Porto · Fado
Casa da Guitarra fado show
A one-hour fado concert with a glass of port near the cathedral, from €16.15, with 1,088 reviews and a 9.5 score.
- Price
- from €16.15
- Duration
- 1 h
- Guest rating
- 9.5/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
Type of show
Fado shows in Lisbon and Porto: what to expect and how to choose
Fado is sold two ways: a long dinner in a casa de fado with short sets of songs, or a one-hour concert with no meal.
What it is
Fado is Portuguese urban song, first documented in Lisbon in the early nineteenth century in the districts near the port. A singer performs with two players, one on the Portuguese guitar and one on the classical guitar. UNESCO listed it as intangible cultural heritage in 2011. Coimbra has its own fado, tied to the university and traditionally sung by men in academic dress.
There are two ways to hear it. A casa de fado is a restaurant, mostly in Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto in Lisbon, where dinner is served and singers perform in short sets of three or four songs through the evening. The lights go down, service stops, and conversation waits for the break. The evening can last two or three hours and is sold as a set menu, a minimum spend or a music charge on top of the bill.
A staged fado show is a concert. It lasts about an hour, in a small auditorium, museum room or wine cellar, with rows of seats and no meal. Some include a glass of port, and in Porto several are held in or near the port wine lodges. These shows run in the late afternoon and early evening, often with a short spoken introduction in English, and are sold as a single ticket.
Where to see it
Lisbon
Three fado shows you can book ahead in Lisbon, with the same facts for each: length, price, dinner, age rules and refund terms.
Porto
Six fado shows you can book ahead in Porto and Gaia, with the same facts for each: length, price, the port in the glass, age rules and refund terms.
Words you will meet
- Fadista
- A fado singer, man or woman.
- Guitarra portuguesa
- A pear-shaped instrument with twelve steel strings in six pairs, which plays the melodic lines around the voice.
- Viola
- The name used in fado for the classical six-string guitar, which keeps the rhythm and harmony.
- Casa de fado
- A restaurant where fado is sung live during dinner, in sets separated by breaks for service.
- Silêncio
- The call for quiet before a singer starts, from the phrase 'Silêncio, que se vai cantar o fado' (silence, fado is about to be sung).
- Fado vadio
- Amateur fado, where locals and regulars take turns to sing in a tavern with no fixed programme.
- Desgarrada
- A sung duel in which two or more singers trade improvised verses, often teasing each other.
The most reviewed shows
Porto · Fado
Ideal Clube de Fado show
A one-hour unamplified fado concert near Bolhão market with a glass of tawny port, from €21, 1,057 reviews.
- Price
- from €21
- Duration
- 1 h
- Guest rating
- 9.2/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
Lisbon · Fado
Fado in Chiado
A 50-minute fado concert in Chiado, Monday to Saturday, from €23, with 918 reviews and a 9.1 score.
- Price
- from €23
- Duration
- 50 min
- Guest rating
- 9.1/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
Porto · Fado
Fado na Baixa show
A one-hour fado show above the Ribeira with a glass of port, from €14, all ages admitted, 294 reviews at 9.3.
- Price
- from €14
- Duration
- 1 h
- Guest rating
- 9.3/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 12 h before
Lisbon · Fado
Associação do Fado Casto dinner and fado
Dinner with drinks and a one-hour fado concert in an Alfama house, 3 hours 15 minutes, from €50.
- Price
- from €50
- Duration
- 3 h 15 min
- Guest rating
- 8.5/10
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 h before
You book on Civitatis, the ticket platform, under its own terms.
Common questions
Should I book a casa de fado or a staged fado show?
Book a staged show if you want an hour of music at an early time and dinner somewhere else. Book a casa de fado if you want the whole evening in one room and accept that the songs come in sets between courses. The two cost very different amounts because one includes a meal.
How long does a fado evening last?
A staged show lasts about an hour. A dinner in a casa de fado runs two to three hours, and some houses carry on late with further sets for those who stay.
Do I need to understand Portuguese?
No. The lyrics are in Portuguese and are rarely translated in a casa de fado, though staged shows often explain the songs in English. Most visitors follow the voice and the guitars without the words.
Do I need to book ahead?
For a casa de fado, yes on most evenings, because the rooms are small and the tables are sold once per night. Staged shows have several sessions a day and are easier to book late, except in high season.