Fado Museum

A friend recommended this museum and I was glad I went. It’s a pretty small museum but they offer a lot of audio, and if you want to take time and listen, there is an amazing library of choices. If you’re not in that mood, you will likely disagree with my five star rating. The day I was there, a couple of men walk in with guitars, so I asked a staff member if there was going to be a performance, and they said yes, later. The woman took me to the front desk to find out if there were still spots available, and there were, so they put my name down. It was free. This is one of my strongest recommendations in Lisbon, to find out what night the concert is and get in on it.

The Fado Museum is a wonderful place that takes you on a journey through the history and soul of fado. The collection is outstanding, and the interactive exhibits make it even more engaging. The staff is incredibly polite and welcoming, always ready to answer questions and provide more insights. A must-visit for anyone wanting to explore the true essence of Lisbon’s culture!

Very cool museum, nice relaxed atmosphere

Very nicely maintained museum with passion and love. The audio guide is amazing. You could just take your time and pace your visit based on your preference. And there’s some really good audio / videos and a couch area you could pick your favorite artists to listen to.

Staff was wery wery kind and helpful ín the shop. We found what we like to buy.

An amazing place with plenty of music samples to listen to and narrative to get acquainted to the history of fadó. The museum itself is surrounded by a plethora of restaurants where you can dine and listen to local fadó singers, which I highly suggest you do. The only weak point are the audio guide devices - they look like an old phone handle, and offer similar audio quality. Which is okay for narratives, but listening tousic this way should be a crime. Even the cheapest headphones would be better than that. On the bright side, there's "studio" room with actual headphones and access to a large digital library of songs. It has only three seats, but you can spend time there listening to quality music. In summary, I highly suggest visiting the place as well as one of the nearby restaurants, and treating yourselves with a live fadó night experience.

Helpful place to learn about what Fado is. This museum showcases the history and evolution of the music. Immersion explanations provided by audio guide provided insight about the various singers, lyrics and instruments. Could spend an hour here if you were to listen to every exhibit.

Ticket included audio guide. Sitting room with headphones to listen to full Fado songs from dozens of artists old and new. It was not crowded, so I listened for about an hour to songs. Museum is kind of small. But there is much to listen to. 20 minute, or so, movie documentary on large screen too. Old video footage of the musicians from the 40's through today. Fado is so moving and such an experience. Cheap ticket price. I think it was only 5€. Worth it!!!!

I loved it. It was very educational. I even went to a Fado show at another place later on during the day.

2.5 Overall. SERVICE: 1.5. Other than one person, the staff we encountered appeared indifferent, bored, or unfriendly, or all three. For example when we made a purchase in the gift shop, the unsmiling cashier treated us as a bother. CONTENT: For a dedicated Fado fan, probably rates 4.0 or more. For me, it rated a 3.0 as it ended my Fado journey from enjoyment (after seeing a performance in Coimbra) to indifference (after seeing a performance in Lisbon) to unenjoyment. I did enjoy the display of string instruments and the video on their artisanal production process. Also interesting were the displays that allowed one to choose Fado singers and listen to their performances.

I was not familiar with Fado music prior to visiting Lisbon and decided that some education on this unique form of artistry would be good. Entrance today was €9 and I was here for an hour. On three floors, the Museu do Fado does a fabulous job of explaining this music that dates back to the 1820s. Its comings, goings, censorship, freedom and current status. Lots of audio, a film hall with looped interviews of artists, many artifacts and lots of stories. I can't say that I left the museum as a lover of Fado but I do feel a bit more aware of how and why it is. [Review 16636 overall - 152 in Portugal - 147 of 2022.]

An okay museum. If you're into different types of music, you'd like learning about fado. However, it seems that it's just a starting point, as it didn't feel comprehensive. I wish there was history about how it developed, its role in Portuguese society then and now, its impact on the people, and more. There are a few samples from the greats to listen to, along with displays of guitars and other musical instruments. I'd say it's worth the $5 if you're genuinely interested in it. Allocate 15-30 minutes for the whole museum and gift shop.

