My family and I will be in Lisbon at the end of March and are interested in taking in a fado performance while we are there. Any recommendations on good places to go? For additional context, our kids are 15 and 12 and we will be staying in Alfama. Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1896 posts
Alfama is likely where you will find a lot of fado places. They typically have a dinner with fado quite late. The places I’ve been, the singing doesn’t start until 10:30. There are others on the forum that might have been to some recently that start earlier. I bring this up because of your children that might find it difficult to stay up that late.
Google reviews are usually pretty good, if no one has a personal recommendation. The one I go to is in a small town close to Cascais and only happens every few weeks, so unlikely for you to attend it.
There is a fado museum in Alfama, that might have some earlier performances.
Posted by
Connecticut
119 posts
I also recommend the Fado Museum as a place to start.
Dennis
Posted by
SF Bay Area
81 posts
We saw Lisboa em Fado, which is in Bairro Alto, about two blocks from the Elevador de Santa Justa. We liked it a lot because it was a short performance (just about an hour), and was early (I think shows start around 6 and run every 90 minutes.) No food, but there is a restroom. You sit in chairs, in rows, and the singers (a man and a woman, who take turns) definitely perform off a set list, but the performers are good, as are the musicians. They also give a little history of the art, which is nice if you're coming in with no backgound. Get tickets ahead of time; none are sold at the door.