What is the best neighborhood in Lisbon: Benfica or São Domingos de Benfica?

They are two neighboring parishes and very similar in certain aspects, so much that some people confuse them. Benfica and S. Domingos de Benfica, eternal sisters and rivals in the debate of "my neighborhood is better than yours" (…).

Spoiler alert: There are no winners or losers here. There are two neighborhoods with a rich history, which began to be considered as the outskirts of Lisbon (in Benfica are the doors of Lisbon, that mark one of the limits of the county) and until years ago were still, for those who live in the center, a little apart , or even a second choice.

All this has changed. For decades, a construction spike (in some cases even positive and accompanied by rehabilitation) began, and when the real estate boom arrived in Lisbon, Benfica and São Domingos were places with a growing demand to live, especially by students and "returnees", but also by many young families and couples.

Added to the escalation of real estate values is the growing reputation and investment in the area and, as elsewhere in the city, the square meter already reaches astronomical values in both parishes, in most cases well above three thousand euros per square meter, and here there is even a technical tie between the two, with the high values to be found from side to side.

The parishes changed: Turin's cinemas closed and Fonte Nova's were converted into a gymnasium, video clubs gave way to pizzerias or take-aways, banks and supermarkets began to appear on almost every corner, the first cycle paths appeared.

But both have managed to preserve many of their characteristics, from a neighborhood with traditional commerce, with schools, with iconic cultural, religious, historical, gastronomic or commercial points that give that sense of 'home' and 'there are things that never change' to whom lives there and above all to those who have always lived there. (...)