Praça Martim Moniz

I wouldn't recommend visiting this area, especially not at night, it's a hub for the homeless and unsavoury types and we were even warned to be careful by our taxi driver. Safe to say we quickly got out of that area or at least tried to, we jumped into another taxi but the driver blatantly made things difficult for us and clearly didn't want to take us anywhere and I'll admit I have slammed the door of a few taxis since being in Lisbon and by this time, in this area I had had enough. Please please don't go to this area, it is not worth it!

Lisbon is a city of public squares. Praça do Comércio https://www.yelp.com/biz/praça-do-comércio-lisboa-2?hrid=XDowLwGHTZ_7b1YD5MNhTg, Praça Dom Pedro IV https://www.yelp.com/biz/praça-dom-pedro-iv-lisboa?hrid=iDVz_NhP680cdFuYnamZ1Q, Praça Luís de Camões https://www.yelp.com/biz/praça-luís-de-camões-lisboa?hrid=sn7whUb1lKTkYslTMXeVlQ, Praça do Rossio https://www.yelp.com/biz/pra%C3%A7a-do-rossio-lisboa and others. Those are all a lot nicer than this one which just felt a bit grungy during my visit today. The square is the terminus for two tram lines and has a metro station underground. It's also the only place I can remember with an outside escalator - the Escadinhas da Saúde is on the east side of the plaza. Surrounded by hotels, restaurants of all types, apartments, some shopping and a big fountain in the center. It seems like a bit of a hangout for folks who have nowhere better to go. I did not stick around today. [Review 19059 overall - 252 in Portugal - 28 of 2023.]

If you're seeking a Chinatown, several Chinese eateries are located near Pracq Martim Moniz. Closed on Sundays, you can enjoy a ribbon-like statue and a view of the castle if you'd rather skip the walk to the actual site. Overall, I would consider returning to bring visitors.

This large square is the heart of Lisbon's multicultural Martim Moniz neighborhood. Also the terminal for the 28 and 12 trams. The Hotel Mundiial where we stayed in across the street from the park.

I Yelp-check-in to this place a lot, so you may think it's my favorite place to hang in Lisbon. But not really. As other reviewers said, sometimes there can be unsavory characters loitering around, the music can be too loud, and the ground a bit dirty. However, this is the plaza for the tram terminal for tourist favorite tram #28, it is the station to get off for Ramiro, the best seafood restaurant in town, and last but not least, my favorite massage place in the plaza. There are a lot of space in the plaza, I've seen families and friends bring their blanket and just spend an afternoon here. There are some food stalls, even a few ethnic eats. Although for drinks, it seems like all the booths sell the same things at the same price. Also a few times I chance upon some special bazaars where I can buy some artisan crafts and food.

A couple of years ago this big square was revamped and is now a lively celebration of the melting pot that the Martim Moniz area became. Shaking off its earlier reputation of an indigent and scary place, the Martim Moniz square and surroundings are beginning to see some more investment from Lisbon's city council, which is paying off as you can now walk around here feeling perfectly safe, let the kids run around playing and even enjoy a few afternoon or evening drinks. Food stands and tables are dotted around the square, and there's also a lounging space, Wifi available and a DJ table. There's usually world music playing anytime of the day, a DJ shows up in the early evening and the food stands seem to be open most of the day. You'll also find bathrooms - you need to ask for the key in one of the stands, though -, recycling bins for the food trays, plenty of sitting and shade and nice decoration details - like the poems written on the tree pots or the hanging bicycles. There's a lot of delicious and diverse food here, from portuguese regional treats, like Bolo do Caco, to chinese dumplings, African food and even sushi. To drink, shop around and you'll probably find something that suits you: fruit juices, iced teas, cocktails like caipirinhas or just a simple beer. A cool place to hangout with friends or for a different and not very expensive meal al fresco. It's easy to get to and from here, the square is served by its own metro station on the north side and taxis flock around the place. I would give it the full five stars if it weren't for the fact that a few people don't clean up after themselves, leaving food on the tables, which sometimes attracts flies or even aggressive pigeons. "And that's why we can't have nice things", aha :)

Ok place to hang out in the afternoon but I still don't think I would come here in the evening even though it seemed safe during the day. I did really enjoy the fountains, the bars with DJ spinning some decent tunes. In the corner is the small but gorgeous on the inside Capela de Noussa Senhora da Saude church. However, they're strict with their no photograph policy. If you want to do some shopping, you have Centro Commercial da Mouraria which I wasn't that impressed with though prices for things in there were fairly cheap.