Atlas Lisboa’s mission: We are not your typical online guide to the city. In a town increasingly run on hype, as Lisbon now is, we like to separate the excellent from the merely loud and well-funded.
We’ve built our platform from our explorations of Lisbon’s hidden charms and unspoiled places. We started as a blog, and have expanded to do restaurant and bar reviews, event listings and news — all run and written by people who call this country home.
Along the way, we continue meeting people who are true originals in the areas of art, design, literature, gastronomy, sport, commerce, and, yes, even fortune-telling. This is a chronicle of these people and places and your link to them.
If you want to reach expats, immigrants, smart travelers, and English-speaking Portuguese, contact us. They all know us.
Who We Are
Ellis Dixon is a rock climber and karaoke expert from Memphis and New York City. In 2012, she came to Lisbon and fell in love with the light, the saudade, the sandwiches, and the people. She felt compelled to write about it all.
O Vadio is an editor and a rapscallion.
Eden Flaherty managed to escape the clutches of the British Isles and make his way to Lisbon, where he can be found trudging the streets of the city.
Atlas’ Contributors
Bogdan Kamuta and Begemot are not his real names: he’s a political refugee from the U.S., born in the Bronx with Soviet roots. When not drawing (his background is in art), writing, or taking photos, Mr. Kamuta can be found teaching English or in a number of Lisbon’s bars, parks, apartments, venues, playing the bass guitar, or doodling in his sketchbook. Sometimes he plays footie, but he’s not very good.
David Soares has been meaning to leave Lisbon for a while. In the meantime, he writes about it.
Melissa Haun is addicted to traveling and can’t stay away from the ocean. She grew up in North Carolina, studied in Miami, worked in Madrid, and has settled (for now) in Lisbon. You’ll usually find her on the beach, eating snacks, or trying to untangle her hair after surfing.
Gloria Dominguez is a writer and researcher on housing and the political economy. Her area of focus is on the impact of tourism on the local housing market and city planning policy. Gloria holds a Master’s in Human Geography from IGOT – University of Lisbon, and received her bachelor’s degree in Global Economics from the University of California Santa Cruz.
Ted is an Irishman living in Lisboa. He likes bikes, cameras, and cool stuff in general. He can usually be found in any of the craft beer spots around town or out for a ride on his bike. Just look for a weird beard and that’ll likely be him.
Tiago D’Herbe is an alien on earth who landed in Lisbon to deal with computers.
Aleksandra Stokowiec first came to Lisbon just to complete the research for her final dissertation but then found it impossible to leave. Originally from Gdańsk, she swapped the cold blue sea for the turquoise ocean and so now spends her days mastering Portuguese, dancing Lindy Hop and writing. Even though professional at taking naps, she would never say “no” to abatanado.
Meghan Stephens is into hip-hop, live music, and supporting other women. She is equally invigorated by both the color palette and the local music scene in Lisbon.
Pearlie Tan is a freelance writer and editor from Australia. She lives on a small organic farm in Alenquer. Her homemade products for bumps, bruises, scrapes, and other incidents are carried in Lisbon.
Emily D’Silva is an artist, writer, and musician from London. After living for two years in Berlin, she is now based in Lisbon and continues to travel, adding more chapters to the story of her life (cliché but true).
Ojodepeza is the pseudonym behind which Lorena Velasco hides. Originally from Murcia, a small region in the south of Spain, she speaks English with a funny accent and has a big heart. As a teacher of photography, Lorena moved to Lisbon in 2016 to study and never left. She loves eating tremoços, procrastinating, and palindromes.
Paul Alfonso Soto is an adventurer, writer, and basketballer who now calls Portugal home. Originally from Venezuela, Paul grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas and is getting used to the coastal breeze. You can catch him at a pick-up game at Parque das Mamas, in a speedo in Costa da Caparica, or at home, watching The Godfather Part II on his laptop.
Mário Tavares is a quirky, nerdy Lisboeta, an avid sci-fi and fantasy reader, writer, and gamer who has a special soft spot for martial arts. He enjoys spearfishing, teaching XVIth century German longsword fencing, and spinning drum and bass tunes.
