6 Best Sights in Estrela, Campo de Ourique, and Lapa, Lisbon

Started in 1934, this is one of Lisbon’s oldest neighborhood markets and over the last few years has turned into one of the city’s hottest food destinations. The stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables now surround tables where customers sit for meals and drinks prepared at the newer gourmet stalls. It’s a lively place where you still find many locals, unlike at the bigger and more famous Time Out Market by the river.

Stretching for more than 18 km (11 miles) from the water source on the outskirts of the city, the Aqueduct of Free Waters began providing Lisbon with clean drinking water in 1748. The most imposing section is the 35 arches---the largest of these is said to be the highest ogival (pointed) arch in the world---that stride across the Alcântara River Valley north of the Amoreiras Shopping Complex in the neighborhod of Campolide. Nearer the city center, another 14 arches run 200 feet along the Praça das Amoreiras, ending in the Mãe d'Agua, an internal reservoir capable of holding more than a million gallons of water. This extraordinary structure is open for visits, providing a chance to see the holding tank, lavish internal waterfall, and associated machinery.

A standout on Lisbon's skyline, this gleaming white basilica was built in the baroque and neoclassical styles. Its location at the top of one of Lisbon's seven hills makes for dramatic views from its rococo zimbório (dome). It was built at the end of the 18th century under the command of Queen Maria I (whose tomb lies within the building) to fulfill a religious promise she made while praying for a male heir. The interior is striking, too, with black-and-pink marble walls and floors and a famously elaborate nativity scene displayed year-round. Estrela is a short walk west of Largo do Rato, where the metro's Yellow Line terminates.

This small but beautiful museum in a former silk factory displays paintings, drawings, and prints by Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and her Hungarian husband, Árpád Szenes. The couple lived in Lisbon, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro and were influential artists after their participation in the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. Most of Vieira da Silva’s pieces are geometrical abstractions and can be seen over the two floors of the building that face the arches of the city’s landmark aqueduct. Throughout the year the museum also hosts temporary exhibits of 20th-century and contemporary art.

Inaugurated in 2001, this gallery regularly presents works by top contemporary Portuguese artists plus some big international names. Many of the works on display later appear in some of the world’s leading art fairs.

The Mãe d'Agua—literally "Mother of the Water"—is a centuries-old reservoir that's an impressive feat of engineering from Hungarian architect Carlos Mardel, who designed the enormous Aguas Livres Aqueduct. Art lovers are in for a treat too: the ultra-modern Immersivus gallery (open Thursday to Sunday) transforms the walls of the reservoir into a giant canvas, with famous works by artists like Monet, Klimt, and Kahlo projected onto walls and water.