Lisbon is in the midst of a renaissance. The latest European capital of cool’s affordable rents, great nightlife and gorgeous streets – which wind high into the hills from the River Tagus – have seen younger travelers arrive in their droves in recent years, enjoying extended stays thanks to dedicated “digital nomad” visas.
As a result, the city has taken on a youthful, multicultural and international vibe, helping to pull in tourists from around the globe in the process.
It isn’t just those looking to live and work here that are driving this change, though.
Walk the streets of Portugal’s buzzing capital and it’s impossible to escape the sense of confidence around the place.
Locals have truly begun embracing their Portuguese identity, unashamedly showcasing the best of traditional food and culture, from delicious pastel de nata pastry in the Belem district to the aching sounds of Fado singing in Alfama.
It all goes to make up what Lisbon citizens call “alma” or soul, something that’s utterly unique to this wonderful place.
Visitors can see this on special nights such as June 13’s The Feast of St Anthony, perhaps the biggest night in the Lisbon calendar, when locals celebrate their patron saint with long processions that go on late into the night, preceded by epic meals of sardines and local wine in the streets.
But “alma” goes beyond just one night.
Come here at any time of the year and there’s a feeling that life is to be lived in public. That might be on the bohemian streets of the Bairro Alto neighborhood, where restaurants spill out onto narrow lanes. Or at ultra hip spots like Park, a bar atop a multi-story parking lot that has become a byword for hipster cool, not to mention incredible views. Everyone is welcome and the atmosphere remains vibrant well into the early hours.
‘Intense people’
<div data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_9381938a63658c52521f92f536fe6fe1-h_cf232ec05b24e8a049eb73a63ccc0972-paragraph_5B3E4BB6-9DB8-15C3-0FEC-C187309CC3DD@published" data-component-name="video-resource" data-editable="settings" class="video-resource" data-fixed-ratio="16×9" data-video-id="tv/2022/08/22/quests-world-of-wonder-lisbon-fado-gisela-b-block-spc.cnn" data-live data-analytics-aggregate-events="true" data-custom-experience data-asset-type data-medium-env="prod" data-autostart="false" data-show-ads="true" data-source="CNN" data-featured-video="true" data-headline="Discovering another side to Portuguese Fado" data-description="Young Fado star Gisela João turns Portugal's traditional music on its head." data-duration="04:41" data-source-html=" – Source: CNN ” data-fave-thumbnails=”{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220822144853-quests-world-of-wonder-lisbon-fado-gisela-b-block-spc-00011722.png?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220822144853-quests-world-of-wonder-lisbon-fado-gisela-b-block-spc-00011722.png?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" } }” data-vr-video data-show-html=”” data-check-event-based-preview data-network-id data-details>
“Alma” isn’t just about hanging out with friends or enjoying languid meals outdoors, however. It’s also found in traditional music, especially Fado.
Marrying poetry and singing and born on the streets of Lisbon’s beautiful Alfama and Mouraria neighborhoods, it is more than simply an expression of sadness and melancholy. It is rather, explains Fado singer Gisela João, an expression of Portuguese intensity and tradition.
“I think Fado, it’s the most true… as we can be expressing the personality of [the] Portuguese country, Portuguese people,” she says while walking Alfama’s streets.
João is not the archetypal Fado singer of old. She does not wear a black dress and she is also younger than most stereotypical Fado singers too.
“Why should I dress as a girl that grew up in the ’40s and ‘50s?” she asks. “It’s not who I am.”
She is, though, very much steeped in the music’s history.
“I moved here because I came to sing in a Fado restaurant,” she says. “In this street, for example, I remember that you would walk on the street and you would listen: Fado going out of the windows like here, one singing here, another one here… It was like you were in the middle of Fado.”
She is also keen to debunk the idea that sadness is what defines Fado.
“For me, [Fado] is about poetry and the poem for me, a really nice poem, is a poem that can talk about [the] life of everyone… when I sing it is when I feel that I can express myself.”
This is evident in João’s beautiful voice, which echoes around the neighborhood. It is a sound that is quintessentially Portuguese.
“We are really intense people,” she says, laughing. “We care a lot. You come to Portugal and it’s really normal that you meet someone and that person immediately invites you to go to the house, to have dinner, to be with the friends and the family and organize a big party just to receive you… We are dramatic!”
An age of discovery
<div data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_f93e1a31f2c87c9fe7bf7e169335f14a-h_cf232ec05b24e8a049eb73a63ccc0972-paragraph_B585D6AD-3252-3A95-A998-C1873108CCD6@published" data-component-name="video-resource" data-editable="settings" class="video-resource" data-fixed-ratio="16×9" data-video-id="tv/2022/08/22/quests-world-of-wonder-lisbon-sailor-ricardo-diniz-c-block-spc.cnn" data-live data-analytics-aggregate-events="true" data-custom-experience data-asset-type data-medium-env="prod" data-autostart="false" data-show-ads="true" data-source="CNN" data-featured-video="true" data-headline="Exploring Lisbon's connection to the sea" data-description="Solo sailor, Ricardo Diniz, knows his way around the River Tagus. He explains why the Lisbon is Europe's "capital of the oceans."
” data-duration=”03:59″ data-source-html=” – Source: CNN ” data-fave-thumbnails=”{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220822143752-quests-world-of-wonder-lisbon-sailor-ricardo-diniz-c-block-spc-00001707.png?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/220822143752-quests-world-of-wonder-lisbon-sailor-ricardo-diniz-c-block-spc-00001707.png?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill" } }” data-vr-video data-show-html=”” data-check-event-based-preview data-network-id data-details>
