Louis Vuitton City Guides

Maison Louis Vuitton Malletier

best known as Louis Vuitton or just LV was founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton himself. 

Rue Neuve-des-Capucines

 

In 1987, the company has join Moët et Chandon and started the luxury goods group LVMH (Louis Vuitton – Moët Hennessy).

 

Through the years, several other companies joined the group and today they own more than 60 brands, such as Givenchy, Loewe, Fendi or Céline.

Louis Vuitton has currently Michael Burke as the Chairman and CEO and is one of the world’s most famous fashion houses.

Their luxury products are of undeniable quality, the monogram LV is their brand image and Speedy their best seller handbag. 

 

With their presence in 50 countries, Louis Vuitton has more than 450 stores worldwide. 

In 1998, was launched the first series of Louis Vuitton's City Guides. 

 

Written by over 50 writers and celebrities, they aim to bring destinations a new point of view, through the eyes of well-known personalities.

This year is Lisbon was one of the cities selected to have its own LV Guide, with our dear, Fado singer, Carminho as a host. 

 

 

Today is the official launch event at Lisbon’s Louis Vuitton store.

And we can’t wait to see which suggestions LV has for our city. 

 

Sporting vs Real Madrid

What a match today!

At 19.45h (7.45pm) - Lisbon time, in Estádio José Alvalade (José Alvalade's Stadium), is going to take place a derby between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.

The game for Champions League - Group F let all Portugal and everyone who loves football (I know, I know, Soccer) anxious to see the team of Zinédine Zidane return to Cristiano Ronaldo’s team of heart, and first senior club.

 

The meringues are concerned with the injuries of their club captain Sergio Ramos and centre-forward Karim Benzema and the lions knows that even with these minor injuries it’s going to be a hard match and difficult to defeat the World’s Best Football Player team.

 

The location of the stadium: 

Huge Cock - Pop Galo

What's with Portugal and Barcelos and the cock? You may ask...

In Lisbon, since November 6th of this year, you can see a huge cock near the Tejo river.

I don't know what you're thinking but I referring to the animal, the one that sings every morning, the husband of the chicken, cócórócó…

From our artist Joana Vasconcelos - the one who showed the world her art, in the 2005 Venice Biennale, through The Bride (A Noiva), a 20 ft. high chandelier made of over 25,000 OB tampons – emerged in Ribeira das Naus (let’s translate as Brook of Ships) Pop Galo (Pop Cock) a giant rooster made of tiles and led’s lights (…artists right?)

But why this animal?

It’s a Portuguese symbol. Specially in Barcelos (a city in the north of our country). And we love it!

But why?

To answer your question I have to tell you another story! How wonderful!

Once upon a time in Barcelos…

Several crimes where occurring in this town (it was a small town that time) and a Spanish man was wrongly accused of them. 

No one believed him when he said he was just passing by in his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and the judge sentenced him to death by hanging.  

Desperate, he asked to have a final word to the judge. 

Even though the judge was about to start his dinner, a wonderful rooster, he accepted the presence of the Spanish man.

Being such a religious man, he had faith the judge would change his mind. 

But he didn’t.

Then, in despair, he just screamed his last words:

“I am innocent. It is so certain that I am innocent, as it is certain that this cock crows when I am hanged”

You can imagine what happen in the story…

The Spanish man was about be hanged when the rooster crowed and the judge stopped the hanging. 

The man was released and, the year after, he came back to the town to build the Monumento do Senhor do Galo (something like: the monument of the lord of the rooster) in honor to the Virgem Maria e Santiago (Virgin Mary and Santiago).

And now, because of a spanish man, we have a cock as a symbol of our country…

Nevertheless, the statue is beautiful and you should see it specially after December 1^st, when all Lisbon is ornamented with Christmas lights.

 

Old Postcard - Monumento do Senhor do Galo

 

This is our famous rooster, from Barcelos

And this is the our huge cock. We like it big!

Pantheon

Here are our famous deads.

All in the same place.  A VIP cemetery inside a church.

The Saint Engrácia’s Church - Igreja de Santa Engrácia
Lisbon - Alfama
 

The tombs are on the ground floor.

Who is a dead VIP in Portugal?

You can find tombs of presidents, like the one of our very first one Manuel de Arriaga.

You can find tombs of singers, like the one of Amália Rodrigues which had Fado running through her veins.

You can find tombs of football players (humf, ok ok, soccer players) like the one of Eusébio, from Sport Lisboa e Benfica.

You can also find empty tombs like the one of Vasco da Gama or Luis de Camões. 

Yes, empty, but is just a way to honor them! Don’t be creepy, you you…searching for dead guys traveler. 

Besides having our VIP deads, the Pantheon has one of the most beautiful views over Lisbon.

The view from upstairs! Please don't sing 'I believe I can fly'...

Entrance to the church

Outside, the Tejo river and Arrábida (the mountain on the horizon)

Such a beautiful view the dead have.

On your right, you can see our Cristo Rei  (King Christ) - National Sanctuary of Christ The King

From the Pantheon you can see the Campo de Santa Clara ( Clara in portuguese is Claire (name) or Clear or even the egg white. To translate this, let's just stick to Saint Claire's Field). 

Campo de Santa Clara

Here happens, every Tuesday and every Saturday a flea market on the street called Feira da Ladra (Woman Thief's Fair)
But, if you prefer, you can call it the Bark's Fair, because in Portuguese when you say to a dog to bark, you say: "Ladra!"
But I think that's not what they meant when they called this market Ladra)...

You can find Portuguese vintage and retro stuff here, it's fun to go. 

Along the market you can find a wonderful colorful mural, made of our typical tiles, from the artist André Saraiva. It has 170 meters (557,74 foot long) and 53 thousand tiles.

Mural of André Saraiva

The ticket to enter the Pantheon is 4€ but every first Sunday of the month is free :D

Enjoy!