With a whiff of summer in the air, the Festivities of Lisbon offer a full program of entertainment activities that will invade Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhoods, luring thousands of people into the streets.
Santo António, highly respected and worshipped in Lisbon and treated as a true patron of the city, sets the mood for the festivities that reach their highpoint on the evening of June 12, with the parade of popular marches along Avenida da Liberdade. On the afternoon of June 13, a procession in homage to the popular Saint – who is believed to foster marriages – winds its way through the streets around the Sé cathedral and provides a special religious flavour to the festivities.
Evenings are animated by traditional festivities in Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhoods – from Castelo to Mouraria, Graça, Alfama, Ajuda and the Bairro Alto – with lots of music and dance to the rhythm of popular songs. Decorated with coloured globes and garlands, the city’s streets are invaded by the smell of roasted sardines and sweet basil accompanied by paper carnations and paintings that allude to Santo António.
June is the main month of these festivities, but they also extend throughout the summer, including a wide variety of events such as fado, jazz and other musical performances, fado in the city’s trams, cinema and theatre festivals, sports events and exhibitions.
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