Fado

Fado is a haunting music that emerged in Lisbon from hotly disputed roots: African, Brazilian, and Moorish are among the contenders. A lone singer—male or female—is accompanied by a Spanish guitar and the 12-string Portuguese guitar, a closer relative of the lute. While Mouraria lays claim to be the birthplace of fado, today most casas de fado (fado houses) are in the Bairro Alto or Alfama.

They serve traditional Portuguese food (it's rarely anything special), and the singing starts at 9 or 10 and may continue until 2 am. Reservations for dinner are essential, but if you want to go along later just to listen, most establishments will let you do so if you buy drinks, usually around €10 minimum. Whenever you do arrive, fado etiquette is strict on one point: when the singing starts, all chatter must stop. Silêncio, canta-se fado!