Back in 2017 my wife and I were on honeymoon in Lisboa. While there, we had the opportunity to check out the Fado Museum. My good friend and drummer is from Obidos, Portugal. He turned me on to Fado music. The King Guitar, I had to see them in person, and he highly recommended this museum while we were there. The place is a walking tour. I highly recommend you get the recording device in your native languages and take a tour throughout Portugal's timeline of Fado Music. The best way to describe Fado is like the American Blues. Fado Music has a folk-lore feel, with powerful singers and amazingly intricate music from a trio, traditionally a Fado King Guitar, Classical Guitar, and Bass. The Museu Do Fado not only provides you with a rich culture, story, and music, but it also provides you with an eye-opening experience. Every musician that can read music, you really need to check out some of the amazing charts that they have on hand. They also have a little shop, where you can buy a King Guitar, sheet music, music videos, etc. I can't thank the Museu Do Fado enough for choosing my photos for their main page on Yelp. What an honor!

Well, this museum certainly piqued my interest in Fado music, and I have enough material to go home and start streaming some of the "greats"...This was a 5 Euro museum, and it took me..at a leisurely pace, maybe 30 minutes to exhaust the place. If you do this as an add on to the amalfa district or the castle, this is worth your 5 Euros, maybe. It does certainly open your ears and mind to what Fado is all about (singing about longing from the soul....accompanied by a little round guitar)

We were new to fado music so visiting this museum seemed like a must given its huge role in the Portuguese culture. It's a simple museum that will probably only take you one hour to complete. It's also very budget-friendly. I believe it was three or four euros per visitor. There was a mini video and several art pieces showing the prominence of fado music. My only suggestion would be that they could use more interactive pieces. It's definitely a museum geared for adults and even then, I wouldn't have minded some form of hands-on experience.

Visited the Fado Museum in Lisbon. What a treat...if you like the music and all. We are BIG fans of the genre of Fado, and have attended several dinners featuring Fado musicians, so visiting here was a must. The clothing on display is beautiful, and the Portuguese guitars were simply fabulous! This is a smaller scale of a museum, but well worth the time. You can enjoy a film, some music, and get the history behind the music.

€5 for an average experience. The audio guide is included but turned it off after a few minutes and simply read the displays.

Went to the fado museum in Alfama, Lisbon, and it's kind of a mixed bag. Well, first of all, they do have reduced admission rates (three euros) for children and over-65s, unlike what the previous Portuguese-language reviewer said (maybe its a new thing...) When you go in you get (included in the admissions price), a sound device where you punch in numbers (corresponding to numbers on the wall) and listen to lectures on the aspect of fado shown in the particular exhibit. Some of the lectures go on and on, and there's not always comfortable places to stop and listen. But if one takes the time one can get a good overall picture of the genre. The worst exhibit is the long photo of many fadisto/as, some of whom are numbered. If you enter the number in your device you can hear a song by that singer. But the whole display is in a relatively narrow aisle overlooking the lower floors. You can lean on the railing and hope it doesn't give way if many people lean on it. None of these people are named except in a diagram farther along and across the aisle. In the diagram the people are also numbered, but not with the same numbers as in the photo. So you'll need to back and forth to identify anyone, by comparing location and surroundings from the big photo. In the next room are three seats with headphones and screens. One of the three headsets was broken when I was there. On the screens one can read a biography of each of many fado singers. By pressing another button on the touchscreen one can hear a song. But you can't read and listen at the same time. Some of the singers have a set of photoes attached to their records, but once again, the photos can only be observed separately - one can't listen to music (or read) while the photos are being displayed. There are many singers on the list - listening to a number of them gave me an idea of whom to check out further. To listen to all though, would take half a day. I noticed that mostly people just check out the device and go on - it didn't look like many people listened to much of the lectures either. Following this section was an exhibit of Portuguese guittaras and information about the development of the instrument and some of the luthiers who built them. I'd like to know more about this instrument, and have a chance to try one out. There are a few for sale in the museum's shop, but none of them were anything near being in tune. They also had a couple very small stringed instruments for sale - the predecessor of the ukulele, I'd guess. And the shop has lots and lots of fado CDs for sale, and some sheet music. The museum is closed on Mondays and on a few holidays. In spite of the less-than-optimal design of the museum, I'd say it's worth it to learn more about the genre of fado And to listen to the various singers so you can find one you particularly like before making a purchase.