Having placed all the spotlights on its visitors, the city has also extended the red carpet to large festivals, concerts and performance art displays. Find out the places where you will find the best lineups.
For large production concerts and shows we highlight the Altice Arena, by far the best-known event space, having hosted several big music stars shows during their Lisbon stop on international tours. Lisbon Coliseu on the other hand, is the trophy room that most musicians want to add to their career’s gallery. At Belém’s Cultural Center Grand Auditorium several important Portuguese and International events with an eclectic program list, take place regularly. Campo Pequeno Bullfighting Ring, right in the heart of Lisbon, proposes, along with tauromachic shows and thematic markets, concerts that profit from the intimacy sensation provided by an arena. The Tivoli BBVA Theatre puts on scene shows for all tastes and ages, from theatre, dance, concerts and stand-up comedy, dismissing therefore the concept that the Theatre is reserved for the classics. The most reputed cinema festivals are always at the São Jorge Cinema, one of the few relevant buildings from the fifties still left standing in Lisbon. Aside from the gambling rooms, Casino Lisboa, in the city’s main financial district, also hosts large concerts and other live shows, in a daring, well-appointed ambiance.
For shows of a more classical and erudite nature – such as music, theatre, ballet and opera – we highlight the D. Maria II National Theatre and the Camões Theatre – National Ballet Company, promoter of this company’s shows. The São Carlos National Theatre functions in a neoclassical building, with Italian design; in the lavishly decorated main room, opera, chorus and symphonic music shows take place regularly. The Trindade Theatre, one of the better preserved in Lisbon, attracts the most public to its theatre plays. The São Luiz – Municipal Theatre also promotes dance and theatre shows for more specific audiences. Surrounded by a magnificent garden designed by architect Ribeiro Telles, the Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium, with its own chorus and orchestra, hosts international recitals and concerts, as well as dance and theatre shows.
For those that prefer a more alternative and intimate type of mood, Musicbox connects culture, amusement and leisure; it’s a bar, a disco and serves as a stage to the most popular DJs and most recent music projects. ZdB (gallery Zé dos Bois) promotes vanguard artists and welcomes displays and concerts. Aula Magna stages hundreds of events of an artistic, scientific and institutional nature, as well as some concerts searching for a more intimate space. Capitólio Cine-Theatre welcomes shows that promote forms of artistic crossover. A nightclub by definition, Lux Frágil has a diversified program that follows the latest music tendencies. At LAV – Lisbon Ao Vivo, a space providing room for about 1000 spectators, all sort of live music shows and events take place. We finish with LX Factory, an old manufacturing plant in Alcântara, where a “creative island” was born and more relaxed concerts take place.
Article in a Bestguide and Porta da Frente partnership