Lisbon Lives Walking Tours

01/11/2023

Today, 1st November, 1755, at about 0945, the inhabitants of heard a low rumbling sound, increasing gradually in intensity as the ground under their feet began to shake. Many were in church for the All Saints' Day mass. Soon the walls of the churches and other buildings began to crack and roof timbers fell as their inhabitants screamed and tried to get to the doors. Many of those who managed to escape the crumbling buildings fled in panic to the Terreiro do Paço, the large open space in front of the King's Palace, by the river. Soon afterwards a huge 6m wave swept over the whole area, consigning thousands to a watery grave. Meanwhile, candles in the churches had toppled with the shaking, and the ensuing fire spread through the city and burned for six days. Two-thirds of Lisbon was destroyed and tens of thousands died.

Picture: Allegory of the 1755 Earthquake, by João Glama Ströberle (Public domain)

28/10/2023

Tourists sheltering from the rain at the Elevador de Santa Justa. is a sunny city most of the year, but when it rains it pours!

27/10/2023

The Livraria Bertrand in , founded in 1732, is the oldest working bookshop in the world. It's the hub of Lisbon's literary neighbourhood of Chiado, which we explore on my Literary Lisbon tour, where we explore the lives, works and hangouts of some of Lisbon's great writers, from the enigmatic poet Fernando Pessoa to the novelist José Saramago, Portugal's only winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Photo: 69joehawkins

26/10/2023

Marion and family in the beautiful Casa do Alentejo, end point of my Secret Lisbon tour.

On this tour we visit hidden crypts and cemeteries, secret doors and passages, hear stories of spies and freemasons, visit a secret garden, the famous Doll's Hospital, and discover a Roman well in the heart of the city!

Have you done it? What was your favourite part?

23/10/2023

The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian is like a miniature Louvre set in beautiful landscaped gardens in the heart of Lisbon! It's easy to spend a morning or afternoon browsing through its incredible collection of treasures from Greece, Rome, Persia, China, and the Middle East, not to mention its rich collection of European paintings including works by Rembrandt, Turner, Monet, Degas, and others. is for art lovers!

22/10/2023

One of the oldest professions in - and one that still exists: the knife grinder.

Em dia de chuva, relembremos o ofício de amolador.
“Os amoladores andavam pelas ruas de Lisboa, sobretudo nos bairros mais populares, empurrando as traquitanas oficinas, onde girava uma pedra de esmeril (…) e assim afiavam as facas as navalhas e as tesouras. Também se encarregavam de arranjar chapéus de chuva, louça quebrada, como terrinas e pratos de maior valia etc. aplicando grampos de metal. Chamava-se a este trabalho “deitar gatos“
Calderon Dinis “ Tipos e Factos de do meu Tempo“

Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa
📷 Mário Pinto

21/10/2023

This beautiful silver casket - to be found in the Lisbon Cathedral Treasury - contains the relics of St Vincent of Saragossa. Here is what happened to St Vincent:

"When the Roman Emperor Diocletian began persecuting Christians in Spain, both were brought before the Roman governor, Dacian, in Valencia. Vincent and his bishop Valerius were confined to the prison of Valencia. Though he was finally offered release if he would consign Scripture to the fire, Vincent refused. Speaking on behalf of his bishop, he informed the judge that they were ready to suffer everything for their faith, and that they could pay no heed either to threats or promises. His outspoken manner so angered the governor that he had every sort of torture inflicted on Vincent. He was stretched on the rack and his flesh torn with iron hooks. Then his wounds were rubbed with salt and he was burned alive upon a red-hot gridiron. Finally, he was cast into prison and laid on a floor scattered with broken pottery, where he died."

According to legend, St Vincent's body was then thrown to be devoured by vultures, but it was protected by ravens. Later, when the first King of Portugal had the saint's bones transported to Lisbon in 1173, ravens accompanied his bones all the way to the city. The ship that brought St Vincent's bones, and the ravens, can be seen clearly on the casket, and feature prominently in the coat of arms of the city.



((Source: Wikipedia).

13/10/2023

Why is Friday 13th considered an unlucky day? One possible origin goes back to the Middle Ages, when the Knights Templar (full name Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Jerusalem) were massacred in Paris on Friday 13th October 1307 (716 years ago today!). The military-religious order, established to protect pilgrims going to the Holy Land, had become hugely wealthy thanks to its money-lending activities. The King of France, Philippe IV, feared the power of the Templars, and moreover owed them vast sums of money which he preferred not to pay. So he ordered the arrest, torture, and killing of the leaders of the Order in Paris, which happened on this day in 1307. He continued to campaign for their extinction, making up stories of their involvement in strange ceremonies involving so**my and urinating on the cross (accusations "confirmed" by confessions made under torture by members of the Order). As a result the Knights Templar were officially extinguished by Pope Clement V in 1312.

(Image, Knights Templar being burned in Paris, from a French 15th C. manuscript. Source: Wikipedia).

See Lisbon with new eyes after one short tour! Eppie said "A fine tour: enlightening, surprising, clear and beautifully delivered". Katya said "A real highlight of our Portugal trip".

13/10/2023

For some it's creepy, for others it's cute...but whatever you think the Lisbon Doll's Hospital is certainly one of the most fascinating places in the city. Since 1830 little girls have been taking their dolls there to be repaired. The Doll's Hospital features on my Secret Lisbon Tour - Peter

10/10/2023

Do you know what this fruit is? They don't travel well, but are highly nutritious, delicious, and abundant at this time of year in Portugal.

08/10/2023

Olives being harvested in the same way that they have in rural Portugal for centuries - by hand, in small family groups. Here, by my Portuguese family in Bofinho, near Alavaiazere.