Avenida da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue) is a single tourist destination that comprises a myriad of other things to see in Lisbon. It’s like the French Champs-Elysees, meaning that a walk along this avenue should start from the bottom of the avenue and stretch along up to the end. Perhaps that is the only similarity with the French avenue, as unlike the latter, Avenida da Liberdade includes not only trees and fountains but also many statues and monuments.
Of course you can choose a particular site, but then you will miss the entire beauty that is embraced in this 1100 meter long avenue. Well, those unwilling to walk long should be happy about this, because the avenue is not long and the walk promises to be interesting and exciting.
1755 was disastrous for the stunning Portuguese capital. A deadly earthquake occurred, which razed the city to the ground. After that Marquis of Pombal ordered that a new garden promenade be established. The garden promenade was eventually built but with a large wall around, which didn’t let common people enter it. The wall was broken down only over half a century later, in 1821.
The promenade was renamed Avenida da Liberdade in 1879 and was remodeled into an avenue with statues, mainly dedicated to Portuguese writers. Among the notable Portuguese writers whose statue was erected on the avenue are Portuguese poet and novelist Almeida Garrett and Portuguese novelist and historian Alexandre Herculano. The statue dedicated to the fallen of World War 1 is another impressive piece of architecture rising on the avenue. It was carved by sculptor Maximiano Alves and features a soldier being crowned on top of a pedestal.
The avenue was gradually gaining popularity and reached its peak in the first half of the 20th century. It was the time it became most lively. Several movie theaters were opened there. Presently, the avenue is a little bit less noisy but still preserves huge interest towards itself.
The avenue is home to some of the most popular and luxurious Lisbon hotels. Among them is the peaceful and fabulous Britania Hotel, which offers amazing service and is suitable for single travelers, for travelers with families and kids, for business travelers and so on.
The avenue also houses office buildings. Do you love shopping and would love to know what it feels like to do shopping in Lisbon? The avenue shelters numerous fashion boutiques and designer shops, such as Louis Vuitton, D&G, Prada, Givenchy and Burberry.
Another thing worth knowing about this avenue is that it is listed among the top most expensive avenues in the world. Well, it is not included among the top ten of most luxurious streets, but it surely is in the list (it comes the 35th) and even if you can’t afford the luxury, make sure not to miss it at least.
