Café no Chiado

Civilised yet informal, this café is great for settling down to an afternoon with the papers. The terrace has better and cheaper coffee than Café A Brasileira and is more peaceful; even the trams rattling past provide a photo opportunity. The place is a lunch favourite with media types, who tuck into caesar salad and English roast beef, as well as Portuguese fare. It's owned by the Centro Nacional de Cultura, a non-state body that was a cultural catalyst during the dictatorship; its library and internet space are upstairs (open 10am-6pm Mon-Fri).