published on 2026-10-27 · by Fábio
Museu do Fado — the hour before your night of fado
In Alfama, on Largo do Chafariz de Dentro: €5 entry, Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00. What you'll see, how long it takes, and why it isn't worth buying the ticket online from resellers.
Short answer
The Museu do Fado is in Alfama, on Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, near Santa Apolónia. Entry costs €5 (free up to age 12) and the museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 18:00. It takes an hour to an hour and a half with the audio guide. It's the best preparation for a night of fado — and you buy your ticket at the door: online resellers charge several times more.
The museum opened in 1998 and holds the collections of hundreds of fadistas, songwriters, musicians and guitar makers: photographs, posters, sheet music, instruments and records. The audio guide, included, comes in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish, and there's a version for younger visitors.
Museu do Fado at a glance
- Neighbourhood
- Alfama
- Address
- Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, 1
- Format
- Museum
- Price
- Ticket: €5At the museum's ticket desk; online resellers charge several times more.2026 prices
- Days
- Closed: Monday
- Booking
- No booking
- Website
- museudofado.pt
How much it costs
- Standard entry: €5.
- Ages 13 to 25: €2.50.
- Over 65: €4.
- Free: up to age 12, with the Lisboa Card, and for Lisbon residents on Sundays and public holidays until 14:00 (there are other exemptions on the museum's website).
- Guided tour (1 hour): €5, booked by email.
On GetYourGuide, entry shows up for around $18 — more than three times the box-office price. There's no reason to pay that: buy at the door or on BOL, the museum's official ticketing site.
Concerts
The museum has an auditorium, but in 2026 and 2027 its concert programme takes place mostly at the Centro Cultural de Belém, in the "Há Fado no Cais" series, with tickets between €12 and €25. There are also "visitas cantadas" (sung visits) — a guided tour with live fado — usually for groups, by appointment.
How to pair it with a night of fado
The museum closes at 18:00 (last entry 17:30). Go mid-afternoon, wander out through the neighbourhood on foot and have dinner in Alfama: Parreirinha de Alfama is on the same square, and Tasca da Bela a few minutes away. If you'd rather a short show, Fado in Alfama starts in the early evening, near the Sé.
Book online · Alfama
Dinner and fado at Tasca da Bela
The house's own free tables, right here. Pay a €10 deposit per person and the rest at the house. €60 with dinner, drinks and fado.
- How much does the Museu do Fado cost?
€5 per person at the door, €2.50 for ages 13 to 25, and free up to age 12. Online resellers charge several times more.
- What are the Museu do Fado's opening hours?
Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30. It's closed on Mondays and on 1 January, 1 May, and 24, 25 and 31 December.
- Is there live fado at the Museu do Fado?
Not every day. There are sung visits for groups, by appointment, and concerts — mostly at the CCB, in the "Há Fado no Cais" series.
Before or after the fado
The rest of your day: Sintra, the Douro, the river at sunset or an afternoon in Lisbon — and how each one fits around a fado night.
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Sintra by day, fado by night — how to fit both into one day
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See the planLisbon · in the afternoon
An afternoon in Lisbon before fado — three plans that end with fado
A tuk-tuk through Alfama, a pastel de nata class or a food tour through Mouraria: three afternoons that fit well before a fado night, with times and what each one includes.
See the planMore guides
See also
More fado nights I recommend.
Fado in Alfama — a show in the neighbourhood, with port wine
from€19An hour of fado in a small room, in the heart of Alfama. No dinner, with a glass of port. The most direct way to hear fado where it was born.
Tasca da Bela — dinner and fado in an Alfama tavern
from€60A small room on Rua dos Remédios, petiscos arriving at the table and fado between the courses, until midnight. €60 with everything included — and I make the booking for you.
Fado with tour and dinner — a guided night through Mouraria and Alfama
from€55Four hours: a walk through the streets where fado was born, dinner in a traditional house, and a live show. For those who arrive in Lisbon without context and want to leave with it.