Last Updated on 05/02/2023 by kami
One of my priorities during my 3 days in Lisbon was to explore its street art scene. I’ve been hearing so much about how amazing and exceptional it is and I’ve been more than ready to see if this is true. After all when I was thinking about the street art cities Lisbon never came to my mind as the one worth checking, I more tied it in with fado music or charming yet crumbly architecture of Alfama.

When it turned out the hostel I was staying at – Lisbon Destination Hostel – organizes street art tours I was really eager to join! After going for the street art tour in Buenos Aires I figured this is the best way to learn about the local scene, not only to look at amazing works but also to hear stories behind them. And I wasn’t disappointed! The Lisbon street art tour was pretty great, we’ve managed to see works I’d probably never have found by myself and altogether I had a wonderful time among other street art fans. There were only 5 of us plus two guides – young guys who really knew a lot about the street art and could answer just about every question related to it (and even more!)


We hanged out mostly in the spots outside of the downtown Lisbon. There was an underway passage next to the train stop, the newest hip and creative spaces of Lisbon, the first legal street art wall in the city or the area around the mental care hospital. Every and each of these places had some exceptional street art works, created both by local and international artists with the use of some incredible techniques. I can easily say that some of the murals I’ve seen on that day were among the best I’ve ever encountered. To my great surprise I also found Mr. Chat – crazy grinning cat that I’ve seen before in Sarajevo or Pristina, Kosovo!



One of the reason why I enjoy street art so much is its creative way of talking about important things. And Lisbon didn’t disappoint me here. The city is full of murals with political of social meaning, bringing people’s attention to issues that need to be talked about. That’s what made Lisbon quite an unique destination for me and I enjoyed every piece there so much!



I was also impressed by the way some of the works were made in. It was the first time I’ve seen the street art being sculpted on the wall, creating incredible faces of people. The Portuguese artist Vhils is behind it and seeing his work left me speechless each time. It was probably the most creative technique I’ve ever encountered.


What I also really liked about street art in Lisbon was how the work used some of the local patterns like azulejos (blue tiles that can be found all over the country and are probably the most Portuguese thing you can think of). We’ve seen pretty many of these and what’s even funnier some of the stencils were not done properly. I’d never have noticed that by myself!

The tour lasted almost 4 hours and I honestly don’t know how the time has passed so quickly. We covered a really big area of the city and I really felt like I learnt a lot about the Lisbon street art scene. The tour was definitely a highlight of my stay in the city and a wonderful way to explore its alternative side. I can totally recommend it to everyone who want to experience something more than just a beautiful sights of Lisbon! And yes, the rumours were true, the capital of Portugal really is one of the best street art cities in the world that can easily compete with Berlin, Athens or Rio de Janeiro.


Have you ever been on a street art tour? What are your favourite street art cities?
Note: The street art tour by Lisbon Destination Tours starts from the Rossio Train Station at 10am on Tuesdays and Sundays. It costs 18.75€/person. I was their guest at the tour however all opinion remain my own, as always.
If you think of visiting Portugal or just want to read more about the country take a look what else I wrote about it!

