Spend a Morning in Lisbon’s Praça do Comércio

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We had a trip to Lisbon booked for 2020, and as you would guess it didn’t happen due to Covid. So we were happy to finally get back to making our Lisbon dream a reality in 2024.

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and we had a great view of the city from above as we finally made our descent after a very long journey from Australia. Our accommodation was right in the centre of the grid patterned streets of the Baixa neighbourhood. And only a 5 minute walk from one of the most beautiful areas of the city – Praça do Comércio. If you are staying elsewhere, many trams pass by Praça do Comércio, and Ubers are also inexpensive.

Praça means square, and Comércio means commerce, so this is Lisbon’s commerce square. Visiting Praça do Comércio and the amazing adjoining Arco da Rua Augusta was top of our itinerary on our very first full day in this beautiful city.  

Lively Rua Augusta

We wandered straight down the beautiful black and white cobblestone pedestrian mall of Rua Augusta. Rua Augusta is an attractive shopping strip, where a wide variety of shops blend with cafes and bakeries.  The maker of our favourite Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese Tarts) was on this street – Manteigaria. We are still missing our Pastéis de Nata fix.

As you approach, the enormous Arco da Rua Augusta looms before you in all its white stone glory. Once though the archway (make sure to look up at the patterns underneath of the Arch as you pass under), the expansive Praça do Comércio opens up before you with a view out across the sizable basin of the Tagus River. I have to say, it is an amazing way to enter the enormous square.

Exploring Praça do Comércio

We arrived in the square well before 10:00am, so had the pleasure of a smaller crowd than we would have encountered later in the day.  We found Lisbon to be busy at the end of August/early September, but not ridiculously so for most of the sights we wanted to see. There were, however, long lines at some of the more well known attractions, such as the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery).

In the centre of the square is the Equestrian Statue of King José I. The marble base of the statue is decorated with impressive sculptures, one of which is an elephant! 

The square is surrounded on three sides by historical yellow buildings which house a variety of businesses including cafes, restaurants, and even government offices. You can walk the lovely colonnades fronting these buildings once you’ve had enough of the sun. 

The old style trams that rattle around the streets of Lisbon pass between the square and the Arch, so Praça do Comércio is also a good location for tram spotting. Make sure you get a photo of this iconic Lisbon scene: a tram passing by the Arch. 

A Bird’s Eye View from the Arco da Rua Augusta

The highlight for us was seeing Praça do Comércio from the top of the Arco da Rua Augusta. Given we were out and about early (still transitioning from Australia time to Portugal time), we had the good fortune to be the first of the day to make the ascent to the top of the Arch (€4.50 each in August 2024). 

There is an elevator that takes you most of the way, then winding stone stairs up to the very top where the first thing you see is the Arch’s bell. Before too long we found ourselves at the feet of the three main figures depicting Glory (centre), and Amazon (on Glory’s right), and Jupiter, King of the Gods (on Glory’s left, and pictured below).  

From the Arch you get a 360 degree view of Lisbon. And what an amazing view it is! Having this to ourselves, even if it was only for a few minutes, was pretty special. 

Once you’ve had enough of exploring the square and surroundings, there are plenty of brunch places nearby, or you can do what we did and jump straight into a local beer with a view back over the sunny square.

It was a very satisfying morning around Praça do Comércio, especially ascending the majestic Arco da Rua Augusta. It was a great start to our time in Lisbon. Check back soon for future stories, but for now, it’s “Tchau” from sunny Lisbon.