Before crossing Rua da Conceição, adorned by the tram headed for Graça, the majestic Banco Comercial Português building deserves a visit. But it is after crossing Rua de São Julião that one of the most colourful details of Rua Augusta emerges. There, you can find artists selling their watercolours, oils, canvases of every size and depicting a city of trams, balconies, flowers and washing lines. And you arrive at the end – or beginning if you’re coming from Praça do Comércio. This small stretch protected by the haughty arch is populated by artisans. Here you’ll find a little bit of everything, from bags to beads and headscarves. And passers-by seem unable to resist the originality of the objects made by the hands Augusta is synonymous with all that is grandiose, sump-
of the young and old. The arch beckons us through, but
tuous, majestic and respectable. The name of this Lisbon
the urge is to turn around and walk back down what
thoroughfare could not be more apt. The street is osten-
is one of the city’s most quintessential thoroughfares.•
tatious and long. The busiest in all of the Baixa, where life rushes forward one minute, serenely the next. Coming from Rossio, you are met by the florists. In winter, the scent of roasted chestnuts fills the street, but when the weather gets hot the same vendors switch to ice cream. There is no lack of people in Rua Augusta, everyone different and moving to the sound of a different drum. Some know exactly where they are going, striding firmly home or to work. Those from elsewhere walk attentively, their eyes focused on the paving, the traditional shops or the architecture, details which the locals have become immune to, but which the tourists record with cameras and share with their compatriots while buying postcards at the side of the street. The majestic width of the street allows room for a row of street cafés in the middle, where foreigners and Portuguese mix to observe the people passing by, as if watching a film. Arriving at Rua de Santa Justa, more flowers and roast chestnuts, or ice cream, await. António Teixeira is one such vendor, who has occupied the same spot for decades. Nothing would move him from the street, which has become his “second home.” As you listen to the different languages and the calceteiros re-lay yet another paving stone that has stubbornly come loose, you catch sight of the majestic arch in the distance. And a speck of river starts to appear as you get closer. Branches of international chains co-exist with age-old establishments, such as the Casa dos Carimbos or Casa Pereira da Conceição, which sells coffee, tea and high quality chocolates. The sound of pop music from the large stores mixes with the accordion of the many buskers that fill the street in exchange for a coin or two.
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>>> que convivem lado a lado com estabelecimentos centenários, como a Casa dos Carimbos ou a Casa Pereira da Conceição, que comercializa café, chás e chocolates de elevada qualidade. A sonoridade “pop” que sai de dentro das grandes lojas mistura-se com os sons dos acordeões dos muitos músicos de rua que por ali proliferam em troco de uma ou outra moeda. Antes de se atravessar a Rua da Conceição, adornada pelo eléctrico com destino à Graça, o majestoso edifício do Banco Comercial Português merece uma visita. No seu interior descobre-se o Núcleo Arqueológico da Rua dos Correeiros que tantas histórias tem para revelar sobre esta zona da capital, erguida depois da terra ter tremido em 1755. Mas é depois de se cruzar a Rua de São Julião que surge um dos fragmentos mais coloridos da Rua Augusta. Ali os artistas vendem ilustrações, aguarelas, óleos, telas de todos os tamanhos, retratam a cidade dos eléctricos, varandas, flores e estendais. E com não menos cor surge o final – ou o princípio para quem chega da Praça do Comércio. São os artesãos que protagonizam este bocado protegido pela altivez do Arco. Ali encontra-se de tudo um pouco, desde malas, bijuteria ou lenços. E os transeuntes parecem não conseguir resistir à originalidade dos trabalhos feitos pelas mãos de jovens e de velhos. O Arco convida-nos a sair, mas a vontade é voltar atrás e percorrer de novo aquela que é uma das artérias “ex-libris” da cidade.•