30 Fascinating Photos Capture Street Scenes of Lisbon in 1983

Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and the third-oldest European capital city (after Athens and Rome), predating other modern European capitals by centuries.

In the 1980s, Lisbon experienced significant change and modernization. Portugal’s entry into the European Economic Community in 1986 spurred economic growth and urban development. The city saw infrastructure improvements, new construction, and a lively cultural scene, including a resurgence of Fado music and a vibrant nightlife in areas like Bairro Alto. While historic neighborhoods retained their charm, new projects and modernization efforts began reshaping the city’s landscape.

In the 1980s, Lisbon also grappled with social changes as it transitioned from dictatorship to democracy. The city experienced increased European investment, leading to urban renewal and modernization. Cultural life flourished with a blend of traditional and contemporary influences, and daily life began integrating global trends alongside enduring local customs.

These fascinating photos were taken by Alex Razbash that show street scenes of Lisbon in 1983.

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Sledging in Style: The Wicker Toboggans of Monte, in Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal

Ride down the toboggan in the traditional basket sledges which date back to early 19th century where they were used as a means of transport by the local residents who wanted to travel quickly from the village of Monte to the city of Funchal.

A toboggan sledge is made of wicker, which is then connected to two wooden runners. They are traditionally handcrafted using techniques from the mid-1800s. The highest quality wood is used to make the sledges.

The toboggan sledges are steered and powered by two Carreiros. The drivers are dressed in white, wearing the typical Madeira hat, the straw boater. Their shoes are pretty heavy and have rubber soles to stop the sledge if needed. The boots function as brakes. The Carreiros are incredibly experienced, offering you a safe journey down the hill. Back in the day, the sleighs had to be carried back up by staffing.

Monte itself is a well-known beautiful spot, famous for its amazingly lush gardens and splendid views over the city and beyond. For many years toboggan riding from Monte has been a very popular tourist attraction. The descent from Monte to Livramento is approximately 2 kilometers and takes about 10 minutes to complete. The route to Livramento is in a very picturesque area and a thrilling ride of up to 30 kilometers per hour is guaranteed.

Check out the pictures around the entrance to get a glimpse of the old days:

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30 Wonderful Color Photos of Lisbon in 1953

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with an area of 100.05 km2. It is mainland Europe’s westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost portions of its metro area, the Portuguese Riviera, form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, culminating at Cabo da Roca.

Lisbon in 1953

Lisbon is recognized as an alpha-level global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, fashion, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. Lisbon is one of two Portuguese cities (alongside Porto) to be recognized as a global city. Lisbon is home to three companies in the Global 2000. It is one of the major economic centers in Europe, with a growing financial sector and one of the largest container ports on Europe’s Atlantic coast.

Additionally, Humberto Delgado Airport is the busiest airport in Portugal, the third busiest in the Iberian Peninsula and the 20th busiest in Europe. The motorway network and the high-speed rail system of Alfa Pendular links the main cities of Portugal to Lisbon.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and the second-oldest European capital city (after Athens), predating other modern European capitals by centuries. These vintage color photos were found by Found Slides that captured street scenes of Lisbon in 1953.

Across estuary from Lisbon, 1953

Lisbon. Apartment houses and hearse, 1953

Lisbon. Arch in Old Square on waterfront, 1953

Lisbon. Avenida da Liberdade, 1953

Lisbon. Avenida da Liberdade, 1953

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Stunning Portrait of a Young Woman Smiling, ca. 1880

Photographed by Carlos Relvas (1838–1894), a pioneer of amateur photography in Portugal.

Carlos Relvas was born in the Outeiro Palace, in Golegã, a small village in the rural province of Ribatejo in Portugal. His father, José Farinha Relvas de Campos was one of the wealthiest landowners in Ribatejo. He was educated by private tutors in science and foreign languages, namely French.

Of an artistic disposition, he soon turned to photography. In 1876, he had an opulent atelier built in one of his properties in Golegã, and bought several of the most modern photographic apparatuses from all over Europe. His photographic works became very well known and highly valued in Portugal: it did not take long until Carlos Relvas was considered the finest amateur photographer in the country. He became a member of the Société française de photographie, and many of his photographs were showcased in several exhibitions, both national and abroad, and won many prizes.

