Museums in LisbonFado Museum (Museu do Fado): Hours, Tickets and What You See
The Fado Museum (Museu do Fado) in Alfama tells the story of fado, Portugal's urban song, and the Portuguese guitar that carries it. It sits by the Tagus in a former steam pumping station and is run by EGEAC, Lisbon's municipal culture body. This page covers the opening hours, the Monday closure, ticket prices, the free-entry rules, the audio guide, the building's history and how to reach it from Santa Apolonia. The museum is one of the museums in Lisbon that costs €5 ($5.58) at the door and nothing on an adult Lisboa Card. If fado is new to you, the exhibition puts the songs you will hear in fado houses into context. For other collections, see the overview of Lisbon museums across the city.
The Museu do Fado entrance on Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, Alfama. Photo: AntoineJoub, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick answer Fado Museum in brief
The Fado Museum (Museu do Fado) at Largo do Chafariz de Dentro 1 in Alfama is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-18:00, costs €5 ($5.58) for adults and is closed on Mondays. An adult Lisboa Card gets you in free, and children to 12 enter free.
Key takeaways
- Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:30, and always closed on Monday. See opening hours and closed days.
- Adult tickets cost €5 ($5.58), with reductions from €2.50 ($2.79), and entry is free on an adult Lisboa Card for museums.
- The permanent exhibition covers fado history, Amália Rodrigues and the Portuguese guitar, with an audio guide in 4 languages. Details under what you see inside.
- Combine the visit with the Lisboa Story Centre in Baixa or the Puppet Museum (Marioneta) after your museum morning.
Key Facts for Visitors
Open. Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays.
10:00-18:00, last admission 17:30.
Mondays, plus 1 January, 1 May, 24, 25 and 31 December.
€5 ($5.58) adult. Reduced rates from €2.50 ($2.79). Children to 12 free.
The museum publishes no visit length.
Metro Blue line and trains to Santa Apolonia, then walk into Alfama. Carris buses 728, 735, 759 and 794.
Free with the adult Lisboa Card. The child card does not give free entry.
Fado Museum at a Glance
A compact Alfama museum devoted to fado, the Portuguese guitar and the singers who made the genre famous.
What Kind of Museum It Is
The Fado Museum is a city museum run by EGEAC, the enterprise that manages Lisbon's municipal cultural venues. Its subject is fado, the song form tied to the alleys of Alfama where the museum stands. The permanent exhibition traces the history of fado and gives a central place to Amália Rodrigues. The Portuguese guitar is documented through instruments and recordings.
For a broader picture of what the city holds, the overview of museums in Lisbon compares prices and closed days for every major collection, including the Gulbenkian Museum.
- Subject: fado history, fado singers and the Portuguese guitar
- Operator: EGEAC, on behalf of Lisbon municipality
- Address: Largo do Chafariz de Dentro 1, 1100-139 Lisboa
- Neighbourhood: Alfama, close to Santa Apolonia station
Source: Museu do Fado, Visit Lisboa.
Opening Hours and Closed Days
The museum keeps one schedule all year, with Monday as the fixed closing day.
Days and Times
The Fado Museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, and the last admission is at 17:30. Monday is the closing day, so plan your visit on any other day of the week. Monday is the main closure day across the city, shared by the National Coach Museum, the Museu do Oriente and most EGEAC venues.
The museum also closes on five dates a year: 1 January, 1 May, 24 December, 25 December and 31 December. If you land in Lisbon over Christmas or New Year, check that your museum days do not fall on one of these. The Documents Centre, which holds the archive, works on a different schedule: Monday to Friday 14:30-17:00, by appointment only.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday to Sunday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Last admission | 17:30 |
| 1 January, 1 May | Closed |
| 24, 25, 31 December | Closed |
Source: Museu do Fado.
Fado Museum • Lisbon • Portugal
A look inside on video. Third-party video by BeSisluxe. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
Tickets and Who Gets in Free
Adult entry costs €5 ($5.58) at the box office, and several groups pay less or nothing.
Ticket Prices
The museum sells tickets only at the box office or through the BOL platform, and no ticket for it is listed here. The adult price is €5 ($5.58). Ages 13 to 25 pay €2.50 ($2.79).
Visitors 65 and over and higher-education students over 26 pay €4 ($4.46). Visitors with a disability pay €3.50 ($3.90) and their companion enters free.
| Visitor | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | €5 |
| Ages 13-25 | €2.50 |
| Seniors 65+ | €4 |
| Higher-education students over 26 | €4 |
| Disability (companion free) | €3.50 |
| Children to 12 | Free |
| Adult Lisboa Card holders | Free |
Free Entry Rules
Children to 12 enter free, so a family with young children pays only for the adults. Holders of the adult Lisboa Card enter free, and the museum is explicit that this applies to the adult card only: a child Lisboa Card does not unlock free entry here.
Lisbon residents have their own rules. All residents of the Lisbon municipality enter free on Sundays and public holidays until 14:00, and residents up to 23 and residents 65 and over enter free at all times. Tourists do not qualify for any of these resident rules, so the answer to 'is the Fado Museum free?' is no for visitors: €5 ($5.58) at the door, or free on the adult Lisboa Card. For collections that cost nothing at any time, see the guide to free museums in Lisbon.
Source: Museu do Fado.
The Museu do Fado building seen from the street, Alfama, Lisbon. Photo: 69joehawkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What You See Inside
A permanent exhibition on fado and the guitar, an audio guide full of songs, and a rotating programme of temporary shows.
The Permanent Exhibition
The permanent exhibition follows the history of fado, with Amália Rodrigues at the centre. Displays document the Portuguese guitar and its players, and a sound installation lets you hear the music rather than only read about it. The museum also holds a Documents Centre, open Monday to Friday 14:30-17:00 by appointment, where researchers can consult the archive.