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46 Comments
Esther
28/04/2015 at 06:53Cool! I’ll be visiting Lisbon in a couple of weeks and the streetart is definitely on the top of my list.
kami
10/05/2015 at 09:18You’ll love it for sure, it’s pretty amazing!
kamieverywhere
28/04/2015 at 11:29Super! widzę parę nowych rzeczy, które pojawiły się na lizbońskich murach od mojej ostatniej wizyty – już wiem, gdzie się udam w czerwcu :)
kami
10/05/2015 at 09:18A ktore nowe sie pojawily?
Agnieszka
28/04/2015 at 12:33Nie znałam tego oblicza Lizbony. Dzięki!
kami
10/05/2015 at 09:19Polecam sie :) calkiem fantastyczny street art tam maja!
Agnieszka /Zależna w podróży
28/04/2015 at 17:43Ten ostatni to też Whils? Rewelacyjny!
Naprawdę super! Jak się jedzie do Wiednia polskim busem, to w Bratysławie przejeżdża się obok oazy street artu. Wczoraj sobie podziwiałam. Też dawały radę.
kami
18/05/2015 at 22:04tak, ale w duecie z Pixel Pancho!
muszę w końcu tą Bratysławę odczarować! a jak jest street art to już w ogóle muszę! :)
Magdalena
28/04/2015 at 18:45Until debt tear us apart:) Świetny post!
kami
10/05/2015 at 09:21Najlepszy byl ten napis! Dzieki :)
Marcin Wesołowski
28/04/2015 at 20:51Kompletnie inna Lizbona od tej, którą poznałem! Równie piękna!
kami
10/05/2015 at 09:21Przy kolejnej okazji odczaruj taka Lizbone, naprawde daje radę!
balkanyrudej
29/04/2015 at 09:51This “wall cat” looks so alive! Street art can be so trully inspirational. Thanks for sharing with us those Lisbon street art places :)
kami
18/05/2015 at 22:05It really is inspirational, or has a big meaning! Thank you for your nice comment :)
Mr_Szpak
29/04/2015 at 10:00Muralia zawsze na topie… :))) niektore wyjatkowo dobre… :)))
kami
18/05/2015 at 22:07ba, rewelacyjne!
Hannah
29/04/2015 at 10:51Don’t you love it when you only have a few people in your tour? You get so much more out of it I find. LOVE the sculpted art in the buildings, I’ve never seen anything like that either.
kami
31/05/2015 at 14:46To be honest I just can’t imagine myself at the tour with 20+ people, it would be just painful! ;)
Alli
29/04/2015 at 13:53Very interesting artwork! A lot of it I find very “Kafka-esque!” It’s dark . . . but bright and lively at the same time.
kami
31/05/2015 at 14:56you’re right, I haven’t thought of it that way! :)
Karol Werner
29/04/2015 at 16:35Aż mi się przypomniał Tadżykistan i spotkane kilkukrotnie tam domy, gdzie też układali wielkie kontenery jeden na drugim, a od góry zamykali je najzwyklejszym dachem spadzistym….
kami
31/05/2015 at 14:57hmmm, interesująca koncepcja! masz zdjęcia?
Tim
29/04/2015 at 17:48Very cool. Some amazing street art featured here; thought provoking and hopefully effective.
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:07I totally agree!
Julia
29/04/2015 at 21:57Kama, you are the Street Art Master! How do you find all that places?! The first one is my favourite <3
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:08I don’t know, it’s just there! :D Very often I don’t even look for those :)
Sam
30/04/2015 at 14:02How did we miss all this amazing street art?! I don’t remember seeing any of these pieces. Clearly we should’ve done that tour. Bonus: your tour guide was pretty hot!
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:22yes he was ;) You definitely should have gone for the tour! It was so much fun and all the pieces were incredible! There’s just too much street art in Lisbon to see everything ;)
Magda
30/04/2015 at 19:27I love street art and I have many of the same images in my archive.
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:27What’s your favourite street art city, Magda?
Ewa
30/04/2015 at 19:59I have never known this kind of Lisbon. Maybe when I return there I will explore some as well :)
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:27you definitely should, both going back and exploring! :)
Stef
04/05/2015 at 00:13I didn’t go on a street art tour in Lisbon but already getting lost in the city and seeing all those street art was beautiful. One of the best cities for street art!
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:28Definitely! Too bad you missed the tour, it was so interesting!
Jenna
04/05/2015 at 08:19I love street art! Wonderful photos! I will definitely have to make it to Lisbon to check out all the art sometime!
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:28you definitely should! Lisbon is great and not only because of the street art! :)
antonette - we12travel
05/05/2015 at 13:52I found the best street art in Lisbon close to our hotel, it said “Die with memories, not dreams” -> which is exactly how I’m living my life. Lisbon’s street art was awesome!
kami
31/05/2015 at 15:29ah, what a beautiful sentence! Too bad I haven’t seen it! Lisbon street art is just the best!
Rafał Tetzlaff
10/06/2015 at 19:53Art kobiety z robotem i mężczyzny ze statkiem wymiatają. Bardzo fajmy wpis ukazujący inne oblicze tego pięknego miasta. Byłem dwa razy, ale szczerze powiem, że nigdy nie zwracałem większej uwagi na sztukę uliczną.
kami
27/01/2016 at 09:04akurat oba tego samego artysty, Vhilsa – mistrzowskie są! Ostatnio sztuka uliczna wszędzie się pojawia, ale w Lizbonie jest na naprawdę niezłym poziomie!
Aleksandra
11/06/2015 at 18:26Great Pictgures,
First Street Art with the Cat is stunning. and “pray for portugal” as well.
Wish to visit Lisbon too !
kami
27/01/2016 at 09:05Thanks! I think that overall the street art scene in Lisbon is really incredible! Hope you will visit the city soon!
Iza
07/09/2015 at 11:46Beautiful. Did you see street art in Poland for example in Lodz?
kami
27/01/2016 at 09:07Thanks! I’ve seen lots of street art in Poland (I’m surrounded by some of the great pieces here in Warsaw) yet I haven’t explored the street art scene in Łódź! That’s plan for this year!
Jamie
23/01/2016 at 18:59Great pictures :) I think Lisbon’s street art is amazing and it’s the best way to experience the city and the Portuguese culture.
kami
27/01/2016 at 09:23Thank you! Lisbon really has one of the best street art scenes in Europe!