Beautiful Life of Portugal in 1977 Through Fascinating Photos

The oldest nation state on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the oldest in Europe, Portugal is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost sovereign state of mainland Europe, being bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The official and national language is Portuguese.

Portugal in 1977 by Eric Huybrechts

Portugal has left a profound cultural, architectural and linguistic influence across the globe, with a legacy of around 250 million Portuguese speakers, and many Portuguese-based creoles. It is a developed country with an advanced economy and high living standards.

Additionally, this country is highly placed in rankings of moral freedom (2nd), peacefulness (3rd), democracy (7th), press freedom (10th), stability (15th), social progress (18th), and prosperity (26th). A member of the United Nations and the European Union, Portugal was also one of the founding members of NATO, the eurozone, the OECD, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

These fascinating photos were captured by Eric Huybrechts that documented everyday life of Portugal in 1977.

Coimbra. Rio Mondego

Figueira da Foz

Foz-do-Arelho

Guarda. A shy little girl

Guarda. Watching the time go by...on a stone

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Before the Carnation Revolution, 34 Fascinating Photos Capture Street Scenes of Portugal in 1970

The Carnation Revolution, also known as the 25 April, was initially a 25 April 1974 military coup in Lisbon which overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime. The revolution began as a coup organized by the Armed Forces Movement, composed of military officers who opposed the regime, but it was soon coupled with an unanticipated, popular civil resistance campaign.

The revolution led to the fall of the Estado Novo, terminated the Portuguese Colonial War, and started a revolutionary process that would result in a democratic Portugal.

Its name arose from the fact that almost no shots were fired, and Celeste Caeiro offered carnations to the soldiers when the population took to the streets to celebrate the end of the dictatorship; other demonstrators followed suit, and carnations were placed in the muzzles of guns and on the soldiers’ uniforms.

In Portugal, 25 April is a national holiday which commemorates the revolution.

Before the Carnation Revolution, these fascinating photos were taken by lindsaybridge that show street scenes of Portugal in June 1970.

 Coimbra. Street scenes, 1970

 Coimbra. Street scenes, 1970

Coimbra. Changing trains, 1970

Coimbra. Train station, 1970

Coimbra. Tram passed thru Aquaduct, 1970

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25 Color Photos of Lisbon in the Early 1950s

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast.

Lisbon in 1953

Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost portions of its metro area form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, which is known as Cabo da Roca, located in the Sintra Mountains.

Lisbon is recognised as an alpha-level global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. It is one of two Portuguese cities (alongside Porto) to be recognised as a global city.

Lisbon is one of the major economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector and one of the largest container ports on Europe's Atlantic coast. It is also one of the oldest cities in the world, and the second-oldest European capital city (after Athens).

These color photos from Found Slides that captured street scenes of Lisbon in 1953.

Across estuary from Lisbon

Apartment houses and hearse

Arch in old square on waterfront

Avenue of Liberty

Avenue of Liberty

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24 Amazing Vintage Photos of Portuguese Women From the Azores Islands in Their Tradition Hooded Capes

The Azorean hood (in Portuguese, ‘capote e capelo’) is a traditional Azorean garment worn up until the 1930s. A large cape that covered a woman’s figure, allowing only a glimpse of her face, the origin of the ‘capote-e-capelo’ is controversial. Some say that it came from Flanders and others state that it is an adaptation of mantles and cowls that were fashionable in Portugal in the 17th and 18th centuries. Regardless, for centuries the ‘capote-e-capelo’ was a typically Azorean woman’s garment used in Faial.

Varying from island to island in the cut of the cape and the arrangement of the cowl, Faial had the extravagant shape of a wedge resting on the shoulders and which jutted out in front for over a palm. The common characteristic of the ‘capote-e-capelo’ was that it was made of a strong, heavy electric-blue cloth that lasted for generations and was handed down from mothers to daughters.

