Lisbon has always been a city closely linked to the arts. This is the only way to justify grandiose movie theaters.
So let’s go on a guided tour of Lisbon’s most iconic cinemas, as they were before and as they are now.
Table Of Contents
São Luiz Cine
Considered one of the most important concert halls in Lisbon, the São Luiz Cine made his first film in 1928, Metropolis by Fritz Lang, at the time accompanied by an orchestra conducted by Pedro Blanc, who played the original score written by Gottfried Huppertz.
Today it is called São Luiz Teatro Municipal and several companies play there.
Eden-Theater
Located in one of the noblest areas of the city, Restauradores, the Eden-Theater began operating as a cinema in 1938.
Where there are now two large open windows, large movie posters used to be placed.
Today, after major transformations and controversies due to the remodeling of its marble façade, it is a luxury hotel.
Condes Cinema
Where you can now see the Hard Rock Café, there used to be the Condes, a brick building constructed between 1950 and 1952.
The Condes logo is still there, but the cinema dates back to 1916, when the Castello Lopes company began showing its films.
Empire Cinema
It is one of the largest buildings in Lisbon to have housed a movie theater. Cinema Império or Cine-Teatro Império is located in the middle of Alameda Afonso Henriques, next to one of the main arteries that cross Lisbon, a Avenida Almirante Reis.
It opened in 1952 and could accommodate more than 1,600 people to see the latest fashion films. It has been owned by the UCKG since 1992.
Cine-Teatro Tivoli
In the heart of Avenida da Liberdade, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, is the Teatro Tivoli BBVA, formerly known as the Cine Teatro Tivoli.
It was inaugurated in 1924 and at the time was exclusively dedicated to the seventh art, even considered one of the best exhibition halls in the country.
Today it hosts various kinds of shows and even film screenings, such as the Motelx horror film festival.
Cine-Teatro Capitólio
Located inside Parque Mayer, next to Avenida da Liberdade, is the now modern Cineteatro Capitólio.
Opened in 1922, it had a movie theater for almost 1,400 spectators, a luxury for those who at the time were in love with the biggest blockbusters from across the ocean.
It reopened in 2016 with 400 seats, which could be increased to a 1,500-seat theater that usually hosts festival concerts.
Monumental
Right in the center of Saldanha is the nostalgic Monumental, opened in 1951 with cinemas with giant screens and room for more than 2,000 moviegoers.
A landmark for those who are just over 40 today, this cinema is one of the greatest icons of the city center.
Cinema São Jorge
Also in the center of Avenida da Liberdade, very close to the Tivoli BBVA Theatre, is one of Lisbon’s best-known venues.
Cinema São Jorge was inaugurated in 1950 and still has the same exterior appearance, with a very distinctive structure in this part of the city.
Today it hosts the main film festivals and some launch events.
Ideal Cinema
It opened in 1904, but only in 2014, after a long restoration process, was it returned to the city.
Since then, oldest movie theater of Lisbon and has distinguished itself by presenting itself as a space for the exhibition of alternative and independent films from the four corners of the world.
Ir ao cinema ainda é uma coisa cool, ainda mais com estes preços fantásticos