The Ascensor da Glória, popularly referred to as the Elevador da Glória, will be stopped from November 5 to December 17.
On Monday morning, the Calçada da Glória goes up on foot. "We won't come around here tomorrow. I didn't know this was closed"says a mother accompanied by her son who is taking him to school, upstairs in the Bairro Alto. "It's going to be like this until December 17. We're going to be doing a lot of exercise"says a lady to a friend. The Ascensor da Glória, more popularly known as the Elevador da Glória (Gloria Elevator), is stopped and will remain so for six weeks. Reason: maintenance.
O Ascensor da Glóriawhich allows over the hill between Praça dos Restauradores and the São Pedro de Alcântara/Bairro Alto/Príncipe Real areais suspended since November 5 and will remain suspended until December 17. According to Carris, the interruption of the Ascensor da Glória is for a "scheduled general repair"This is for routine maintenance work after an intense summer.
With 137 years, the Ascensor da Glória has become one of the main tourist attractions of the city of Lisbon, carrying more than a million passengers a year, most of them visitors. But this equipment also serves the city's local, school, and working population, with many of those who, especially in the morning, use it to reach their top destination from the Restauradores.
Although it is popularly known as "elevator", they are actually two elevators [unlike an elevator, an elevator does not have a vertical trajectory] that, from morning to night, and with intervals usually of 12 minutesthey travel along a distance of 265 meters e helps overcome the 17% slope of Calçada da Glória. On the Elevator, the on-board fare is set at €3.80, allowing two trips; but the elevator can be used with zapping for €1.35 or with any Navegante pass valid in Lisbon.
The last time the Ascensor da Glória was stopped for maintenance had been in 2020, when between September and October the equipment was closed for five weeks. "Scheduled repair work is essential to maintain the smooth operation and safety of the elevator", explained the Carris at the time.
Despite the prolonged interruption, Carris has not put alternative transport to the Ascensor da Glória, which could be done, for example, with minibuses on the way up, more frequently during rush hours. Lisboa Para Pessoas has questioned the company about whether such alternative transportation is planned, and will update this article as soon as it gets an answer.
