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Savour Lisbon's Musical Flavour of Fado
Published by Angela Jill, Writer
Country: Portugal 
The Experience
When you enter Portugal, you enter a country unlike any other. In some ways, travelling to Lisbon is like travelling through time. There are a number of ways you can sense its history. You see it in the monuments and buildings. You taste it in all the dishes you eat. And it is most certainly part of the sounds you hear in a Portuguese fado house.
Fado can only be traced to the early 19th century, but many Portuguese would assume it goes back much further in Portuguese history. It is often associated with the Portuguese word “saudade,” which is a word for nostalgia or longing. It is certainly mournful in sound.
Many tourists or travellers would associate fado with the Spanish flamenco, and there are some similarities. The lyrics are often narrative, telling tales of current life or of legends from the past. The guitar is certainly important in both genres. There is also some speculation that there is Moorish or gypsy influence on both flamenco and fado. As a result, both styles are passionate, rhythmic, and have an exotic feeling.
Despite these similarities, fado is a unique experience, and has a few elements that set it apart from other musical genres. One distinct quality of fado is the guitar. In fado, a 12-stringed guitar is used, resembling a variation of a lute. Also, while flamenco often involves audience involvement (olé!) and can be very upbeat, fado is often sad.
Regardless of your interest level in music or fado, it makes an excellent accompaniment to dinner, or later on at night to drinks. The best fado experience depends on your tastes. The smaller, less well-known places offer less well-known artists, but they can provide a more intimate experience, allowing you to chat with the artists after the show (Fado Maior, for example). The more expensive, more formal fado houses generally have more famous musicians (like Adega Machado). Many of the fado houses of Lisbon have two performances. The second, usually at around 11 p.m., has a significantly higher attendance.
Fado can only be traced to the early 19th century, but many Portuguese would assume it goes back much further in Portuguese history. It is often associated with the Portuguese word “saudade,” which is a word for nostalgia or longing. It is certainly mournful in sound.
Many tourists or travellers would associate fado with the Spanish flamenco, and there are some similarities. The lyrics are often narrative, telling tales of current life or of legends from the past. The guitar is certainly important in both genres. There is also some speculation that there is Moorish or gypsy influence on both flamenco and fado. As a result, both styles are passionate, rhythmic, and have an exotic feeling.
Despite these similarities, fado is a unique experience, and has a few elements that set it apart from other musical genres. One distinct quality of fado is the guitar. In fado, a 12-stringed guitar is used, resembling a variation of a lute. Also, while flamenco often involves audience involvement (olé!) and can be very upbeat, fado is often sad.
Regardless of your interest level in music or fado, it makes an excellent accompaniment to dinner, or later on at night to drinks. The best fado experience depends on your tastes. The smaller, less well-known places offer less well-known artists, but they can provide a more intimate experience, allowing you to chat with the artists after the show (Fado Maior, for example). The more expensive, more formal fado houses generally have more famous musicians (like Adega Machado). Many of the fado houses of Lisbon have two performances. The second, usually at around 11 p.m., has a significantly higher attendance.
When to Go to Fado House
The best time to go to a fado show in Lisbon would be any time in the spring. Of course, you could go any time of year, but in general there is more going on as the weather gets warmer, but it's before the high season is in full swing.
Odds n' Ends
One of the best ways to find a great fado show in Lisbon is to ask someone who is from Lisbon. Ask your hotel concierge or a friendly waiter. They usually know best.
Want a Guide?
- Let's Go Spain and Portugal
- This is a very entertaining and dependable travel guide for those travelling on a tight budget.
- Intrepid Tours
- This tour company does tours nearly everywhere - including Lisbon, Portugal.
Places to Eat
- Fado Maior
- Very intimate. The performers will give you a show even if you're the only ones there. Then they'll take pictures with you. The food is very portuguese, with dishes like bacalhau a bras, salted cod with egg and potatoes.
- Adego Machado
- This is the Fado house that will be in every guide book. It's famous and will probably have some well known artists.
- Café Luso
- An historic restaurant to see fado. It has great atmosphere.
- Pastéis de Belém
- This is not a place for fado. This is a place for lovely little custard tarts. This is a place you cannot miss in Lisbon.
Recommended Places to Stay
- Rossio Hostel
- This is an amazing hostel! Rated 2nd best hostel world-wide, they have the best staff of any hostel I have ever been to. They have great breakfasts, clean rooms, organized day trips and bar crawls, and are located right on Praça do Rossio. This is by far the best hostel I have ever stayed in.
- Casa de Sao Mamede
- A pretty, historic guesthouse.
Additional Places to Stay Nearby
Search over 900,000 global hotel deals from over 30 merchants. Book via Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Priceline and the websites of popular hotel chains.
This hotel is situated on the main square (Rossio Square), a privileged location in the heart of Lisbon, with a clean, comfortable and youthful atmosphere. ... 0 miles away
$32 EUR+
Traditional boutique hotel, prestigiously situated directly on the Rossio, Lisbon's main square, facing the castle of St. George and the historic Alfama district. Within walking ... 0 miles away
$80 EUR+
+ 23 others. Show all.
More Experiences Nearby
- The Castle that Odysseus Built: The Castelo de Sao Jorge in Lisbon
- If you find yourself in Lisbon, one of the oldest cities in the world, a visit to the Castelo de São Jorge (Castle of Saint George) allows you to step into the shoes of eons of rulers and to ponder the same view that they had. The ruins of the Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon sit on a tall hill in the middle of the city, and conjure up all the magic and myth of the castles in storybooks. The Castelo de São Jorge is the castle you were drawing with crayons as a kid: up on the hill ...0 miles away.
While You're There - Tours and Trips Nearby
Just outside Fatima in Ajulstrel, you'll see the houses of the three shepherd children - Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta - to whom the vision of ...0.51 miles away via Lisbon.
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Your sightseeing tour of Lisbon takes you on a drive down Liberty Avenue to Rossio, in the very heart of the city. You'll then visit ...0.51 miles away via Lisbon.
$94+
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Carpe Diem! Book to do this experience now!
Highlights on your half-day sightseeing tour of Lisbon's attractions include: Belem - the historical section of Lisbon Tower of Belem Padrao dos Descobrimentos - ...
Starting from $40.44 per person.
Starting from $40.44 per person.
Books and DVDs
- Fado and the Place of Longing
- Fado, often described as 'urban folk music' emerged from the streets of Lisbon in the mid-nineteenth century and went on to become Portugal's 'national' music during the twentieth. It is known for its strong emphasis on loss, memory and nostalgia within its song texts, which often refer to absent people and places. One of the main lyrical themes of fado is the city itself. Fado music has played a significant role in the interlacing of mythology, history, memory and regionalism in Portugal in the second half of the twentieth century. Richard Elliott considers the ways in which fado songs bear witness to the city of Lisbon, in relation to the construction and maintenance of the local. Elliott explores the ways in which fado acts as a cultural product reaffirming local identity via recourse to social memory and an imagined community, while also providing a distinctive cultural export for the dissemination of a 'remembered Portugal' on the global stage.
- The Rough Guide to Portugal
Elsewhere on the Web
Media References
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Language Guides
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is one of the languages spoken in Portugal. If you know of a freely available phrase book or podcast for one of the missing languages, let us know!
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