Good morning, Lisbon. It's Tuesday and we're looking at 20°C with mostly clear skies. In about an hour, sirens will echo across the waterfront. Let's get into it.
🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 27 (Good). Perfect conditions for a morning by the river, assuming you don't flee to higher ground.
🗞️ TOP STORY
LISBON'S TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM GOES LIVE THIS MORNING
If you're anywhere near the Tagus this morning, you'll hear it. Starting at 10:30am, Lisbon's Civil Protection will activate all four tsunami warning sirens as part of the LisbonWave26 drill. The test will run until around noon, with sirens sounding for approximately 30 minutes followed by voice announcements in Portuguese and English.
The sirens are located at Praça do Império in Belém, Ribeira das Naus near Cais do Sodré, Passeio Carlos do Carmo, and Doca de Alcântara. If you work or live anywhere along the waterfront, you won't miss them.
This isn't paranoia. On November 1, 1755, a tsunami struck Lisbon about 40 minutes after the Great Earthquake. Waves reached an estimated 5 to 6 meters, pushing 250 to 350 meters inland. The city has spent the last few years installing this warning system precisely because we sit on a historically active fault zone.
The drill is designed to familiarize residents with the siren sound and test evacuation routes. The Câmara Municipal plans to have 10 sirens covering the entire waterfront by 2029. For now, consider this your chance to scout an uphill route. The city has published official evacuation maps and meeting points on the Civil Protection website.
Bottom line: Sirens at 10:30am, lasting about 30 minutes. It's a drill. But it's also a good reminder to know your exit.
⚡ QUICK HITS
Strike backlog begins. Yesterday's 24-hour public sector strike affected AIMA, hospitals, Social Security, and the courts. If you had an appointment rescheduled or paperwork pending, expect delays to ripple through this week. Teachers strike again Wednesday.
Fuel prices dropped. As of yesterday, the government cut ISP taxes to offset rising Middle East-related costs. Road diesel is now 2.6 cents per liter cheaper, petrol 1.4 cents. Total accumulated savings since early March: 9.4 cents on diesel, 5.1 cents on petrol.
Blackout report points to Spain. The European network operator's investigation into last April's Iberian blackout is out. The 45-expert report blames voltage fluctuations, gaps in reactive power control, and rapid production cuts in Spain. It was the worst incident in the European grid in over 20 years.
Einaudi tonight. Ludovico Einaudi plays Coliseu dos Recreios at 9pm, first of two nights. The Solo Piano tour strips it down to just him and a Steinway. Tickets from €272.
🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY
TACT
You could walk past TACT a dozen times and never notice it. That's partly by design.
Kirill Ivanov and Viktoria Parfinskaia opened this tiny cafe in mid-2022, shortly after moving to Lisbon from St. Petersburg. They found a space in Lapa, a residential neighborhood where tourists rarely venture, inside a 1960s building that had previously been a laundromat. They kept the original marble walls and patterned floor tiles. They restored the yellow wooden doors. Then they filled the room with vintage ceramics, a La Marzocco GS3, and beans from roasters most Lisboetas have never heard of.
The coffee rotates. On any given week you might find Bonanza from Berlin, Man vs. Machine from Munich, or Dak from Amsterdam. There's always a V60 option and a cold brew concentrate in summer. The espresso is dialed in with care that borders on obsessive.
But TACT isn't just coffee. The food comes out of a kitchen the size of a closet, yet somehow delivers: thick wedges of sourdough with salmon gravlax and jammy eggs. Baked cottage cheese with cream and fresh berries. Croissants from Do Beco, which may be the best in the city. Everything arrives on mismatched vintage plates that feel like they came from someone's grandmother's cabinet.
The vibe is quiet, deliberate, unhurried. Retro music plays softly. Locals read newspapers. Nobody is in a rush.
Details: Rua Joaquim Casimiro 14a, Lapa. Tues-Fri 9am-2pm, Sat 10am-3pm. Closed Sun-Mon. No reservations. Cards accepted. Coffee €3-4, breakfast sets €10-20. Pet-friendly.
📅 WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK
LisbonWave26 Tsunami Drill (Today, Tuesday) at 10:30am, citywide waterfront. Sirens will sound for approximately 30 minutes. Free, involuntary.
Ludovico Einaudi (Tue-Wed, March 24-25) at Coliseu dos Recreios, 9pm. Solo Piano tour. From €272.
Lisbon Energy Summit (March 24-26) at FIL, Parque das Nações. Industry conference.
Teachers' Strike (Wednesday, March 26) affecting public schools. FENPROF action.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Concert (Saturday, March 28) at Sagres Campo Pequeno, 8:30pm. Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa performs the score live. From €25.
Portugal vs Mexico (Saturday, March 28) at Estadio Azteca, Mexico City. International friendly. Ronaldo out with hamstring injury.
📜 ON THIS DAY
March 24, 1974. In a building somewhere in Lisbon, the captains of the Armed Forces Movement gathered one last time. Eight days earlier, their first coup attempt had failed at Caldas da Rainha, ending with arrests and recriminations. This time, they agreed on a new date: April 25. They tasked Major Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho with planning the operation. They would take the barracks at Santarém. They would surround the GNR headquarters at Carmo. They would play banned songs on the radio as the signal to move.
One month later, the plan worked. The dictatorship fell in less than 24 hours. Restaurant workers handed out carnations. And 48 years of authoritarianism ended without a war.
The flowers come out next month. Today, we mark the meeting that made it possible.
See you tomorrow morning.
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