Pessoa Route

Fernando Pessoa was baptised at the old church of Mártires, today the Basílica dos Mártires, on 21st July 1888. The church was built in the 18th century to replace the former Ermida dos Mártires that existed prior to the earthquake of 1755.

Address: Rua Serpa Pinto 10D, 1200-445 Lisbon

Telephone: +351 21 346 2465 / Fax: +351 213 259 562

Getting there: Metro: Baixa Chiado (Blue Line/Green Line), Rossio (Green Line), Restauradores (Blue Line), Cais do Sodré (Green Line), Terreiro do Paço (Blue Line), Martim Moniz (Green Line) / Train: Rossio (Lisbon-Sintra Line), Cais do Sodré (Lisbon-Cascais Line) / Boat: Cais do Sodré Terminal (Lisbon-Cacilhas | Lisbon-Seixal and Lisbon-Montijo), Terreiro do Paço Terminal (Lisbon-Barreiro).

GPS: 38° 42' 37.45'' N 9° 8' 28.99'' W

Website: http://paroquiadosmartires.pt

Opening Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-7pm. Saturday and Sunday 10am-7.30pm

Price: free admission

Present-day Praça D. João da Câmara is mentioned in several poems by Álvaro de Campos, one of Fernando Pessoa’s heteronyms. The author frequented the square where he would meet various writers and his girlfriend, Ofélia Queiroz, who lived there.

Address: Praça D. João da Câmara, 1200-147 Lisbon

Getting there: Metro: Baixa Chiado (Blue Line/Green Line), Rossio (Green Line), Restauradores (Blue Line), Cais do Sodré (Green Line), Terreiro do Paço (Blue Line), Martim Moniz (Green Line) / Train: Rossio (Lisbon-Sintra Line), Cais do Sodré (Lisbon- Cascais Line) / Boat: Cais do Sodré Terminal (Lisbon-Cacilhas | Lisbon-Seixal and Lisbon-Montijo), Terreiro do Paço Terminal (Lisbon-Barreiro).

GPS: 38° 42' 53.08'' N 9° 8' 25.41'' W

At the end of November 1935, Fernando Pessoa was admitted to hospital suffering from symptoms of biliary colic, dying soon afterwards on 30th of that month. The day before, he wrote his final words in English: “I know not what tomorrow will bring.”

Address: Rua Luz Soriano 182, 1200-249 Lisbon

Telephone: +351 213 216 500 / Fax: +351 213 460 221

Getting there: Metro: Baixa Chiado (Blue Line/Green Line), Rossio (Green Line), Restauradores (Blue Line), Cais do Sodré (Green Line), Terreiro do Paço (Blue Line), Martim Moniz (Green Line) / Train: Rossio (Lisbon-Sintra Line), Cais do Sodré (Lisbon-Cascais Line) / Boat: Cais do Sodré Terminal (Lisbon-Cacilhas | Lisbon-Seixal and Lisbon-Montijo), Terreiro do Paço Terminal (Lisbon-Barreiro).

Website: https://www.hslouis.pt

Email: geral@hslouis.pt

Opening hours: open 24 hours a day

It was on the fourth floor of no. 4, facing the Teatro de São Carlos, that the poet was born. The year was 1888. The house can be identified in Largo de São Carlos due to a plaque on the façade and also because of an enormous statue of Pessoa.

Address: Largo de São Carlos

Getting there: Metro: Baixa Chiado (Blue Line/Green Line), Rossio (Green Line), Restauradores (Blue Line), Cais do Sodré (Green Line), Terreiro do Paço (Blue Line), Martim Moniz (Green Line) / Train: Rossio (Lisbon-Sintra Line), Cais do Sodré (Lisbon-Cascais Line) / Boat: Cais do Sodré Terminal (Lisbon-Cacilhas | Lisbon-Seixal and Lisbon-Montijo), Terreiro do Paço Terminal (Lisbon-Barreiro).

GPS: 38° 42' 33.69'' N 9° 8' 30.25'' W

An inveterate autodidact, the poet spent hours, days and years amid the books and manuscripts spread along the corridors of the National Library, which was initially located in Chiado. Today, the library is over 100 years old and has a special collection of rare books and writings by Pessoa himself. A treasure worth discovering.

Address: Campo Grande 83, 1749-081 Lisbon

Telephone: +351 21 798 20 00 / Fax: +351 21 798 21 40

Getting there: Bus: 31A, 50, 68, 75, 77, 85, 101, 106 / Metro: Entrecampos (200m), Cidade Universitária (500m) / Train: Entrecampos Station (500m).

GPS: 38°45′4.17″N 9°9′7.89″W

Website: www.bnportugal.pt

Email: bn@bnportugal.pt

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 9.30am-7.30pm. Saturday 9.30am-5.30pm.

Price: free admission. For appointments and/or research, a reader’s card is required (price: €3 per week or €12 per year).

