4.6.4 Cemitério do Alto de São João

Parada Alto de São João

Location HERE.

Open every day, but only from 0900 to 1700 (1800 in summer) hours.

Also known as the “eastern cemetery”, and until 1998 sharing one distinction with Prazeres cemetery, that there was also a tram terminus outside the main gate. Route 17, formerly starting from Belém, but latterly cut back to Martim Moniz, was the last tram route in Lisbon to be abandoned.

This former feature gets a mention because, if you’re staying in or near the old Downtown, you’ll find that there is no direct bus route. From Amoreiras, Alameda, Saldanha, Roma-Areeiro station you’re fine, but not the Downtown.

Like Prazeres cemetery, this site opened in 1833, and for the same reason: to provide burial space for those who had succumbed to the cholera outbreak. There are small mausoleums (Jazigos) for more important families, individual graves for lesser mortals, and a long wall of remembrance for those cremated. Portugal’s first crematorium opened here in 1925, and after a long period of closure, partly for religious reasons, reopened in 1985.

As with Prazeres cemetery, there is a plaza behind the main gate, and beyond that a chapel. A series of roads leads off from there, the lines of mausoleums and graves sprawling down the hill towards the river. There are also guided tours available, with the stretched electric Tuk-Tuk ever present.

Plenty of benches are available for tired limbs to be rested; some have shade, some not. CAUTION uneven pavements and roads. Allow at least an hour for your visit - longer if you do a guided tour. This cemetery is Lisbon’s largest; pity about the less than ideal transport links.

Buses 718 and 742; from the downtown, one option is to take the Metro (Linha Verde) to Arroios for the 742 bus, or Alameda for the 718.

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