The Museo del Fado, located in the heart of Alfama (Largo do Chafariz de Dentro 1), celebrates the typical urban song of Lisbon, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2011. Inaugurated on September 25, 1998, it occupies a historic building that was once a nineteenth-century water pumping station, restored by architects João and José Daniel Santa-Rita.
The visit includes a permanent multimedia tour that reconstructs the history of fado from the 19th century to today, with interactive panels, audiovisual stations, multilingual audioguides (Portuguese, English, French, Spanish), and hundreds of biographies of famous performers. The collection includes musical instruments (Portuguese guitar and viola), costumes, trophies, records, sheet music, and historical documents, as well as works of art such as the famous painting O Fado by José Malhoa (1910).
The museum also has a documentation center, an auditorium for concerts, a Museum School for guitar and fado viola courses, a shop, and a restaurant/café that are open even without a ticket.