Le piastrelle portoghesi

One of the great attractions in Lisbon is the tiled buildings throughout the city. This was a wonderful walking tour that taught us the history of the use of decorative tiles in Lisbon going back to Moorish days and how the colors and patterns of tiles have changed over the centuries. Our guide, Miguel, was very knowledgeable and very personable so it was a great time. Lisbon being what it is, there was a fair amount of uphill walking involved, but these two 84 year olds managed well, and Miguel gave us the chance to rest a bit along the way.

Wow! I loved tile before the tour, but I love tile even more now that I've learned so much about the craft and history of Lisbon's azulejos having seen so many up close. Miguel has an incredible breadth and depth of historical context, and the way we moved through the city seeing tiles was a delight, full of nooks and crannies that only a local could know, and timed in a way that was well-paced and covered a lot of ground. Besides seeing a wealth of tiles on the outside of buildings, we looked at tiles inside subway stations, in a coffee shop which was a former lottery stores, a restaurant which was a former brewery, not to mention churches, public buildings, and walls hanging with public art and political critique-- spanning hundreds of years of history, styles, and producers, including the recently-completed Zara Clothing store (all white tiles--gasp!). By the end I found myself able to distinguish the different eras, and even different producers (I've decided that Viúva Lamego is my favorite). This tour is a GREAT way to get a sense of Lisbon's rich history.

This tour was a great way to experience my first full day in Lisbon. I learned so much and what I learned helped guide the rest of my trip in terms of restaurants and museums, etc Miguel was very kind and knowledgeable. We stopped at the world’s oldest bookstore and I learned so much about the tiles.

This experience is definitely recommended for anyone who is really interested in learning about the various styles and history of Portuguese Tile. Miguel is clearly an art lover and is well versed in it's history in Lisbon. We learned a lot about the history of the city as well. He was very good about giving us the time we needed to walk along the streets. We had another appointment for the afternoon or we might have been able to spend more time at the tile stores. So much to take in! Thank you!

I really can’t say enough good things about this tour and Miguel. As a guide, he is warm, enthusiastic, responsive to your requests and interests, and really goes above and beyond to ensure you are happy. Since I was his only client on the day of our tour, Miguel tailored everything to my personal interests, still making sure he imparted his knowledge along the way. He gave me recommendations for other things to do in the city and we even sat down to a wonderful lunch together so he could demonstrate the proper way to de-bone sardines. No promises you’ll get that treatment but what I can say is that you will leave your time with Miguel with a great feeling of time well spent. Obrigada Miguel!

We had an incredible time with Miguel! His tour was our first stop in Portugal and helped us learn so much about the history of Lisbon. We can't imagine having started off any other way. Knowledgeable guide and amazing tour with so many recommendations. We never would have found the locations he showed us on our own.

Miguel was a great guide! Incredibly knowledgeable about Portuguese tiles, and excited to cater the tour to our interests and questions.

Miguel is a knowledgeable, wonderful tour guide! We learnt a lot about the Portuguese art, culture, history and of course tiles. Thanks Miguel, we had a great day!

+2

An enjoyable and informative walk through downtown Lisbon. We saw tiles dating from the 1500’s through modern times. And lots of history too!

He was very interesting with his knowledge. We learned a lot. We appreciated everything he told us about the tiles and the city.