Lisbon's 4th Cultural Week in Cemeteries

From 18 to 26 October 2025, guided tours, thematic walks, night visits, educational workshops, and other engaging activities will take place at Lisbon's cemeteries.

About the event

From 18 to 26 October 2025, Lisbon will host the 4th Cultural Week in Cemeteries, reaffirming the city’s cemeteries as vibrant spaces of memory, heritage, and cultural exchange. Organised by the Lisbon Municipal Cemeteries Division, the initiative combines tradition with innovation, offering the public a unique program of activities.

Event program and partners

Over nine days, visitors will discover the cemeteries of Lisbon—Prazeres, Alto de São João, Olivais, Carnide, and Lumiar—through guided tours, thematic walks, night visits, and the popular "open mausolea afternoons", organised in partnership with Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa. The program also includes educational activities, such as a philosophy workshop for children and families, encouraging younger generations to reflect creatively on life and death.

In Lisbon, the Cultural Week further includes visits to the British Cemetery, the German Cemetery, the National Pantheon, and the Church of São Roque. Beyond the capital, new partners join this year: the Cemitério da Lapa in Porto and the Museu Funerário Fernando Oliveira in Aveiro, together with a wide network of municipalities across the country. In 2025, the program will involve the cities of Setúbal, Palmela, Vila Franca de Xira, Barreiro, Caldas da Rainha, Figueira da Foz, Santarém, and Torres Vedras, highlighting the richness and diversity of Portuguese funerary heritage.

1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Cemeteries

On 24 October 2025, the program will feature the 1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Cemeteries, a landmark event bringing together academics, researchers, and heritage professionals in Lisbon for a day of dialogue and reflection, open to the wider community.

Additional information and registration

All activities are free of charge, subject to prior registration at cemiterios.visitas@cm-lisboa.pt.

For more information visit www.informacao.lisboa.pt

Lisbon's 3rd Cultural Week in Cemeteries

Between October 5th and 13th, 2024, guided tours, concerts, workshops, virtual talks, and other activities will take place at Lisbon's cemeteries.

About the event

From October 5th to October 13th, 2024, the city of Lisbon will host the 3rd Cultural Week in Cemeteries, an initiative dedicated to valuing and promoting Portugal's rich cemetery heritage. This unique event features a diverse program of guided tours, workshops, and special activities designed to engage the public with the historical and cultural significance of cemeteries.

Program

This year's program includes a series of new guided tours that will take place in Lisbon's cemeteries, as well as at the Museum of Lisbon and the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, where special tours focused on the themes of burials and cemeteries are planned.

To commemorate the Proclamation of the Portuguese Republic Day on October 5th, the Municipal Newspaper Archive will conduct a tour that explores the legacy of Portugal's First Republic and honors the Republicans laid to rest at the Alto de São João Cemetery.

The British Cemetery and the German Cemetery will also participate in the event, providing both guided and self-guided tours. A special "Open Day" at Prazeres Cemetery, in collaboration with the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, will allow visitors to explore several mausoleums and appreciate their interiors, featuring stained-glass windows, altars, old photographs, memento mori, and beautifully carved coffins.

A highlight of the week will be a concert-guided tour within the Palmela Mausoleum, recognized as Europe’s largest private mausoleum. Attendees will enjoy musical compositions from the 19th century, contemporary to the life of the First Duke of Palmela, the mausoleum's architect.

The program also includes a Philosophy for Children workshop, inviting families to engage in thoughtful discussions about death, and a Death Cafe where participants can converse openly about mortality while enjoying tea, coffee, and cakes.

Furthermore, several municipalities surrounding Lisbon, including Loures, Palmela, Setúbal, and Vila Franca de Xira, are once again contributing to the event with guided tours, musical moments, and virtual talks.

Additional information and registration

All events and tours are free of charge, but registration is required. To register, please send an email to cemiterios.visitas@cm-lisboa.pt.

For the full program and additional information, visit the organizer's website.

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Lisbon's 2nd Cultural Week in Cemeteries

Between 7th and 15th October 2023, guided tours, concerts, photo exhibitions, workshops, virtual lectures, and other activities will take place at Lisbon's cemeteries.

About the 2nd Cultural Week in Cemeteries

Lisbon City Council's Cemetery Management Division, in partnership with various entities and associations linked to cemetery art and heritage, is organising the 2nd edition of Cultural Week in Cemeteries, to be held between 7th and 15th October 2023. This edition will be extended to the municipalities of Loures, Setúbal and Vila Franca de Xira, which have also joined the initiative.

Program

As in the previous year, there will be guided tours of Lisbon's cemeteries, including the British and German cemeteries. The highlight of this edition will be five new themed tours, comprising one for pre-school children.

The program will also include concerts, photographic exhibitions and workshops, virtual lectures, night visits and other activities. There will be Open Days, where participants will be able to go inside mausoleums and other cemetery buildings that are not usually accessible to the public. 

Overall, there will be more than 30 different activities, all free of charge but require prior registration by email. The program of all events can be found HERE.

For any further information, please contact cemiterios.visitas@cm-lisboa.pt.