Freshly ground coffee, sweet pastries coveted even by the competition, award-winning Portuguese custard pies, ice cream with insect topping and a fresh produce market where they call you by your name: trade in the heart of Benfica is a prosperous mix of novelties and historical stores.

Lurdes is 72 years old and Celeste, 73, friends for 60 years, remember what it was like to work in one of the biggest factories on the Iberian peninsula.

There are 4 km of road between the Portas de Benfica and the Zoological Gardens and we decided to walk the whole distance. Here are the must-visit places on Estrada de Benfica.

"Benfica is a unique parish", says Ricardo Marques, parish council member for Education and Training. “All levels of education can be found here”, with a total of 32 schools, if you include the private ones. Five are public (free) kindergartens, and this will soon increase to six.