AVENIDA DA LIBERDADE

Description

Essentials about the Avenida da Liberdade in brief

If any street in Lisbon deserves to be called a “boulevard,” it is Avenida da Liberdade. About 1.1 kilometers long and 90 meters wide, the avenue was laid out in 1886 on the model of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. It connects Praça dos Restauradores in Lisbon’s lower Baixa district with the large traffic circle of Praça Marquês de Pombal and thus represents the main traffic axis between the city center and Lisbon’s northern neighborhoods.

Strolling on the Avenida da Liberdade

The Avenida da Liberdade is best discovered on foot rather than by car. The mostly sunny weather of Lisbon, the green strips full of palm trees and plane trees, the artistic mosaics on the sidewalks and the many cafes invite you to stroll along the Avenida. Along the Avenida da Liberdade you will find a variety of elegant boutiques and pretty town houses. Unfortunately, the boulevard has also been the victim of some construction sins in recent decades. But those who reflect on its beauty will discover in it one of the most magnificent streets of the Portuguese capital.

The history of the Avenida da Liberdade

Historically, the Avenida da Liberdade goes back to the Lisbon city planner Marquês de Pombal, who initially had Lisbon’s first public garden, the Passeio público, laid out in the lower section of the Avenida after the Great Earthquake of 1755. Despite its name, however, it was initially surrounded by walls and gates and accessible only to the higher classes. It was not until the Liberals came to power in 1821 that the walls of the garden were removed and it was opened to the general public.

Plans for the construction of the Avenida, modeled on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, initially drew fierce protests due to the associated destruction of the Passeio público, but a first section of the Avenida was inaugurated in 1882 on the 100th anniversary of the death of the Marquês de Pombal.

The development of the Avenida da Liberdade

The development of Avenida da Liberdade in the Wilhelminian and Art Nouveau styles initially had a rather provincial character due to Portugal’s crisis-ridden political and economic situation around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent decades, unfortunately, numerous older (including significant) buildings were also demolished in the wake of the economic boom and replaced by architecturally not particularly appealing new buildings of financial institutions and hotels.