Such hard work can fuel an appetite, so, when you’re ready for a break, take advantage of one of the many old-fashioned outdoor cafés along the strip.

Pastelaria Benard is an enchanting restaurant, tearoom, pastry shop, and croissanterie. Slow-moving ceiling fans and a key central location make it an optimum place to stop for a little lunch and people watching. Even though the Brasileira Café next door gets all the credit in tourist books, it also gets about double the amount of tourist traffic.

Our lunch was delicious — I had a tuna salad that came lavishly topped with boiled egg, beans, and various veggies. My boyfriend ordered the grilled chicken salad, which was equally good. With coffee and two pastries, the bill came to €26.75.

Even if you’re not hungry, the sweet, comforting aroma of croissants baking in the kitchen is a good enough reason to make a pit stop at this adorable café.

Here you can taste chocolate croissants, éclairs with white and chocolate fillings, chocolate pastries in the shape of pine-cone, pastries with yellow filling covered in sugar, pastries entirely covered in chocolate, and many more. This is a paradise for somebody with a sweet tooth; the pastries melt in your mouth and you can’t have enough. Pastries are 90 cents each. You can also buy a whole cake here. In smaller cities, similar pastries may cost 70 cents each, but this is Lisbon and prices are higher here.

The café has two large rooms – one with the long counter with layers of pastries, menus and some tables, and the second with just tables and chairs.

The café is across the street from the metro station "Baixa" and is a place where you might see famous actors, politicians, writers and fashion designers. The café even was in one of Portuguese movies. This street was recently restored after a large fire in 1988 and literally next-door is the famous café Brasileira with an Art Nouveau facade. The street is named after Almeida Garrett, a Portuguese writer and poet, who is buried in Santa Engracia, the National Pantheon in Lisbon.