- Fado history
- Amália Rodrigues and the great fado singers
- Portuguese guitars and the instrument's players
- A sound installation with recordings
- Temporary exhibition: Variations to Carlos Paredes
The Audio Guide
The audio guide comes in four languages: Portuguese, English, French and Spanish, and there is a children's version in the same four languages. The guide includes fado songs. Wheelchair access is provided, and the museum keeps two manual wheelchairs for free loan at the entrance.
- Audio guide languages: Portuguese, English, French, Spanish
- Children's audio guide in the same four languages
- Wheelchair accessible, two free-loan manual wheelchairs
- Tickets at the box office or on BOL
Source: Museu do Fado, Museu do Fado.
The Building and Its History
The museum occupies a 19th-century industrial building that once pumped water for the city.
From Pumping Station to Museum
The building began life in 1868 as a steam water-pumping station. The museum opened in the building on 25 September 1998. The result is an unusual pairing: a museum about a 19th-century song form inside a 19th-century industrial shell, in Alfama.
If industrial history interests you, the theme continues at MAAT, whose Central building is the 1908 Tejo Power Station.
Source: Wikipedia, Museu do Fado.
Is the Fado Museum Worth Visiting?
A focused, inexpensive museum that pays off most if you plan to hear fado live or care about Portuguese music.
Who Gets the Most From It
The museum earns its €5 ($5.58) easily for three kinds of visitor. First, anyone booked into a fado house that evening: the exhibition gives the background to the songs you will hear. Second, music lovers, who get the guitars, the recordings and the Amália Rodrigues material in one place. Third, travellers with the adult Lisboa Card, for whom the entry is free.
Who should skip it? Visitors with no interest in music and a packed one-day schedule can skip it for the Lisboa Story Centre or the Royal Treasure Museum. As for whether fado itself is a tourist trap: the genre is a genuine Lisbon tradition with its own museum, archive and concert programme, and the honest answer is that quality varies by house, not by the genre.
- Best value: travellers with an adult Lisboa Card, who enter free
- Best timing: the afternoon before an evening in a fado house
- Allow: the museum publishes no visit length
Source: Museu do Fado.
Hearing Live Fado
The museum documents fado but does not stage it, so here is where the music actually happens.
Concerts and Fado Houses
The Fado Museum is not a live-performance venue. Its programme does list concerts, held mainly at the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB) rather than in the Alfama building, so check the museum's programme if you want a concert staged by the institution itself.
For dinner fado in Alfama, Visit Lisboa lists one house by name: Sao Miguel D'Alfama at Rua de Sao Miguel 9-17, a family-run house open since 1945 with performances daily. Treat any online ranking of fado houses with care, and book ahead for houses that serve dinner during the show.
Source: Museu do Fado, Visit Lisboa.
Getting There From Santa Apolonia
The museum is reached from Santa Apolonia station, with metro, trains and four bus lines.
Transport Options
Santa Apolonia is the practical reference point: the Metro Blue line stops there, and intercity and regional trains arrive at the same station. From Santa Apolonia the museum at Largo do Chafariz de Dentro 1 lies in Alfama. Four Carris bus lines serve the area: 728, 735, 759 and 794.
An adult Lisboa Card includes unlimited public transport, so the ride costs nothing beyond the card.
- Metro: Blue line to Santa Apolonia
- Trains: Santa Apolonia station, walk into Alfama
- Buses: Carris 728, 735, 759, 794
- Address: Largo do Chafariz de Dentro 1, 1100-139 Lisboa
Source: Visit Lisboa.
Tips for Visiting
Do
- Do take the audio guide, because it includes fado songs and the museum's subject is music, not just labels.
- Do bring the adult Lisboa Card, because it covers the entry price in full and the child card does not.
- Do arrive before 17:30, because that is the last admission and the doors close at 18:00.
- Do check the museum's programme before your visit, because it lists concerts at the Centro Cultural de Belém and a temporary exhibition, Variations to Carlos Paredes.
- Do ask about the Documents Centre by appointment, because the archive opens Monday to Friday 14:30-17:00 for researchers.
Don't
- Don't come on a Monday, because the museum is closed every Monday.
- Don't come on 1 January, 1 May, 24, 25 or 31 December, because the museum closes on those five dates.
- Don't count on the Sunday free entry as a tourist, because it applies to Lisbon municipality residents only, until 14:00.
- Don't look for an online queue-skip ticket on third-party sites, because tickets are sold only at the box office or on BOL.
Fado Museum FAQ
What are the Fado Museum hours?
Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-18:00, with last admission at 17:30. Monday is the closing day, a pattern shared by the National Coach Museum and most EGEAC venues.
Is the Fado Museum free?
Not for tourists: adults pay €5 ($5.58). Entry is free for children to 12, holders of the adult Lisboa Card, and Lisbon residents under the municipal rules.
Is the Fado Museum worth visiting?
For €5 ($5.58) it is an easy yes if you plan to hear fado live or love music history, with the Amália Rodrigues material and the Portuguese guitar collection as the highlights.
Where can I see authentic fado in Lisbon?
The museum itself is not a performance venue and programmes concerts mainly at the Centro Cultural de Belém. Visit Lisboa lists Sao Miguel D'Alfama, a family-run house on Rua de Sao Miguel open since 1945 with daily performances.
Is fado a tourist trap?
Fado is a genuine Lisbon tradition, documented by its own museum and archive since the museum opened on 25 September 1998. Quality varies by house rather than by genre.
How do I get to the Fado Museum?
Take the Metro Blue line or a train to Santa Apolonia and walk into Alfama, or catch Carris bus 728, 735, 759 or 794. Transport is included with the Lisboa Card.