Does Lisbon still feel authentic? Safety concerns?

I enjoyed Lisbon as a solo traveler. It’s a great walking city and I explored the areas that are well-trodden by tourists as well as those that were not. I don’t know what else to say. Lisbon was probably my favorite place in Portugal. I was there in April/May 2024.

There's a lot of tourists but aside from one spray painted wall with "tourists go home" painted on it we never felt it was WDW or resented by the locals. One evening we walked up to Alfama which is near the castle in Lisbon and had a light meal at a small hole in the wall restaurant. This is an area where the locals and local businesses have been pushed out by foreign ownership. There were other tourists nearby and we clearly stuck out as not from the neighbourhood but there were no issues. Not once anywhere did we feel unwelcome.

Here's my Trip Report from last Fall if it helps. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-part-1-hills-and-castles-portugal

FYI, I loved Obidos. The main street is crowded with tourists but you'll lose most of them if you walk the walls or even go one block away in any direction from that main street.

I am headed to Portugal next week ( first time) and have watched a TON of YouTube videos over the last few months. I have not seen anything like you describe. I am also part of two Facebook groups dedicated to Portugal travel and have not seen any negative comments, in fact the opposite, that the Portuguese people are warm and welcoming. Will report back after my trip, spending four days in Lisbon..

To clarify -
Wondering if Lisbon has more tourists and fabricated events than local charm, history and culture. We're traveling in May, and could divert 2-3 days from Lisbon to smaller cities, if so. thanks!

Hello and thanks everyone for your quick replies and recent positive, experiences in Lisbon. We're grateful their wonderful local culture hasn't been obscured by tourism and housing pressures.

We will proceed with our trip planning and make sure to spend a day or more in Obidos.

Welcoming any other insights.

We were there in October. There are tons of tourists no doubt. Our Bolt driver also discussed with us how Lisbon is so much less Portuguese than it used to be because of the influx of people from other places living there. This influx has also driven up the price of housing.

It is hardly the quaint undiscovered place as it was not too many years ago. But honestly we didn’t find Portugal to be that even in the smaller towns. We were rather surprised by how many tourists there were in October every where. We thought it would be more off season than it was.

Still we found the Portuguese people to be welcoming and friendly.

The other thing to consider is the large number of British expats who have moved, especially to the Algarve, for tax benefits and lower cost of living among other things. So not all the foreigners are tourists

I ran into some American type retirees in shorts and white socks with sandals who were bragging about how cheap it was to have surgery and other medical procedures there, and to have furniture made and to live there. They said they don't know a word of Portuguese and get along fine without it.

There is an area of Lisbon that has seen some problems and I would avoid it at night. It is the Montim Moniz area, and it’s quite close to Rossio, and other more main parts of Lisbon. It’s where the 28 tram ends and is likely still fine during the day.

There has been a huge influx of people from Bangladesh and Pakistan ( to name two countries). The government office that handles immigration has been a mess for the last several years. A lot of these people have been here without a residence card and thus, unable to work. Due to this, there has been conflict in the Montim Moniz area, including fighting, with police intervention. It has received significant publicity.

In addition to these populations, huge numbers of Brazilian people have come in the last few years. They are still the largest group of immigrants. The number of Americans has increased but still is not in the top ten countries for immigration. Due to these things, there has been a bit of complaining but, I agree with the Uber driver, most is about affordable housing.

You might want to check the port schedule for heavier cruise ship dockage. IMO, that is a big culprit in making Lisbon so much more crowded. I think Lisbon is still charming, if I go when the cruisers aren’t in town. And, I still love living here (9+ years) and continue to feel safe. In Cascais, I still feel that I am welcomed by the Portuguese people.

Thank you Texas Travler for posting this. I was coming to the forum to ask the very same question. I arrive in June 2025 and there is a lot of videos showing protests happening due to the immigration issues and showing large groups of people that have come from Asia, Africa without jobs hanging around the streets, lots of graffiti, trash everywhere and many videos of people videoing their visit and being asked if they want to buy drugs. I was obviously concerned about this as I will be traveling with young children. This has made me rethink the amount of days I want to spend in Lisbon and Porto which I was very excited about. I would like to hear a report from someone that has recently traveled from the area (within a few months) to see how accurate these videos are. The last reports I saw were two weeks ago and it wasn't good. Thank you!

@kimmieinthekeys my husband and I were in Lisbon in late September early October 2025. As BethFL said, it was very crowded with tourists even at that time, but compared with touristy American cities, there was not nearly as much homelessness or street trash. Not none, but not a frightening amount, especially compared with my area (SF Bay cities). I was always wary about pickpockets but never felt unsafe physically, even when walking alone. Did not see any protests about tourists, or experience any unpleasantness towards us. Some businesses might have felt a bit tired of all the tourists, but nobody was rude. There is a lot of graffiti in all the cities (even in the tiny Algarve town we stayed in) but most of it is artistic, not simply tagging or mean statements. One of my coworkers is a graffiti artist (mostly retired) and I took pictures to show him because Portuguese graffiti was so impressive. There might have been drug dealing, but being in our 60s, we probably didn't look like the target demographic, and were never approached. We tried to be polite and good guests.

I traveled solo (74) last May 1-10 to Portugal, beginning in Lisbon, 5 days and 4 days in Porto. I stayed in Oeiras just N of Lisbon, and rode the Cais do Sodre regional train into the city 3 days and one day the other direction to Cascais on a Sunday afternoon, which was delightful. If you are in the Alfama area for lunch, make an effort to eat at Augusto, (12e), the best avocado toast you will ever eat., address Rua Santa Marinha 26, small pink bldg, it’s worth the wait! In Belem, the Jeronimos monastery was half price for seniors and not to be missed, it is amazing. the train Lisbon to Porto was 24 E for first class, a 3 1/2 hr train ride. Uber is cheap and I met some of the nicest Uber drivers. In Porto I would strongly urge you to Google for lunch, Honest Greens, great food and all organic (12e). Also I’m embarrassed to say I ate dinner 3 nights at Conga which was very close to my Airbnb, BECAUSE, they had $3 delicious Bifana sandwiches and homemade soups. I was early, but by the time I left it was packed. If you are going to the Lello bookstore in Porto, you need tickets, which I didn’t know, but I made up for it eating gelato at the place next door, it was very good. From my journal, Observations about Portugal: tons of optical and shoe stores, lots of mom and pop shops in Porto, dinner is late, people are helpful, anyone under 40-45 speaks English. I have no recollection of being uneasy or frightened. I wasn’t out after dark in Lisbon. Someone mentioned the Pink Street, I walked by it around 7:00 pm, but could see that wasn’t a place for me. I did record that after walking on cobblestones for 8 hrs a day my legs were killing me. In closing, I’m actually somewhat of a scaredy cat, so I’m very cautious and aware of my surroundings. I am returning April 15, so all was well last year. Have a great trip!

My American family and I have lived in Lisbon for nearly five years. We have never felt unsafe and my wife often walks late at night in our neighborhood with no concerns. Portugal is ranked as one of the safest countries in the world, vastly safer than the USA. The Portuguese people have always been very welcoming and kind. Media is very prone to sensationalize isolated events and exaggeration. Yes tourism has boomed but with planning you can minimize the impact.