Far from being just places of silence and memory, cemeteries are authentic open-air museums, mirrors of the society that built them.
Between October 18 and 26, the 4th edition of Cultural Week in Cemeteries will take place, inviting everyone to rediscover these spaces through a program full of novelties, which will take place in various cities across the country, from the north to the south.
The initiative is once again free to attend and reaffirms its position as one of the most unique moments in the cultural calendar.
More cemeteries and more experiences
This year, the event expands its geographical presence, adding new municipalities such as Barreiro, Caldas da Rainha, Figueira da Foz, Santarém and Torres Vedras to the usual participants.
The 2025 program promises to surprise with the debut of visits to emblematic sites such as the National Pantheon and the Church of São Roque in Lisbon.
As happens every year, among the most eagerly awaited activities, which are almost always sold out, are the night tours, which offer a different perspective on funerary architecture under a play of light and shadows, as well as the open tomb afternoons, a rare opportunity to get to know the inside of normally restricted places, such as the Crypt of the Fire Brigade Sappers Regiment in the Prazeres Cemetery.
This year there is also something new: the 1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Cemeteries, which will be a day for academics and researchers to share their knowledge, open to the whole community interested in exploring topics such as rituals, memory, art and heritage.
Highlights of the program for Lisbon
The itinerary of activities is vast and designed for different interests, from history and art to nature and photography. In Lisbon you can already think about scheduling one or all of these plans:
- Night Visit to Prazeres Cemetery (October 18): a guided tour that takes advantage of nightfall to highlight architectural and symbolic elements through the use of lanterns;
- The Pessoa Trail (October 19 and 25): a themed route through the Prazeres and Alto de São João Cemeteries that explores Fernando Pessoa’s family relationships and friendships, marking the 90th anniversary of his death;
- Discovering the birds of Carnide Cemetery (October 23): a walk to observe the cemetery’s birdlife which, in a recent CML inventory, stood out for its richness, with 40 species recorded;
- Figuras Forenses (October 20 and 22): a two-part tour of the Prazeres and Alto de São João cemeteries, focusing on the history of criminology and forensic medicine in Portugal.
Outside Lisbon, there’s an even broader calendar, which you can see in the full program for the 4th Cultural Week in the Cemeteries:
Addresses: various (see program above)
Times: from October 18 to 26, at various times (see program above)
Prices: free, but with prior registration via email (only for visits organized by Lisbon City Council)
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