One of the things every traveler should do in Lisbon is visiting Alfama, walk for a while, find a great bar, try the local cuisine, and, most importantly, listen to Fado.
Fado is not only a national music genre, it’s a part of the nation’s identity, history, culture . . . the least we can do is learn about such important matters when visiting a new destination. It’s more important to know the people who have built the attractions you take photos of and tell your friends later.
So, if Fado is more than a music genre for you, and you’d like to get some more information on it, Lisbon’s got a special Fado Museum for you.
The collection includes the best and most notable Fado works. You can listen to them and feel its progression over time. It’s a pretty emotional music, moreover, those emotions are usually sad, so if you’re anything but sentimental, romantic, and sensitive, you’d better walk away from the museum, walk away and don’t look back. Yes, my friends, emotions are a key thing here, so you can’t simply drop in, it would be more effective if you could take your time and try to feel the depth of the sounds.
The museum touches every possible aspect connected to the music genre. You can get familiarize yourself with the influence of Fado on the Portuguese people, how and when it was used in films, and what happened during censorship.
The ticket costs €5, an exciting price for hours of good music. It would be even more exciting, if you had the Lisboa card, free admission – that’s what makes traveling so great. Budget travelers, grasp the chance and get the card.
Fado Museum has a very interesting age policy. Visitor under 30 years get free admission. Weird, right? I’ve seen museums with free admission to kids, teenagers, students, but this one sounds way too generous. Also, if you’re above 65 years old, you can also hope for a free admission. If you’re anywhere between those numbers, bad news, take out the €5.
There are video and audio displays, many photos of the best Fado artists of all times, and so on. You can combine the trip with the Museum of Music, and have an extremely musical day!
Musicians and people working in the music industry should particularly be interested in visiting the place. Even if you’re a simple guitar player in a pub somewhere back home, the museum will give you many fresh and innovative ideas. Remember that Fado is not famous world-wide (which I am greatly sorry for), it might be the discovery of the century, and you can be one of the first foreigners to take it beyond the Portuguese borders.
P.S. Don’t forget to purchase a Fado CD. Another option would be finding Internet and buying the songs online, but in that case make sure to write down the names of the must-listen artists and listen to them while in Lisbon.
