Festivals and Events
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Lisbon to Dakar Rally
Lisbon is the starting point for this big motoring event that also takes in Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal.
http://www.dakar.com -
Lisbon Carnival
The celebration of the end of winter and a major occasion on the city’s calendar.
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Moda Lisboa
Portugal’s top fashion designers show their autumn and winter collections. Through March.
http://www.modalisboa.pt -
Indie Lisboa
Lisbon’s international Independent Film Festival.
http://www.indielisboa.com -
Super Bock Super Rock
A big rock music festival in the Parque do Tejo, located in Lisbon's Parque das Nações (Nations Park).
http://www.superbock.pt -
Festival of San Antonio
Feasting, dancing and music in the streets.
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Tall Ships Race
From Torbay in the west of Britain to Lisbon.
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Football
The season starts for Lisbon’s two great teams, Benfica www.slbenfica.pt/English/homepage and Sporting Lisbon.
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Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
http://www.lisbonfilmfest.org/ -
Gulbenkian Orchestra
Portugal’s premier orchestra.
http://www.musica.gulbenkian.pt -
Chocolate Festival
If you’re in Lisbon in November, have a sweet tooth and fancy a day trip, the International Chocolate Festival is held in Obidos. It’s about 50 miles from the capital and reachable by train.
http://www.festivalchocolate.cm-obidos.pt -
New Year at Belem Tower
A musical extravaganza, fireworks and a mega disco.
Theatre, Cinema and Opera
The Gulbenkian Foundation www.gulbenkian.org/english/main.asp hosts regular classical music recitals and ballet performances during its season from October to June. Chamber and symphony concerts are also held at the Teatro Municipal de Sao Luis while opera and ballet can be enjoyed at the Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos www.saocarlos.pt. Free concerts are often performed at the Se (Cathedral) and other churches. You can buy tickets for a wide variety of concerts, plays and shows by calling in person at the Agencia de Bilhetes on the corner of Praca dos Restauradores. Lisbon’s art nouveau cinemas have been eclipsed by international multiplexes and these now form a traditional Sunday day out for Lisbon families. Cinema tickets can be booked directly with individual cinemas. If you want to know what’s happening throughout Lisbon, you can find listings of concerts, plays and films in the monthly publication, Agenda Cultural, or the quarterly Unforgettable Lisboa. These can be obtained from the Lisbon Tourist Office. You’ll find that these are written in Portuguese, but you can easily make out the information.
Museums and Galleries
Like the other great European capitals, Lisbon has a wealth of excellent museums from the world-class Calouste Gulbenkian museum to the outstanding Ancient Art museum to the more recent and acclaimed Design Museum. The Calouste Gulbenkian houses a magnificent collection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Asian and European Art. It’s one of the world’s finest private art collections. The Ancient Art Museum can be reached by Tram 25. It contains 14th to 20th century European works by artists such as Bosch, Durer and Raphael. Lisbon’s Design Museum is one of the world’s leading collections of 20th century design. The work of some 230 designers is displayed. Because Lisbon has such a strong sea-faring tradition, its Maritime Museum is well worth a look. It’s in the west wing of Jeronimos Monastery. The Portuguese have long specialised in making tiles and there’s a museum devoted to the history and production of that craft. For details of all these and many more, go to www.golisbon.com/museums
For Children
Lisbon is a perfect city to spend a few days with the children. It’s safe and friendly, the climate is favourable and it’s easy to get around on foot. And there are countless activities and facilities, both outdoors and indoors, especially put on for children. If it is good weather, take them to the capital’s parks and gardens. Try the city zoo http://www.zoo.pt with its dolphin shows and lion feeding or for a better view of the animals, ride the cable car. In Monsanto, the city’s forest, let the kids run off high spirits on the swings, slides and other amusements of the Park of Índios. And if the day is a little cloudy, there are a full range of museums and libraries holding courses and workshops.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Planetarium www.planetario.online.pt will tell them all they want to know of the stars above. And the Pavilion of Knowledge www.pavconhecimento.pt/home/...will reveal the latest in scientific advances in an especially child-friendly manner. However, the favourite is undoubtedly the Lisbon Oceanarium www.oceanario.pt/index for an evening spent in the unforgettable company of sharks.
