Secret Guide to Lisbon: Discover the hidden corners of the city

Secret Guides Things to do

In 1520, the Belém Tower was completed along the Tagus River to defend Lisbon; 506 years later, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and can be explored on a guided tour

From rounding the Cape of Storms to the sea voyage to India in the 15th century, Portugal helped chart and push the boundaries of the unknown. In the Belém area, the ships set sail for overseas adventures...

Secret Guides Things to do

Serial Killer Speakeasy in Lisbon: an immersive true-crime experience where actors bring Bundy and Dahmer to life with 4 cocktails

What if you could step into the minds of some of history’s most infamous murderers? The Serial Killer Speakeasy Lisbon invites you to discover the darkest side of the human mind in an immersive experience...

Secret Guides Things to do

Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy in Lisbon: a gothic cocktail experience where actors perform four of Poe’s short stories live

One sip for every shiver… or rather, four. And all accompanied by some of Edgar Allan Poe’s most unsettling tales. Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? The Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy is back in Lisbon to take you o...

Secret Guides Things to do

The Jury Experience Lisbon: a fictional trial in an immersive theater setting where you, as a juror, decide the verdict

Known for their keen and perceptive eye—whether in high-profile cases like the “Casa Pia Case,” in cafés along the Tagus River, or in downtown Lisbon during debates between Benfica and Sporting—the people...

Culture Secret Guides

In 1919, Fernando Pessoa met Ofélia Queiroz at an office on Rua da Assunção, in Baixa; 107 years later, she remains the only known girlfriend he ever had

In Lisbon’s Baixa district, at No. 42 Rua da Assunção, the firm Félix, Valladas & Freitas was in business. It is at this address that the story of Fernando Pessoa and Ofélia Queiroz begins: they met t...

Culture Secret Guides Things to do

The foundation stone for the Ajuda Palace was laid in 1795, and it served as the residence of King Luís and Queen Maria Pia, who lived there until 1910; the west wing was not inaugurated until 2021, and a standard admission ticket costs €15.

In 1794, a fire destroyed the Real Barraca, the wooden residence where the royal family had taken up residence in Ajuda after the 1755 earthquake. The following year, on November 9, 1795, the cornerstone...

Culture Secret Guides

In 1979, António Variações opened his own barbershop on Rua de São José in Lisbon; five years later, the country lost one of its most irreverent pop stars

Long before becoming one of the most irreverent voices in Portuguese music, António Variações made a living cutting hair. And he wasn’t just any hairdresser: in 1979, he opened his own shop at No. 70 Rua...

Culture Secret Guides Things to do

In 1747, construction began on the “Portuguese Versailles,” just outside Lisbon; 279 years later, the Palace of Queluz hosts state banquets and can be visited with a skip-the-line ticket for €13

A few kilometers from Lisbon, in Queluz, there is a palace that many know as the “Portuguese Versailles,” even though it is much smaller than the original French palace. Construction of the National Palac...

Food & drink Secret Guides

In 1991, Portugal’s first McDonald’s opened in a shopping center in Cascais; 35 years later, there are more than 200 restaurants, and the menu has even featured bica in a cup and McPrego

Today it’s in every district of the country, but in the early days, to eat at a McDonald’s in Portugal, you had to go to Cascais. The chain’s debut in the country took place at CascaiShopping on May 2...

Culture Secret Guides

Fernando Pessoa was buried for 50 years in this Lisbon cemetery, opened in 1833 because of the cholera epidemic; today it is the city’s “only open-air museum”

For half a century, this was Fernando Pessoa’s final resting place. The poet was buried at the Prazeres Cemetery in 1935 and was only reinterred at Jerónimos in 1985. This Sunday is All Saints’ Day, an...

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