Lisbon Historic Walk: Exploring Fado Music Origins and Traditional Dinner
4.1
129 Ratings
Lisbon
Immerse yourself in the origins of Fado music on a historic walking tour through Lisbon. Experience the traditional lifestyle and feel the city's vibrant energy as you visit iconic Fado spots and enjoy a delicious Portuguese meal with a live Fado show.
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Bairro Alto - The walking tour starts in Bairro Alto, here there are still some Fado houses with live shows, and was the place where fado became appreciated by the aristocracy.
  • Rossio Train Station - From Barrio Alto we walk down to Rossio, passing by the Rossio train station where we can see a tribute statue to fado, we’ll also talk and present some other aspect of the history of Lisbon.
  • Alfama - On the way from Mouraria to Alfama we will pass by some other iconic places for the fado history like murals, tile panels, cobblestone decorations, statues, all focused on the fado thematic.

The walking tour will end with a Fado Live Show in Alfama, as this was the birth place of fado.

What's Included
  • Professional guide
  • Dinner
  • Walking Tour in Alfama, Mouraria & Bairro Alto
  • Multiple musical live performances (~10 minutes each)
What's Not Included
  • Tips & Gratuities
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
  • Personal Expenses
Additional Information

Mariners, anglers, and maritime traders, who were often far from home, were the forerunners of this musical style, expressing a sentiment of yearning or nostalgia for their distant families. Our aim is to guide you on a walking exploration of Lisbon’s historical districts where fado originates, in order for you to comprehend the city’s conventional way of life and to experience the city’s vibe.

Walking through the symbolic landmarks of Fado and its performers, where this musical form gained recognition, initially only in Lisbon but now embodying the entire Portuguese identity. We begin in Bairro Alto, where Fado became well-known among the aristocracy, before moving on to Mouraria, where tradition holds that Severa, the first celebrated fado singer, was born.

The next stop is Alfama, a place where the strains of Fado can be heard at every turn and where you will be treated to a delectable Portuguese meal and a live fado performance. A silent fado will be performed.

  • Please be reminded that there may be more than one language spoken during the tour (max. two languages).
  • English, Spanish and Portuguese are available all year round.
  • A CONSIDERABLE amount of walking is involved. Not recommended for people with back problems, heart condition and mobility handicap.
  • Not wheelchair accessible.
  • In case of adverse weather conditions (e. g. heavy rain), the tour can be cancelled, without prior notice. Refund will be given in these cases.
  • It is not recommended to bring children below age 6 (during musical performances, it is required to be totally silent, including pausing from eating)
  • There’s no special dress code, although it’s recommended not to bring slippers or beachwear. Comfortable shoes are recommended.
Location
Bairro Alto
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.1
(129 Ratings)
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Michael_h
Apr 11, 2024
Take the food and fado tour! - Our guide was so pleasant and full of great info. He showed us the school project of the history of Lisbon that we never would have found ourselves. Times our visit to get a glorious sunset and we also enjoyed the other person in our party. Lovely evening. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Devin_g
Mar 12, 2023
Great Tour of the city - We had a wonderful time. The tour was just the right amount of time and dinner was great. Our guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. We would highly recommend doing this tour. As always be ready to walk up hill a lot :).
Review provided by Viator
Victoria_v
Mar 6, 2023
Great tour and show - Had the most magical night on this tour! It was just me and a friend on the tour and had a great time with Thiago he was awesome. Knew the city well and taught us a lot. The Fado show also happened to be a private event because no one else came which was great luck. The food was amazing and generous the show was also spectacular. Only complaint is that we had learned about the traditional dress of Fado and our singers were in normal clothes would have liked to see the dress during the show. Would do this again 100%
Review provided by Viator
Resurbongolan
Feb 12, 2020
The best tour in Portugal and the best tour guide - Spent 11 days in Portugal and was on a tour every single day. Thisbis the best tour that we had for the reason that our tour guide Tania was the best!!! She really knows by heart Portugal and everything about Fado. Me and my husband had a blast! Tania even stayed with us until past midnight although she gets paid only until 10:30pm. After the tour Tania even answered ny questions about Portugal and other tour that we are interested in like the buklfighting schedule,where to purchase tickets and other stuff. Definitely more than a 5 stars dor Tania!!!
Review provided by Viator
Mad4491
Jan 18, 2019
Wonderful Night of Music and Good Food! - We booking this through Viator which I understand is now part of Trip Advisor. Our guide picked us on time and took us and an interesting drive around parts of the city. She then dropped us off at the restaurant where we were served a delicious meal by very friendly staff. The wonderful Fado started with main singer who was a women who was fantastic. When she took a short break what appeared to be a member of the audience took over. He wasn't as good, but the whole evening was a wonderful . Not to be missed!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
William_g
Oct 27, 2018
Tour and Show - We had a very enjoyable evening. We enjoyed meeting the other guests on the tour, only 7 including us. The dinner and music were very good. Excellent guide.
Review provided by Viator
Alan_l
Oct 22, 2022
Very good but expensive - Our tour and tour guide was excellent. The show was great along with dinner. I do though think the coat was too high
Review provided by Viator
Oksana_j
Sep 4, 2018
FADO - Very good combination of music, artistic performance and good food :) Highly recommended for families, couples and friends
Review provided by Viator
Zeralein
Mar 14, 2020
Overprized walking tour - We did a lot of tours in different cities over the time, but this was one of the worst. First we walked 1.5h along the main roads to a restaurant where we were dropped off. The guide was friendly. But the explanations were not very informativ and some important information were only given on request. So some talking about fado before we were left with fado-singing without any explanations. We expected more insight for the price! The food was okay. Fado was nice. However, the food menu w/ fado costs 20€, not 90€! We could have done this by our own. Additionally, free walking tours, for instance by live history were much better. Even if you tipp adequately this is cheaper.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tanja
May 7, 2018
This tour was advertised as a... - <p>This tour was advertised as a small-group event that lasts about 5.5 hours with the tour being about 2 hours and the dinner show being about 3 hours. What I got was a 0.5 hour car tour and a dinner show all by myself the guide didnt accompany me and there were no other guests. I could have simply walked to one of many local Fado dinner show venues and enjoyed a full meal and drinks for much less than half of what I paid, if I just wanted to eat by myself. Unfortunately for me, the experience wasnt as advertised and was a disappointment. That being said, the Fado show was fantastic, the food was good and the tour guide was nice.</p>
Review provided by Viator
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May 2024
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