In Terreiro do Paço, in the northeast arcade of one of the most beautiful squares in the capital, stands the Café Martinho da Arcada which opened in 1782. The oldest café in Lisbon, it was also one of Pessoa’s favourite places, especially in his latter years. It was here that the poet used to eat or meet other people associated with the magazine Orphéu. In tribute to Pessoa, the table where he used to sit still exists.

Address: Praça do Comércio 3, 1100-148 Lisbon

Telephone: +351 218 879 259 / Fax: 218 867 757

Getting there: Metro: Terreiro do Paço (Blue Line), Baixa Chiado (Blue Line/Green Line), Rossio (Green Line), Cais do Sodré (Green Line), Restauradores (Blue Line) / Train: Cais do Sodré (Lisbon-Cascais Line) / Boat: Terreiro do Paço Terminal (Lisbon-Barreiro).

GPS: 38°42'30.97"N 9° 8'9.28"W

Website: http://www.martinhodaarcada.pt

Email: reservas@martinhodaarcada.pt

Opening hours: every day from noon-3pm and 7-10pm.

One of the best known spots in the poet’s itinerary in Lisbon is undoubtedly A Brasileira. This café was the scene of countless intellectual, artistic and literary gatherings. Besides Pessoa, it was frequented by other writers and artists who met around the figure of the poet-general Henrique Rosa (Pessoa’s adoptive uncle). Today, the bronze statue of Pessoa is recorded in the many photographs taken (unceasingly) by tourists every day.

Address: Rua Garrett 120-122, 1200-273 Lisbon

Telephone: +351 213 469 541 

Getting there: Metro: Baixa Chiado (Blue Line/Green Line), Rossio (Green Line), Restauradores (Blue Line), Cais do Sodré (Green Line), Terreiro do Paço (Blue Line), Martim Moniz (Green Line) / Train: Rossio (Lisbon-Sintra Line), Cais do Sodré (Lisbon-Cascais Line) / Boat: Cais do Sodré Terminal (Lisbon-Cacilhas, Lisbon-Seixal and Lisbon-Montijo), Terreiro do Paço Terminal (Lisbon-Barreiro).

GPS: 38°42'38.3"N 9°08'31.9"W

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Café-A-Brasileira/109587325727585?rf=590149897738507

Email: abrasileira.chiado@gmail.com

Opening hours: every day from 8am-2am

Located in Campo de Ourique, as the name suggests this house was inhabited by the writer during the last 15 years of his life. This place of worship to the Pessoa cult is home to the poet’s legacy, a documentary collection classified as a National Treasure. With two libraries – a public one, specialising in Fernando Pessoa and world poetry, and Pessoa’s private library – the house contains and exhibits objects, furniture and documents belonging to the writer, as well as a collection of artworks by artists from different generations and movements.

Address: Rua Coelho da Rocha 16, 1250-088 Lisbon

Telephone: +351 213 913 270

Getting there: Tram: 25 e 28 / Bus: 709, 713, 720, 738 and 774 / Metro: Rato (Yellow Line).

GPS: latitude 38.7166508 / longitude -9.1624939

Website: https://www.casafernandopessoa.pt/pt/cfp

Email: info@casafernandopessoa.pt

Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm.

Price: €3

This is one of the most beautiful and majestic monuments in the capital and where Fernando Pessoa is buried. The poet’s tomb is located inside the monastery, in front of which stands the lovely and well cared for Jardim da Praça do Império, a garden with olive trees and lush greenery which, for a few moments, blots out the hubbub of the city.

Address: Praça do Império 1400-206 Lisbon

Telephone: +351 21 362 00 34 / Fax: +351 21 363 91 45

Getting there: Bus: 27, 28, 729, 714 and 751 / Tram: 15 / Train: Belém (Lisbon-Cascais Line) / Boat: Belém Station (Lisbon-Porto Brandão and Lisbon-Trafaria).

GPS: 38°41'51.9"N 9°12'25.9"W

Website: http://www.mosteirojeronimos.gov.pt/pt/index.php

Email: geral@mjeronimos.dgpc.pt

Opening hours: October-April 10am-5.30pm. May-September 10am-6pm. Closed Monday.

Price: €7 / free admission for children aged 12 and under.

“I’m sure that even if I held the world in my hand, I’d exchange it all for a tram ticket back to Rua dos Douradores.” Pessoa was not the first great figure in literature to roam central Lisbon. However, The Book of Disquiet will forever mark the fourth floor in Rua dos Douradores. 

Getting there: Metro: Baixa / Chiado (Blue Line/Green Line), Rossio (Green Line), Cais do Sodré (Green Line), Restauradores (Blue Line) / Train: Cais do Sodré (Lisbon-Cascais Line)/ Boat: Terreiro do Paço Terminal (Lisbon-Barreiro).