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(CNN) — Lisbon is in the midst of a renaissance. The newest European capital of cool’s affordable rents, great nightlife and beautiful streets – winding high in the hills of the Tagus River – have seen young travelers arrive in their flocks in recent years, enjoying extended stays thanks to dedicated “digital nomad” visas. .
As a result, the city has acquired a youthful, multicultural and international vibe, attracting tourists from all over the world.
However, it is not just those who want to live and work here that are driving this change.
Walk the streets of Portugal’s bustling capital and it’s impossible to escape the sense of confidence that surrounds the place.
The locals have really started to embrace their Portuguese identity and unashamedly showcase the best of traditional food and culture, from delicious buttermilk cake pastries in the Belem district to the painful sounds of Fado singing in Alfama.
Lisbon has been a magnet for young travelers in recent years.
Alexander Spatari/Moment RF/Getty Images
It all forms what the inhabitants of Lisbon call ‘alma’ or soul, something completely unique to this beautiful place.
Visitors can see this on special nights such as the Feast of Saint Anthony on June 13, arguably the biggest night on Lisbon’s calendar, when locals celebrate their patron saint with long processions that go on well into the night, preceded by epic meals of sardines and local wine in the streets.
But “alma” goes beyond one night.
Come here any time of the year and there is a sense that life should be lived in public. That could be the bohemian streets of the Bairro Alto district, where restaurants spill out into narrow streets. Or in ultra hip spots like Park, a bar atop a multi-storey car park that has become synonymous with hipster cool, not to mention incredible views. Everyone is welcome and the atmosphere remains lively until the early hours.
‘Intense people’
Young Fado star Gisela João is turning Portugal’s traditional music upside down.
However, “Alma” isn’t just about hanging out with friends or enjoying lazy meals outdoors. It is also found in traditional music, especially Fado.
Married to poetry and song and born on the streets of Lisbon’s beautiful Alfama and Mouraria neighborhoods, it is more than just an expression of sadness and melancholy. Rather, Fado singer Gisela João explains, it is an expression of Portuguese intensity and tradition.
“I think Fado is the most true… because we can express the personality of” [the] Portuguese land, Portuguese,” she says as she walks through Alfama’s streets.
Gisela João — a Fado singer with a difference.
CNN
João is not the archetypal Fado singer of yesteryear. She’s not wearing a black dress and she’s also younger than most stereotypical fado singers.
“Why should I dress like a girl who grew up in the 40s and 50s?” she asks. “It’s not who I am.”
However, she is very steeped in the history of music.
“I moved here because I came to sing in a Fado restaurant,” she says. “For example, on this street I remember you walking down the street and you would listen: Fado coming out the windows like here, one singing here, the other here… It was like being in the middle of Fado.”
She also wants to disprove the idea that sadness is the Fado.
“For me, [Fado] is about poetry and the poem for me, a very beautiful poem, is a poem to talk about [the] everyone’s life…when I sing, it’s when I feel I can express myself.”
This can be clearly seen in the beautiful voice of João, which reverberates through the neighborhood. It is a sound that is typically Portuguese.
“We’re really intense people,” she says with a laugh. “We care a lot. You come to Portugal and it’s very normal that you meet someone and that person immediately invites you to go to the house, to eat, to be with the friends and the family and have a big throw a party just to receive you… We’re dramatic!”
An era of discovery
Solo sailor Ricardo Diniz knows his way around the Tagus River. He explains why Lisbon is the ‘capital of the oceans’ of Europe.
Lisbon can feel like it’s half on land and half at sea, with the wide bank of the Tagus River leading out to the vast Atlantic Ocean. After all, this is a country that remains fiercely proud of its 500 years of maritime history.
Standing in the Belem district on the banks of the Tagus, the famous Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Monument to the Discoveries in Lisbon, pays tribute to the country’s great explorers.
Ricardo Diniz: “We are very proud of our past.”
CNN
Henry the Navigator is depicted alongside historical figures including Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan, paying tribute to Lisbon’s place at the heart of maritime discoveries in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Ricardo Diniz, a fearless solo sailor turned corporate coach, continues this long tradition, bringing the past into the present.
“We are very proud of our past. We achieved something incredible more than 500 years ago and we are reminded of this every day,” he says, pointing from the deck of his boat across the water.
“We’re on the ocean. We have this incredible river.” When he returns after long journeys to sea, he says his pride swells as Lisbon comes into view.
Diniz says that while the water is key to Lisbon’s traditions and to its present and future as a modern city, the changes in recent years have been brought about by people from outside talking about how wonderful this place is.
“Especially in the last five years, many people who come to Lisbon from abroad have been amazed at what they find,” he says. “I think they are the real ambassadors of our city and our country, people from abroad who talk beautifully about Portugal.”
A city of trust
Chef José Avillez chose Portuguese cuisine over French cuisine for his refined restaurants. His efforts have paid off and put Lisbon on the culinary map.
Talk to the locals here and it won’t be long before they remind you of the great explorers and the Age of Discovery some 500 years ago. However, there was not always much to say about the more modern past. Much of that has changed over the past 20 years, however, as that sense of confidence has been felt throughout the city with Lisbon’s resurgence as a tourist destination and a place to work and play.
This is especially evident in Lisbon’s food culture.
Acclaimed chef Jose Avillez has been championing Portuguese gastronomy for years. Fifteen years ago, he started introducing that most modest of the local dishes, the sardine, to his high-end restaurant.
Jose Avillez: Diners expect ‘the soul of Portuguese food’.
CNN
They are, he says, “…very, very special, because it’s something we only have for three, four months, a year at the most.
“As Portuguese [people] arriving at a contemporary portuguese restaurant… he expects to have modern food but the soul of portuguese food. So we have a lot of respect for the sardines.”
You cannot avoid coming back to that sense of soul when you are in Lisbon. It’s all about respecting tradition and bringing cuisine into the future, Avillez explains.
“I would say that Portuguese cuisine passed down from grandmothers to granddaughters, from mothers to daughters, is the art of bringing the flavors with simplicity, with love. [That] is what we try to do, even if you do it very creatively with a lot of creativity – if it’s good food it’s a two michelin star, whatever, what you have to bring your guests is something delicious. And, I’ll say 90% of the time, very simple.”
That certainly applies to Avillez’s cuisine, from his simple sardine recipes to his delicious steak.
Pastel de nata: a Portuguese classic.
Alexander Spatari/Moment RF/Getty Images
And of course, no meal in Lisbon would be complete without a famous pastel de nata, the custard tart that hails from Belem. These little treats have gone global in recent years, but they taste their best here in this dazzling city.
Lisbon’s renaissance is something to behold, especially with something so delicious on hand. A place that has changed in so many ways in the 21st century, but that has stayed true to its roots, its past and its fascinating history.
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