The st. Anthony’s festivities in Lisbon are one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the year. In June, the city’s streets and neighborhoods fill up with people eating sardines on bread, drinking beer and, of course, dancing to the best Portuguese folk music. But what is Lisbon’s favorite arraial?
We like all the Lisbon arraiais, from the simplest to the most alternative, but our readers have their own preferences and, as with popular marches competition, in which everyone defends their neighborhood with quatrains and manjericos, we wanted to know what their favorite festival in Lisbon was .
The answers follow… and so does the big winner.
The Alvalade, Penha de França, Santa Catarina, Campo de Ourique, Santa Engrácia and Joy Square were among the least mentioned in this short survey on the social networks of Lisboa Secreta, but that doesn’t mean that the entertainment on offer is any less spectacular, as you can see in each of the posters for these parishes/neighborhoods.
The Parque das Nações (Navegantes), marvila, Pedralvas, Arroios, Alcântara, Castelo, Santo Amaro and Bairro Alto (Misericórdia), got several mentions, but they still don’t have the popularity of the neighborhoods we’ll get to know next in this list of Lisbon’s favorite arraial.
The arraiais of Alto do Pina, Ajuda, Carnide, São Vicente (Voz do Operário), Madragoa and Vila Berta were mentioned a lot in our research, which many people choose to visit and enjoy during the popular saints in Lisbon.
But the truth is that they are not yet in the category of the next batch, with the best St. Anthony’s festivities in the city.
The list of Lisbon’s favorite arraiais is completed with the arraiais of Mouraria, of Benfica, of Campolide, bica and Graça.
But there’s one more to go, the neighborhood that most Lisboners prefer to spend their “Santos” in.
Almost all the neighborhoods where there are popular saints’ in Lisbon have been mentioned, but only one can be the winner.
And, unsurprisingly, because it’s also one of the most famous neighborhoods across borders, the favorite arraial of Lisboners takes place all over the country alfama neighborhood, especially near the Escadinhas de São Miguel.
Os melhores arraiais de Lisboa: nos bairros e os mais alternativos na cidade