The fado show
An hour of live fado in a small old-town room, with a glass of port and a spoken introduction to the music. Food and transport are not part of it.
The short answer first
Is a one-hour fado show in Porto worth it, or is fado a Lisbon thing?
Yes, if what you want is live music in a small room plus someone to explain it. The ticket is an hour of fado, one glass of port, and a talk on the form as part of Portuguese identity, in an old-town room the listing calls small. It is not supper, not a concert hall, and not fado's birthplace, which Wikipedia places in Lisbon, with Coimbra as the other great school. Book it as a short, sincere first taste for visitors and you will not be let down.
- Length
- 1 hour.
- In your glass
- One glass of port.
- The room
- Small and close.
- Not included
- Food and transport.
One hour, in general terms
How the hour might unfold
Each date carries its own start time and room, both repeated in your booking email. The listing calls the evening a live show with port wine and an introduction to the music, so read what follows as a rough outline, not a running order.
Pick the date and room
The booking calendar shows which evenings are open and which old-town room each one uses.
Arrive and settle
The room is small, and sight lines depend on when you arrive. Arriving early gives you more say over where you sit.
The glass of port
One glass is part of the ticket. Port is a sweet fortified wine, so a single small glass is the point, not a meal.
Voice, strings and a few words
Musicians play live, and the evening explains where fado comes from and how it sounds. Songs and singers change by night.
Out into the old town
When the hour ends the streets are still lively. Eat nearby or walk down towards the river.
What the music is made of
Six things fado is made of
These are the music's own parts as the English Wikipedia and UNESCO describe them. They are not this show's set list, which changes from night to night.
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A sculpture of a fadista and her guitarist The singer
Fadista
The word names a fado singer. Wikipedia dates the form to 1820s Lisbon and says early performers were urban workers, among them sailors and bohemians in taverns, some of whom danced and kept time as well as singing.
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The tuning fan of a Portuguese guitar The twelve strings
Guitarra portuguesa
A pear-bodied instrument strung in steel, twelve strings grouped as six pairs, tightened with watch-key pegs. Wikipedia ties it closely to fado and describes a Lisbon model and a Coimbra model.
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A fado evening in a Lisbon restaurant The partner
Viola
Beside the guitarra sits the viola, a steel-strung classical guitar that carries the harmony, sometimes joined by a double bass. Together the two make the sound you will hear in a fado room.
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Porto's old town across the Douro The feeling
Saudade
A Portuguese word for missing something or someone that is gone. Wikipedia finds it in thirteenth-century verse and loosely links it to fado's melancholy name, while adding that fado can be about anything at all.
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The monument to Coimbra's fado in the old town Two schools
Lisbon and Coimbra
Wikipedia names a pair of main varieties. Lisbon's is the more famous. Coimbra's belongs to its university, with male singers in academic dress and a custom of night-time singing outdoors.
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A pavement mosaic of the singer Amália Rodrigues in Lisbon The queen
Amália Rodrigues
Known as the Queen of Fado, she took the music to audiences far beyond Portugal. UNESCO placed fado on its intangible heritage lists on 27 November 2011.
Sources: the English Wikipedia articles on fado, the Portuguese guitar, Amália Rodrigues, saudade and the fado of Coimbra, and the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage entry for fado.
A show or a fado house
This one-hour show, or a Lisbon-style fado house?
- This show
- A fado house dinner
- Length
- One hour
- Most of an evening
- Food
- None included
- Usually the heart of it
- Drink
- One glass of port
- Bought by the glass or bottle
- Room
- Small, near the musicians
- A restaurant with tables
- Voice of the night
- Explained for visitors
- Often left to the singers
- Where fado began
- Not Porto
- Often Lisbon
The room and the ticket
A small old-town room, and what your ticket covers
What the booking page lists, in short. The room and start time arrive in your booking email.
The room
The setting
A compact room in Porto's old town. The listing mentions three rooms under one name, so your date decides which you are in: a cellar, a former workshop for making guitars, or the old pantry beneath a convent church.
Who runs it
The venue is called Casa do Fado, and the booking is sold through GetYourGuide by the activity provider Valsa das Sílabas. It began as a project by friends who love the music.
What the ticket covers
- Length
- 1 hour.
- Included
- A live fado show, a glass of port wine, and an explanation of fado as part of Portuguese identity.
- Not included
- Food and transport.
- Seating
- The room is small, so sight lines depend on when you arrive.
- Language
- Set your preferred language while booking.
- Paying
- Reserve now and pay later.
Fado or the river
Fado with a glass of port or a sunset cruise under the Douro bridges: which Porto evening?
