Lisbon World War II Spy Walk

This walking tour traces the secret history of neutral Lisbon during World War II, visiting the hotels, cafes, and train stations where Allied and Axis spies operated in broad daylight.

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1. LX Boutique Hotel

A contemporary boutique hotel with a distinctive blue facade now occupies the site of the former Hotel Bragança on Rua do Alecrim. During the Second World War, Lisbon functioned as a neutral territory where Allied and Axis intelligence…

2. Grémio Literário

The Grémio Literário occupies the Palacete de Loures, a building defined by its classic romantic architecture and a private garden designed by landscape architect Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles. You can identify the property by its discreet…

3. A Brasileira

A bronze statue of a man in a hat and suit sits at a small table outside the entrance of Café A Brasileira. This sculpture represents the poet Fernando Pessoa, who was a frequent customer at this establishment throughout the early…

4. Casa do Alentejo

The Casa do Alentejo hides behind an unremarkable door on Rua das Portas de Santo Antão. Its plain exterior conceals a neo-Moorish courtyard filled with horseshoe arches, painted tiles, and a central fountain that offered an ornate escape…

5. Teatro Eden

The Eden Teatro on Praça dos Restauradores is defined by its massive, creamy pink marble façade and a distinct stone frieze running across the top. This relief depicts stylized figures of actors performing before cameras and film crews, a…

6. Foz Palace

The Foz Palace stands out in the Praça dos Restauradores as a large, bright pink building topped with distinctively Parisian mansard roofs. Originally commissioned in seventeen seventy-seven by the Count of Castelo Melhor, the structure…

7. Estação do Rossio

The Estação do Rossio is defined by its ornate, Neo-Manueline façade, which features two massive, intertwined horseshoe portals facing the square. Designed by the architect José Luís Monteiro and inaugurated in eighteen ninety, the station…

8. Avenida Palace

The Avenida Palace is a six-story building that stands as the only palace-style hotel in downtown Lisbon. Designed by the architect José Luís Monteiro, who also created the adjacent Rossio Railway Station, the hotel opened in eighteen…

The audio tour continues in the Mira app →