CASA DA MÚSICA, OPORTO - ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CONCERT HALLS

In the beautiful Portuguese city of Oporto, there is Casa da Música (House of Music), a concert hall that houses the cultural institution of the same name. It was inaugurated in 2005 and is now an icon of the city.

Casa da Música has three orchestras: Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Orquestra Barroca and Remix Ensemble. It also has two main auditoriums and many areas that can hold concerts and other activities that concern music, such as workshops and educational activities. There is also a restaurant at the top of the building with a capacity for 150 people.

LISBON - BEST MUSIC CLUBS

The Portuguese capital has great music clubs that go from Indie Jazz and African Beats to American Retro Rock and up to Electronic Experiments. And some of these clubs have even been mentioned in The New York Times. Lisbon isn't just Fado anymore.

One of these clubs is the iconic Hot Clube de Portugal, a jazz hangout that has been around since the 1940s. In late 2009, however, the club burned down, having been moved and rebuilt a few doors down, to officially reopen in 2012. Hot Club Portugal came back with the same spirit it always had, with local and international live acts and fans that go anywhere from young adults to longtime regulars in their 40s and 50s.

If you wish to go to somewhere with more musical variety - with jazz, folk and ethno-groove, for instance - and great Neo-Portuguese cuisine, the Vinyl is the place for you. This wonderful place, around since 2012, is both a coffee shop and a restaurant.

Can the Can is a new restaurant that states "Canned Food Goes Gourmet, Fado Becomes Habitué". What does that mean? It means they present Fado and other Portuguese music in avant-garde forms, and that the cuisine consists of traditional tinned goods - like sardines and mackerels - presented in innovative and unexpected ways. As you may guess, Can the Can is having an incredible success with young musicians.

Then, there's B.Leza (photo), a bubblegum-pink warehouse that almost glows at night. A Neo-Industrial space with a crowd full of variety, from African Immigrants to Native Portuguese from all spectrums. Originally in a 18th Century Palace, B.Leza had to go to a more modest location in 2007. However, the carefully selected Pan-African Programming is still there, accompanied by a diverse fan base and some ocasional A-Listers. The entrance costs 10 Euros.

FEAST OF SAINT JONH - PORTO'S PATRON SAINT

The feast in honour of Saint John in Porto is one of the liveliest street festivals in Portugal and it takes place on 24th of June. 

 

Although the feast has a religious foundation, it's better known for people hitting on each other's on the head with plastic hammers, a tradition which no one seems to know its origins. At first, this tradition might be seen a little bit violent, but everybody is very gentle when hitting, and also, it's a great way to meet people especially when the main target is the opposite sex.