Are you a foreigner who want to vote in Lisbon? A guide to the 2025 local elections
Voter registration closes 60 days before election day, which means that if you’re a foreigner, you have only until August 12 to register and be eligible to vote.
Aodh, the creative psychopomp: a Lisbon journey of art and healing
Aodh Ó Riagáin, a 26-year-old Irish artist, found in Lisbon a space – both physical and mental – where he could develop a career as an artist and contribute to wellness in other people through stories.
Meet Ava Vahneshan: Persia’s Miss Universe hopeful living in Estoril
Born and raised in Iran, Ava made the life-changing move to Portugal when she was just 19. Now at 26, she’s fervently pursuing a dream that has been close to her heart since childhood: Ava is gearing up for the Miss Universe pageant
Andreas Noe travels along the coast picking up trash. “We’re swimming in garbage”
Andreas Noe is called The Trash Travel. In Lisbon, he focused on the problem of plastic in the oceans, which he sees every day.
Mário turned his childhood passion into Kingpin Books, a hub for comics and graphic novels in Lisbon
Mário Freitas created the largest comic book store in Portugal, at Lisbon, where his passion for drawing ressonates.
The Immigrant Foodie: getting to know Lisbon through the stomach
Born in Romania and currently living in Lisbon, Sergio Zaciu has an online project with a purpose: to prove that a viral video can change the fate of a small family business. And he has been doing well. Welcome to the Imigrant Foodie
Quartel do Carmo became the epicentre of the Carnation’s Revolution. A tour showed our readers what’s inside those doors
Mensagem’s readers joined the Commemorative Commission for the 50th Anniversary of April 25th for a free guided tour of Quartel do Carmo last Tuesday. The aim was to bring our English community closer to the history of the Revolution and what it meant (and still means) to Portugal.
What are these lilac trees all around Lisbon? Discover the Jacarandás and from where they came
This year they arrived even earlier, due to the heat, but every year the jacarandás fill the city with an unparalleled color. They came from Brazil, across the Tagus, in the 19th century. In Argentina, you can hear the tango beneath them. And in Pretoria, they found the ideal conditions. The story of a tree with history.
Chelas is changing: why are there fewer municipal houses and prices are increasing?
The sale of municipal houses in Lisbon is controversial and is already causing prices to rise in Chelas. The contract between tenants and the municipality allowed houses purchased for 30 thousand euros to now be offered for sale at over 100 thousand. And the housing market in the city is worsening.
Room-hunting in Lisbon as a foreign student: a tale of luck
I have heard many stories of students struggling to find housing. I know international students that spend the first few months of their studies living in an Airbnb, just because they were not able to find a place to live. I even have fellow students who were scammed when renting a room in Lisbon.
Rental scam in Lisbon: they rent apartments that don’t exist
Astrid’s taxi arrived in the street where her apartment was supposed to be. The address on her contract did not exist and the ‘landlady’ blocked her contact everywhere. There she was, standing on the street in a new city in a foreign country, without a place to stay.
Lisbon, 1940: discovering the amazing life of Roger Kahan, war refugee and photographer
Roger Kahan, have you heard of him? It’s ok if you haven’t. Yet he was the most important documenter of the refugees passage through Lisbon in the 1940s. Lisbon was the pivot of a story of this photographer that would continue in Brazil, New York, Haiti, Rome, Israel… Now a picture taken by him is a work of art by Vhils on a wall in Lisbon – as a rememberance to all the refugees in Lisbon, last open port in Worl War II
“Intendente is brilliant in terms of urban possibilities, of encounters”
Marta Silva, the founder of the Largo Residências cooperative, shares in an interview how she experienced the processes of revitalization and gentrification in the Intendente Square.
David Lopes: “Lisbon should learn from Tokyo how to respect the public space – it’s the most democratic thing”
David Lopes released a very personal book about his two years living in Tokyo: “A Balcony Over Tokyo.” In this conversation, he shares experiences with Beniko Tanaka, a Japanese artist who has been living in Lisbon for 18 years.
