Fado show in Lisbon: which to book

Start with the kind of evening you want

Fado is not performed in one standard way. In UNESCO's description, which dates from the 2011 listing, fado reaches listeners through concerts, through small fado houses, and through amateurs singing in neighbourhood associations. For a visitor, that comes down to three practical choices: a short show with an introduction, a dinner in a fado house, or a concert in a small hall. The right one depends on how much time you have, whether you want to eat, and whether you already know what you are listening to. This guide sorts them so you can book once. Whatever you choose will be Lisbon fado, the better-known of fado's two main varieties. The other belongs to Coimbra and its university, and it is not what these shows sell.

What the Casa Lundum ticket gives you

The ticket is an entry to a one-hour fado session in Alfama, with a complimentary glass of Port. The host is Mário Lundum, billed as a fadista with a 25-year career. He tells the story of fado between the songs: where it comes from, its ties to Lisbon and its part in Portuguese identity. The session is presented in Portuguese and English. Seats go to whoever arrives first, so being on time matters more than choosing a seat. The booking calendar lists the start time for each date. The ticket also bans bringing food or drink into the venue, and pets other than assistance dogs, and it is marked wheelchair accessible.

• Entry to the one-hour performance
• A glass of Port during the show
• Presentation in Portuguese and English
• Cancel a day ahead for a full refund; payment can wait

Who it suits best

It suits anyone meeting fado for the first time. The spoken introduction does a job a bare concert cannot: it tells you what saudade means, why the Portuguese guitar sounds the way it does and why the room goes quiet when a song begins. Some visitors say the talk outweighs the singing and would like more songs. That is a fair warning, and a fair reason to read the other options below. If you like to learn while you listen, this is the one. The hour is part lesson, part concert. A couple, a solo traveller or a small group can all use it as the first stop of an evening in Lisbon, with the rest of the night left open.

Read next: Casa Lundum Alfama: what to expect

Fado with dinner: the longer evening

The dinner house is the older commercial format. The Museu do Fado explains that from the 1930s fado came to be heard in a ritualised way in fado houses, concentrated in the historic neighbourhoods and above all in Bairro Alto. You eat, then the singers and guitarists take over the room. It is a longer night, and the programme belongs to the house, not to a host who explains it. One bookable version adds a guided walk with the lyrics translated before the meal. Dinner houses set their own programme and hours, so read what the booking you choose actually includes, and pick this one if you want the whole evening arranged around fado.

The short unamplified concert

A third option is a concert of about 50 minutes in a small hall in Baixa, sung without microphones, with Port or juice included. Its introductions are delivered on screen in English with Portuguese subtitles, rather than by a live host. That leaves more of the hour for the singers and guitarists. If you already know the story of fado, or you are travelling with someone who would rather listen than be taught, this is the cleaner fit. It sits in a different quarter from Alfama. The ticket also forbids flash photography and flashlights, and children under 4 are not allowed there either.

Choosing for your group

For a couple on a first night in Lisbon, the Alfama show gives context and a drink in one hour, and leaves the evening free for dinner afterwards. For a group that wants a table and a long evening, a dinner house is easier to build a night around. For a mixed group, a family with older children or a traveller on a tight schedule, the shorter formats fit more easily. The Casa Lundum ticket does not admit children under 4, and unaccompanied minors are not allowed. A larger party should check the date has room for everyone before paying. If you cannot decide, see the Alfama show and eat afterwards wherever you like, since the ticket asks only for the hour.

What the glass of Port is

Port is a fortified wine from the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. Neutral grape spirit is added part-way through fermentation, which halts it and leaves the wine sweet and strong, usually between 19 and 22 per cent alcohol by volume. It comes as ruby, tawny and white types. The ticket promises a glass of Port, not a particular style, so do not plan the evening around a tasting. Treat it as the traditional drink that goes with the songs, and expect the venue to pour what it chooses. Ruby ports are the younger styles, aged a few years or less, while tawny ports spend much longer in barrel. In the European Union and the United States only wines from Portugal may be labelled port.

Three questions to settle before you book

Most of the decision comes down to three questions, and each has a clear answer on this page. Do you want to eat during the evening? If so, a dinner house is the right format, and the Casa Lundum ticket is not. Do you want the music explained as it is played? Then the Alfama show with a host suits you. Do you have only one free hour? The Alfama show and the short concert both fit, while a dinner house takes most of an evening. Answer those three and the rest is detail.

• Want a meal with the music: choose a dinner house
• Want the story told as you listen: choose the Alfama show
• Want mostly songs in under an hour: choose the short concert

Booking, cancelling and timing

Choose a date in the calendar and note the start time shown against it. A place can be held now and paid for later; cancel at least 24 hours ahead and every cent comes back. Seats go to whoever arrives first, so plan to be inside about ten minutes before the start, as the ticket asks. Weigh the start time against your dinner plans, since the show lasts a single hour. Fares appear per person in your own currency before you pay, so there is nothing to convert.

Hearing fado without a show ticket

You can learn about fado without a ticket. The Museu do Fado in Alfama is a museum, not a live show, with sound, images and objects to explore. UNESCO notes that amateurs sing in grass-roots associations across the older neighbourhoods of Lisbon, though those evenings are for members and neighbours, so you cannot plan a trip around them. Visit Lisboa notes that Alfama has many restaurants and fado houses, but whether a given one has singers on a given night is for that venue to say. A ticketed show is the dependable way. The museum also keeps a digital sound archive, so you can hear old recordings before or after a live hour.

Read next: Alfama around your fado show

Who this isn't for

Look elsewhere if you want a long run of uninterrupted songs, dinner at a table or a late room. It is also wrong for a child under 4, who is not allowed in, and for anyone who cannot stay quiet through a song, because absolute silence is required during the performance. And if you speak neither Portuguese nor English at even a basic level, the host's explanations will be harder to follow than the music.