-
Chapitô
Offers original physical theatre performances, with a theatre school attached. There's a jazz café downstairs with dentist-chair décor, with live music Thursday to Saturday. Like Teatro Taborda, come here for spectacular views and an excellent restaurant.
-
Clube da Esquina
A current favourite with a young, 'up for it' crowd, Clube da Esquina (Corner Club) is easy to spot on weekends when groups of caipirinha -sipping lovelies spill out across the street. If you can manage to squeeze in, the decor's pretty cool and the DJs cross over between hip-hop, electronica and house.
-
Concert Halls
Excellent classical concerts and ballets are held at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian's three concert halls
-
Crew Hassan
Manifesting the more creative side of the Lisboêta spirit, this place hosts a wide range of events - readings, film screenings, art openings. It's a comfy place of armchairs, high ceilings and balconies if you want to stop in for a beer or bica (espresso).
-
Discoteca Jamaica
At most of the clubs on this seedy street, dancing involves laps, but this is a gem. Everyone in the know (gay/straight, black/white, old/young) has a great affection for offbeat Jamaica, where weekends get busy with a mixture of mostly retro and reggae.
-
Doca de Santo
This is clatteringly large, but with style and lots of open-air, leafy seating - a glamorous yet relaxed place to settle with a cocktail. Serves good salads (among other things).
-
Dock's Club
This is another people-packed place, with mirrors and glitterballs, pop hits and dudes looking to score.
-
Finalmente
Just a short walk from Praça do Príncipe Real, Finalmente this fun, absurdly popular place is quite a find. The tiny dance floor is crowded with folk real keen to have a good time. Plus there's the added bonus of some good old nightly drag shows.
-
Foxtrot
By the same designer as Pavilhão Chines, this splendidly stately place feels like it has been here since the 1940s (actually only since the '80s), with low lighting, staid sofas, oriental silks and rambling rooms.
-
Advertisement
-
Frágil
While clubbing attention has drifted down to the water, the godfather of Lisbon's nightclubbing scene still gets punters in, although mainly on weekends. A small club by today's standards, it gets pretty sweaty as a mixed crowd dances to the predominantly house music.
-
Heróis
A Chiado bar, Heróis is packed with white Panton chairs (plastic retro classics). It hosts a cool, largely gay crowd listening to laid-back house.
-
Hot Clube de Portugal
Here the masters play you jazz in a small, smoky setting, just the way it should be. Shows are at and .
-
Incógnito
At this small, attractive dance-bar, you'll find a good mixed crowd and a broad spectrum of music - electropop, rock and a little something for those stuck in the '80s. It's a nice alternative to the big club scene.
-
Instituto do Cinemateca Portuguesa
The Instituto do Cinemateca Portuguesa shows off-beat, art-house, world and old films.
-
Kapital
For young, wealthy Lisboêtas (blazers, V-necks, big hair on the men; oh-so-casual glam on the women), this is nightclub nirvana. Expect a door policy, chrome, people so cool they're almost frozen and matching music. If it feels too much like a 1980s teen movie, there's an adjoining tunnel to next-door Kremlin.
-
Kremlin
Lisbon's home of house doesn't really heat up until a madrugada (the pre-dawn early hours), and these days it's generally only packed on weekends with upwardly mobile Lisboetas keen to dance at this legendary club. While it's a far cry from its heady days during 1988's Summer of Love, Kremlin can still transcend.
-
Luanda
This is a big, African club and Lisbon's favourite booty shaker, with a fantastically steamy, glitzy atmosphere. Things get hot and sweaty around , when everyone hits the floor for Luandan kuduro, Brazilian or R&B music.
-
Lux
Near Santa Apolónia train station is Lisbon's ice-cool, must-see club. It's run by ex-Frágil maestro Marcel Reis and part-owned by John Malkovich, and is lots of fun, with an oversized shoe, a mirrored tunnel and violet light setting the scene. It's huge and airy, special but not snooty, and hosts the best big-name house DJs and live acts. Weekends are less hip but the music is still tip-top.
-
Advertisement
-
Majong
Scruffy, with school chairs, deep-red walls and drowsy cabbage-leaf lamps, this is a choice hangout that gathers a somewhat boho crowd. It gets superpacked on weekends.
-
Max
Attracting a somewhat older gay crowd, Max hosts strip shows, a leather night and other weekly fests.
-
Memorial
Mainly lesbian, this laid-back place attracts a mixed crowd, often men looking for women.
-
Mesa de Frades
One of Alfama's magical settings for hearing fado , this tiny old-fashioned spot is set with lovely tiled murals and just a handful of tables. Hearty traditional meals are made with care. Reserve ahead.
-
Miradouro da Graça
There are brilliant views from this terrace, with soothing music during the day that gets heavier the later it gets.