People from Flanders settled in the Azores beginning in 1450. By 1490, there were 2,000 Flemings living in the islands of Terceira, Pico, Faial, Sao Jorge, and Flores and because there was such a large Flemish settlement, the Azores became known as the Flemish Islands or the Isles of Flanders. The settlement extended over the 15th and 16th centuries with Flemish, Genovese, British and French joining the people of Portugal mainland in the Azores islands.

Besides other cultural contributions, the foreigners introduced woad in the islands. Woad was a yellow-flowered European plant of the cabbage family. It was formerly grown in Britain as a source of blue dye, which was extracted from the leaves after they had been dried, powdered and fermented. The export of this dye plant became one of the pillars of the Azorean economy. Whaling also played a central role in the economy of the islands. The first documentary reference to the capture of whales in the waters of the Azores goes back to the 16th century and the presence of English whalers was documented in the 18th century.

In Mark Twain’s book Innocents Abroad (1869), he makes a ‘fashion review’ of the Azorean Hood: “Here and there in the doorways we saw women with fashionable Portuguese hoods on. This hood is of thick blue cloth, attached to a cloak of the same stuff, and is a marvel of ugliness. It stands up high, and spreads abroad, and is unfathomably deep. It fits like a circus tent, and a woman’s head is hidden away in it like the man’s who prompts the singers from his tin shed in the stage of an opera.”

Here, we gathered some photos of some of them for you to see the various shape and sizes.

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32 Fascinating Photos That Show the Tram System of Porto in the 1970s

In 1872, the Companhia Carril Americano do Porto à Foz e Mattosinhos (CCAPFM) opened the first mule tram line in Porto, connecting Rua dos Inglezes (nowadays Infante) with Foz (Castelo) and Matosinhos.

In the next year, a branch line from Massarelos to Cordoaria was opened. A second company, the Companhia Carris de Ferro do Porto (CCFP) (the Porto Tramways Company), was established in 1873, and it opened a line from Praça Carlos Alberto via Boavista to Foz (Cadouços) in 1874. More lines were added through the 1870s until the 1890s.

The tram system of Porto in the 1970s

CCAPFM and CCFP merged on 13 January 1893, using the latter's name for the resulting company. Electric traction was introduced in 1895. The last mule-drawn car was retired in 1904, and electrification was complete with the elimination of urban steam engines in 1914.

In 1946, the city purchased the tram system from CCFP and took over its operation, with a new municipal company, Serviço de Transportes Colectivos do Porto (STCP). By 1949, it reached its maximum length of 81 kilometers with 150 kilometers track length.

The 1960s and the 1970s were marked by a continuous dismantling of tram tracks and a preference for cheaper bus transport. The system shrank from 81 kilometers with 192 cars in 1958, to 38 kilometers with 127 cars in 1968, to 21 kilometers with 84 cars in 1978, to just 14 kilometers with 16 cars in 1996. The last remaining line (18) was the start of the current heritage tram system.

These fascinating photos from Guy that show what the the tram system of Porto looked like in the 1970s.

Porto STCP 167, a 1934 Brill 28 type 4-wheel semi convertible tram on Rua dos Martires da Liberdade on route 8 to Paranhos on 11 June 1974

Porto STCP 210, a 1940 CCFP built Brill 28 type 4-wheel semi convertible tram at Amial crossover on route 7 from Batalha to Sao Mamede on 10 June 1974

STCP 113, a 1908 locally built 4-wheel tram shunting at Boavista Depot on 11 June 1974

STCP 122, a JG Brill built 4-wheel semi convertible tram probably of 1912, turns at Praca de Liberdade in front of Avenida do Aliados on 12 June 1974

STCP 129, a 1910 Brill 23 semi convertible platforma salao 4-wheel tram, turning from Rua da Boavista into Travessa Figueiroa to Praca on 12 June 1974

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43 Color Snaps That Capture Everyday Life of Lisbon in the 1960s

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal. Its urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. It is continental Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast.

Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost areas of its metro area form the westernmost point of Continental Europe.

Lisbon is also one of the oldest cities in the world, and the oldest in Western Europe, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris and Rome by centuries. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbon's status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal.

Make a trip back to Lisbon more than 50 years ago to see what the city looked like in the 1960s.

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