Fado hour
Douro bridges cruise
Length
1 hour
2 hours
Where
A small old-town room
A boat on the Douro
What you do
Listen, and learn a little
Watch the city slide past
Port wine
One glass included
Paired with the cruise in its title
Weather
Indoors
On the water, so it matters
Sunset
Not part of it
An option on the listing
Food
Not included
Check the inclusions
Best for
Music and atmosphere
Views and photographs
Book the fado hour, then the rest of Porto
A fado hour, a river, a cellar and a walk
The fado show comes first. Beside it sit the river cruise this page weighs it against, a port cellar visit and a guided walk, each a different way to spend a Porto evening or the day around it.
Douro bridges cruise
Two hours on the river beneath the city's bridges, with port wine and a sunset option. The old town climbs from the water, so the river is the place to see it whole.
Port cellar tour
A visit to a port-house cellar with a tasting, running from about forty-five minutes to an hour, with pairing options to add.
Porto highlights walk
A guided walk of about three hours through the old town's main sights, a sensible way to learn the streets before an evening in them.
More evenings and day trips from Porto
A glass of port, briefly
The old town, the river and the wine
These pictures cover Porto, the fado traditions of Lisbon and Coimbra, and the port trade. No frame comes from the show itself, its room or its performers.
Getting there and what to settle first
Reaching the old town, supper, and the details to fix early
By metro or train
São Bento railway station sits in the old town, and São Bento is Porto's old-town railway station, and Wikipedia notes that the Dom Luís I Bridge's upper deck, used by Metro line D and walkers, meets the centre beside it. Your booking email names the exact room.
On foot
The old town is a hillside of stairs and cobbles, so wear flat shoes. The confirmation has the room's address.
Start time
No two dates need share a start time. Look in the calendar, then check the booking email.
Eat before or after
Nothing to eat comes with the ticket. Reserve supper on one side, since the room is an hour-long stop rather than a meal.
Choosing your seat
The room is small and sight lines depend on when you arrive, so go early if the view matters to you.
Access
The listing does not state access details. Ask the provider through your booking before you go if you use a wheelchair or find steps hard.
Children
No age rule is stated on the listing. An hour of seated, quiet listening suits some children and not others.
Afterwards
Stroll down to the Ribeira quayside for the river, or cross the iron bridge to the port lodges on the Gaia side.
Worth reading before you pick a seat
Six guides to the music, the wine and the city
- Start here One-hour fado in Porto: worth it? Is a one-hour fado show in Porto worth it, or is fado a Lisbon thing? What the ticket buys, who enjoys it, what it leaves out, and when to give it a miss. Read it before you book →
- Compare Fado with port or a Douro cruise? One hour of fado over port, or a sunset sail beneath the Douro bridges: which Porto night is yours? Length, setting, weather and who each one is for. Read it before you book →
- The music What fado is made of The singer, the twelve-string guitar, the viola, saudade, the two schools and the queen of fado: what to listen for in a fado show. Read it before you book →
- Where fado lives Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto fado Where fado comes from, how Lisbon's and Coimbra's differ, and where a Porto show fits, so you know exactly what a Porto evening is. Read it before you book →
- Port Port wine in two minutes What port is, why the glass at a fado show is a small one, and where the wine trade stands on the opposite bank. Read it before you book →
- Plan Getting there and your Porto evening How to reach Porto's old town, where to eat around a one-hour fado show, and how to fit the river into the same night. Read it before you book →
FAQ
Questions before you take a seat
Is a one-hour fado show in Porto worth it, or is fado a Lisbon thing?
Worth it as a brief, well-framed first hearing in a small room, glass of port in hand. Fado grew up in Lisbon, with Coimbra the other great school, so Porto is a visitor's stop rather than the source. A long fado-house supper belongs to Lisbon; an hour of live music with context is what this offers.
Is dinner included?
No. The ticket covers one hour of live fado and a glass of port wine. Food and transport are not included.
Is it a real fado house?
It is a venue built by friends who love the music, with an introduction written for visitors. People who know fado houses may find that format staged. It is closer to a small recital than to a restaurant where fado is simply sung.
Will I see the singers up close?
The room is small, so you are never far from the musicians. Sight lines depend on when you arrive, so go early if the view matters.
Is this the same as Lisbon fado?
Wikipedia describes two main varieties, linked to Lisbon and Coimbra. Lisbon's is the better known. A show in Porto draws on that wider tradition rather than being Porto's own.
How do I choose which room I attend?
The listing describes three rooms under one name, so your date decides. The calendar and your confirmation show the room, so read both before you plan the evening.
What if my plans change?
The listing states free cancellation until 24 hours ahead of the start. Whatever terms show on your own booking page are the ones that count.
Is this guide the venue's website?
No. Porto Fado House Guide is run separately from the venue and the operator, has no link with either, and sells nothing itself. Reservations begun here finish on GetYourGuide.
Should I choose this or a river cruise?
Take the fado hour for live music in a small room, or the Douro cruise for views from the water and a longer outing. The comparison guide lays them out together.
Who is the guide for?
Anyone keen to hear fado once, with a little explanation, and unwilling to give up a whole evening. Seeking a long supper with music? Look at fado houses in Lisbon.