Casa da Guitarra · beside the Sé, Porto
Local artists, Portuguese guitars and a glass of port wine in the concert room of a guitar shop by Porto Cathedral.
A small room with limited places: the evenings fill, so hold your date early.
The room, the music and the rating in four facts
Why a guitar house
Casa da Guitarra was founded in 2012 by Alfredo Teixeira, as the Porto municipal events portal records, to promote the making and appreciation of traditional Portuguese stringed instruments. Under one roof it holds a shop, a permanent exhibition of those instruments, workshops and a concert room. The fado hour takes place in that concert room, so the instruments you hear are the ones around you.
The Portuguese guitar has twelve steel strings in six courses of two. In the Lisbon style of fado it plays the introduction, then answers the singer line by line and improvises in the faster songs. A viola, a steel-strung guitar of the classical type, supplies the rhythm and the chords beneath it. Hearing both a few metres away is the point of the format.
Fado is traced to 1820s Lisbon and was added to UNESCO's lists of intangible cultural heritage on 27 November 2011. Porto's historic centre, which includes the Sé area around the venue, has been on the World Heritage List since 1996. An hour of fado here sits inside two pieces of protected heritage, one of them a place and the other a way of singing.
The hour, in six movements
The artists choose the order of songs on the night, so read this as what the hour is made of and not as a running order.
Look in the calendar and in your confirmation for the start time. The ticket covers one glass of port wine or water; food and further drinks are not part of it.
The concert room belongs to the Casa da Guitarra shop at number 49, in the Sé area. Make sure your booking names this address before you leave for it.
The venue keeps a permanent exhibition of Portuguese stringed instruments, and the visit includes an exhibition on string instruments with video explanations of the history of fado and of the Portuguese guitar.
Many travellers single out the intimate room and how it carries a voice. With a limited number of places, you sit close to the singer and the guitar players.
Local artists perform fado with traditional instruments. Some guests report that the singer explains the history and style of fado between songs; others would have liked more explanation, so treat commentary as a bonus.
The ticket includes one glass of port wine or water. Guests mention a short interval in the hour. Food and drinks of your own are not allowed in the room.
On the way out you receive an illustrated postcard with information about fado, which is a useful reminder of the names of the styles you heard.
The shop and the room
Casa da Guitarra is a working music house, not a restaurant that added a stage. The concert is one of several things it does.
Photographs show Portuguese guitars in exhibitions, fado at another Porto venue and the cathedral square beside the concert room, not Casa da Guitarra's own rooms.
Around the Sé
The concert room stands in the Sé area of Porto's historic centre, which UNESCO inscribed in 1996 together with the Luís I Bridge and the Serra do Pilar monastery.
The cathedral replaced a chapel founded in 1108 and was begun in the second half of the twelfth century. A Romanesque rose window and a Gothic cloister lined with Baroque azulejos survive.
São Bento station opened in 1916, and Jorge Colaço's azulejo panels in its hall were made between 1905 and 1916. It is the main terminus of Porto's suburban rail lines.
The Ribeira lies along the Douro, and the double-deck Dom Luís I Bridge, built in 1886, crosses to Vila Nova de Gaia, where port wine was aged and shipped.
Three fado hours in Porto
| Option | What you get | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Fado concert at Casa da Guitarra | About an hour of live fado in the concert room of a Portuguese-guitar shop by the Sé, with one glass of port wine or water and an illustrated postcard. | Listeners who want the instruments and the music as the subject, with a drink and no meal. |
| Tavern concert with two ensembles | A small tavern in Miragaia where two groups play Coimbra fado and traditional fado without microphones, about an hour long, with silence required. | Travellers who want to hear both fado traditions in one sitting. |
| Casa do Fado concert with port | A fado hour with a glass of port in one of three Casa do Fado rooms in the historic centre, with an introduction to fado's origins. | Visitors who want to choose between a cellar, a former luthier's workshop and a convent pantry. |
| Fado over dinner | A casa de fado serves a set meal around a fixed line-up of songs, and the meal pauses while the singers perform. Book it separately with the restaurant. | Anyone who wants an evening, not an hour. |
Book a fado hour
Each card opens the dates, the room and the language options. Two more one-hour fado concerts in Porto sit beside the guitar-shop concert, so you can compare them.
About an hour of live fado in the concert room of a Portuguese-guitar shop by the Sé, with one glass of port wine or water and an illustrated postcard.
A small tavern in Miragaia where two groups play Coimbra fado and traditional fado without microphones, about an hour long, with silence required.
A fado hour with a glass of port in one of three Casa do Fado rooms in the historic centre, with an introduction to fado's origins.
Other Porto bookings
Avenida Vímara Peres 49, practically
Guides to the concert, the guitar and fado
The fado concert, explained What the fado concert with a glass of port at Casa da Guitarra includes, how it compares with other fado hours in Porto and which date to pick.
Read the guide → Practical guide Practical notes for a first-time visitor at a fado concert in Porto: the Sé area, arriving, silence, photos, children, language and what to do afterwards.
Read the guide →FAQ
About one hour. The booking calendar gives a time for every date, and the confirmation shows it again.
At Avenida Vímara Peres 49 in the Sé area of Porto's historic centre. The concert room is the concert room of the Casa da Guitarra store, beside the cathedral.
The fado concert, one glass of port wine or water, and an illustrated postcard with information about fado. Food and additional drinks are not included.
Children under 6, people with mobility impairments and wheelchair users are advised against this ticket. Unaccompanied minors are not allowed.
Flash photography is not allowed, and neither are smoking and food or drinks of your own. Fado is listened to in silence, so keep your phone quiet while a song is sung.
The ticket lists hosts in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French. Choose the language on the booking page when you reserve.
A day before the start is the cut-off for a full refund; payment can follow later.
No. This is an independent guide with no link to Casa da Guitarra. GetYourGuide handles the booking, and the buttons here are affiliate links.
Fares are per person and appear in the currency you choose on the booking page.