The Bairro Alto was laid out in the 16th century to house ship workers back when Lisbon was a maritime power and its ships planted the Portuguese flag all over the globe. Five centuries later its character survives, as families who call the Bairro Alto home go back generations.

A popular stop nearby is the grand old A Brasileira café. This café retains the ambience it had back in the 1920s and '30s, when it caffeinated the literary soul of Lisbon. And it's still a good place for a coffee break.

In the evening, the Bairro Alto buzzes with a thriving restaurant scene. And various restaurants serenade diners with the folk music of Lisbon's back streets.

Traditionally, simple family-run restaurants entertained guests with fado music. Since the mid-1800s, fado has been Portugal's blues — mournful ballads about lost sailors, broken hearts, and bittersweet romance. It's impromptu…informal…sometimes the singer's just taking a break from the kitchen. She's accompanied by a couple of musicians, one playing a 12-string Portuguese guitar.

We're dining a little more upscale with just the right seat for this intimate music. These are songs of sadness, love, and hope. It's a distinctly Portuguese emotion called saudade — a kind of yearning, or nostalgia.