São Paulo church
The Cais do Sodre transformation
Until quite recently Cais do Sodre was a seedy and deprived area of Lisbon, which tourists were recommended to best avoid.
Originally the district was the docks of the Sodre company, and was home to dockworkers and sailors, brimming with brothels and tough bars. Even the main road, the Rua do Alecrim, skims above the neighbourhood, raised up by stone arches.
Since 2009 the area has been totally rejuvenated, and the drug dens and brothels pushed out. This rise in popularity of Cais do Sodre also coincided with the clamping down of nightlife in Bairro Alto.
The 2 am closing time of Bairro Alto bars means nighttime revellers continue the partying down the hill at Cais do Sodre, where the attitudes are much more tolerant and relaxed.
The Praça Duque da Terceira and the statue of Duke Terceira
There have also been significant projects to improve the appearance of Cais do Sodre; the Jardim de Roque Gameiro is now a charming plaza, Ribeira das Naus is now a pleasant waterfront, and the Timeout market has brought life to the decaying Mercado da Ribeira.
To complete the transformation, the district is now a centre for modern creatives in the form of migrant freelancers and laptop workers.
What about a hotel or accommodation in Cais do Sodre?
A hotel in or near Cais do Sodre is ideal if you wish to be close to the centre of Lisbon’s nightlife and the cultural diversity this attracts. Nightlife and excitement will be on your doorstep, but the weekend noise continues until sunrise and your fellow guests maybe excessively drunk…
The district is just to the west of the historic centre and is only a 10-minute walk to the centre of Baixa, so is well suited to explore the city. Cais do Sodre has excellent public transport being served by the green metro line, trams to Belem and train services to Cascais and the beaches of the Lisbon coastline.
Related articles: Cais do Sodre Train station – E15 tram to Belem
The classic trams of Lisbon passing through the Praça Duque da Terceira
The art deco Cais do Sodre station has trains departing to the pretty resort town of Cascais
Nightlife and the Pink Street
The nightlife of Cais do Sodre is centred around Pink Street, so-called because of the pink colouring of the pavement. Cais do Sodré nightlife starts very late, with most revellers beginning the night in Bairro Alto and then moving to Cais do Sodre at the 2am Bairro Alto shut down.
Popular bars in Cais do Sodre
Cais do Sodre is not short of bars, but they tend to go from empty with no atmosphere to overcrowded in a very short space of time. Unique bars include:
• “Pensão do Amor” cocktail bar set in a former brothel that retains the original décor.
• “Bom, o Mau e o Vilão” a trendy cocktail bar and live music venue.
• “By the Wine” is the promotional bar of the José Maria da Fonseca vineyards and has an interior decorated with 3,200 bottles of wine.
• “Sol e Pesca” a fishing shop transformed into a bar which forgot to replace the décor
• Crafty Corner serving Portuguese craft beer
Clubs
Cais do Sodre has the highest concentration of disco-bars and late-night clubs in all of Lisbon. Many of the clubs on Pink Street play commercial and popular tunes and post 11 pm the disco-bars all are very similar (such as Viking Bar, Liverpool, Bar Oslo, Tokyo). Enjoyable venues include; the Roterdão Club which is small and fun, the Jamaica has a Caribbean feel, while Rive Rouge and Titanic Sur Mer are always banging.
For something slightly different, “Lounge” has a more chilled vibe and cool clientele, or “Music Box” has an eclectic mix of live music (always check their listings).
There are no mega-clubs in Cais do Sodre, for those head down to Santos (500m to the west), where you have K Urban Beach Club, Kremlin, Kapital and Plateau.
Warning: Unfortunately, the progressive attitudes of Cais do Sodre have not been passed onto the door staff. There can be unfair discriminatory admission practises (mainly to groups of men), arrogance or simply heavy handiness.
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:
Major Sights of Cais do Sodré
Timeout Food Market
The old municipal market of Lisbon was purchased by Timeout (yes, the magazine) and one half has been transformed into Lisbon’s trendiest eating venue.
Timeout market has gathered the finest independent regional food stalls and set them out around the edge of the market, with communal seating in the centre.
This means that patrons can eat restaurant-quality food, at café prices, while groups are not limited to one style of cuisine.
The open and communal eating encourages a loud and lively atmosphere which is not too dissimilar to the Portuguese Tasca (Portuguese restaurants) or the market next door.
The independent stalls surround the central eating area – the Timeout Food Market is always a great place for a meal
The Mercado de Lisboa
The Mercado de Lisboa is a traditional Portuguese market that sells a range of food products from freshly caught fish to locally grown fruit and vegetables.
It is a chaotic and noisy market but is a great chance to experience normal daily life of the Portuguese. The market is best visited early in the day, as the stalls close by 2pm.
Both the Timeout market and the Mercado de Lisboa are housed in the beautiful Mercado da Ribeira, an Arabic inspired covered market, which dates from the 1890s.
During the height of market, fresh produce stalls filled both sides of the Mercado de Lisboa
The Ribeira das Naus
The Ribeira das Naus is the newly constructed beach front and promenade of the Tejo estuary between Cais do Sodre and the Praça do Comércio. This rejuvenated area comprises of a stepped waterfront (ideal and popular for sunbathing) and a grassed area behind the promenade. The Ribeira das Naus is rapidly becoming a popular place for Lisbon’s residents to come and relax, as the inner city has few open green areas.
Relaxing at the Quiosque da Ribeira das Naus, with vies over the estuary
A pop-up bar along the Ribeira das Naus, with the suspension bridge in the distance
The Praça de São Paulo
By day the Praça de São Paulo is a quiet, non-touristy plaza but at night it becomes the focal point for socialising and drinking before people move onto the clubs of Pink Street.
The square is named after the beautiful Igreja de São Paulo, one of the finest Pombaline styled buildings, which was constructed in 1768 after the devastating 1755 earthquake.
The Igreja de São Paulo follows a baroque style which is commonly seen throughout of Lisbon
Musicbox
Hidden beneath the arches of the Pink Street is Lisbon’s coolest live music venue, Musicbox. The small venue has a diverse selection of bands playing and then DJ music until the sun rises. To see their listings, visit their website:
https://musicboxlisboa.com
(link opens new tab and is Portuguese)
Cais do Sodre Train Station
The Cais do Sodre train station is the terminus for the Cascais railway that serves the beautiful coastline to the west of Lisbon.
Along this coastline are some of Lisbon’s best and most easily accessible beaches, being less than a 30-minute ride away.
Our favourite beaches are Carcavelos, São Pedro do Estoril or Praia da Conceição in Cascais.
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