Praça do Comércio

The Ribeira royal palace stood here until the 1755 earthquake and tsunami destroyed it. The Marquis of Pombal rebuilt the Baixa on a grid and opened this great square onto the river, lined with arcaded yellow buildings. In the middle stands the equestrian statue of King José I, from 1775.

On the north side, the Arco da Rua Augusta, finished in 1875, opens onto the pedestrian street up to Rossio, and in one corner the Martinho da Arcada café, from 1782, where Pessoa used to write, is still open. King Carlos I and his heir were assassinated here in 1908.