The most popular party is super close to our Hotel!

The Lisbon festivities are starting and the best of them are in Graça [gallery ids="30940,30941,30942,30943,30944" columns="5"] There are always a ton of things happening in Lisbon, but June is the busiest month of the year. It’s the month of the city festivities, an homage to the Popular Saints. The main one here is Santo António, the patron of Lisbon. The smell of sardinhas hangs in the air as the vibrant paper decorations swing from the balconies. Everybody is out in the streets and some even leave their doors open to let the music in. It’s sunny and warm, and there are too many great places to be in at the same time. Throughout the whole month, every neighborhood of Lisbon has its own program of festivities. The most common are the arraiais, a kind of party with loud traditional Portuguese music and lots(!) of beer and sangria. They last the whole month from the afternoon into late night on the weekends (fun is guaranteed).  

[caption id="attachment_30314" align="aligncenter" width="850"] Vila Berta during Santo António[/caption]  

A visit to Vila Berta during Santo António is a MUST

The most famous ones are actually at a 5 minute walk away from Tings Lisbon. They take place in Vila Berta, a picturesque vila in Graça with beautiful terraces. Everyday from 6 p.m you have bifanas, sardinhas, beer, and bailarico. If you don’t know what all of these are, you must come and find out. In case it is too crowded or you just want to try a different one, Largo da Graça is also really close by. The most important date is the night of the 12th to the 13th of June. But Lisbon gets so, so, so crowded on that night that I recommend you to not go out exclusively on that day. Trust me, there is plenty of fun stuff going on before and after. On a final note, I must tell you that this year there is a special addition to the parties. Lisbon is the the Ibero-American Capital of Culture so the general program integrates many activities that create bridges between various different cultures.   See the whole program of Festas de Lisboa here (or download it as pdf here: St Antonio 2017) and prepare yourself for a very exciting month!  ]]>