Why do these women love Lisboa?
Jonathan Littman has met hundreds of women in his RedBridge club. Why do they love Lisboa? Because here, they can build communities, and share a dream of a better, more diverse, more dynamic city, which together they’re working to create.
Welcome to Mensagem de Lisboa. This is our edition in English.
Get the most of your Lisbon experience and connect to the Lisboetas.
Via Graça. The story of the butcher João, who overnight became the owner of the restaurant with Lisbon at his feet
One evening, João Bandeira entered through the doors of Via Graça to take note of the orders for the butcher shop, and the restaurant owner looked at him and said, “All of this, from now on, is yours!” A dream that turned into reality with a marvelous view of Lisbon.
Why are these forests growing in the middle of the city? They are named after a Japanese botanist, Miyawaki, and they bring nature to Lisboa
Two years ago these Miyawaki forests began to grow rapidly in urban spaces thanks to the dense planting of native species. The method was first used in Lisbon with FCULresta, but since then they have multiplied throughout the city.
“Understanding Lisboa by speaking to the people who are here,” was Nick’s goal for his zine. And he fulfilled that.
What do two best friends, age 12, have to say about their years of living in the city? And Anne-Claire, a Parisian who came to Lisbon in search of quality of life? Nick Mrozowski gave these stories the pages of a magazine.
“Two years of People of Lisbon. Two years? That long? Really?”
Two years and more than 80 videos. People of Lisbon is a video project from Stephen O’Regan and Rta Ansone (our photographer) and we at Mensagem are proud of this partnership.
How Jonathan Littman is connecting San Francisco to Lisbon
Jonathan created an organization that creates a series of events and parties that connect San Francisco and Lisbon. We went to one of the parties to get to know this concept better.
Gintarė Karalytė, the Web Summit producer who fell in love with Lisbon
Gintare Karelyte is Lithuanian, has lived in Lisbon for three years and fell in love with this city where the biggest technology event in the world takes place – the Web Summit – of which she is a producer. People of Lisbon went to meet her. And it was a rush.
Music producer Jim Bianco is on Easy Street in his new Lisbon life
Born in New York, for eight months living in Lisbon, this American has already had a lot of other addresses around USA. But it is in the Portuguese capital that he found the security of being able to take his daughter to school by tram and where he now produces his art.
Forgotten women in Lisbon: only 5% of the streets are named after women
A study by Manuel Banza reveals that only a tiny minority of Lisbon streets have women’s names. And most of these are saints or queens. Which women should be named as street names in the city? Send us your suggestion!
“Super-Island”. How a new way of organizing urban areas might lead to greener and more peaceful cities
Barcelona architect Ton Salvadó was in Lisbon and explained how a new way of organizing urban areas might lead to greener, more peaceful cities.
Rato Square: an “open-air road sewage” in Lisbon. Until when?
Cars, buses, tramways, bicycles, scooters, pedestrians, honking horns, traffic queues, lots of noise, and pollution. This is the scenario of Rato Square. Whoever passes by there, goes in a hurry. And don’t stay in Rato which is just a passing place and is not safe for those who don’t ride a car.
Kitchenette is a café, incubator, and “dark kitchen of good” in Campo de Ourique
About to celebrate its first year, the space opened doors so that the chef candidates could have a structure where they could get their hands dirty and test the products among future clients, giving the neighborhood an extra touch of flavor.
Joalharia do Carmo is the new Filigree art showcase in Chiado
The old store has been renovated and now ony sells filigree. It is also a showcase of certified artisans, from the younger to the older, in the middle of Chiado.
The experience as a refugee from Afghanistan to Lisbon:
Nossa Senhora do Loreto Church has been the headquarters of the italian Lisbon for the last 500 years
Italians are the largest european community in Lisbon. They have surpassed the French and the Spanish. But the “italian Lisbon” is ancient and its headquarters is the Nossa Senhora do Loreto, Church of the Italians, in Chiado. For 500 years.
