Private Tour - African History In Lisbon

This was an amazing tour! The tour was packed with so much history and information about how Africans and slavery are woven into every aspect of Portugal culture. Filipa was so passionate and knowledgeable about the history here, and ensured that we gained as much knowledge as possible during our time together! Highly recommend! We scheduled this one at the beginning of our 2-week vacation. Great way to start your Portugal journey!

This was an absolutely amazing tour. Our guide Philipa was knowledgeable and passionate which enhanced her delivery. She was so patient and transparent in responding to all our many, many questions. The tour left us wanting to know more - could have spent the entire day with her. This tour provided a nice mix of history and contemporary understanding of the culture. The stopping points also highlighted the beauty of the city’s architecture and neighborhoods. Travelers should know this is a very physical tour ~ lots of walking but well Worth it! Our friends went the next day and had the same wonderful experience. Just. EXCELLENT!

Excellent tour. Our guide was outstanding. I have already recommended the tour to two sets of friends.

Our guide, Flippa, was outstanding. She provided valuable historical insight into Lisbon and Portugal, highlighting the significant contributions of enslaved Africans to the country’s history, culture, and development.

Our tour guide Filipa was friendly and able to answer all of our questions and provide context. The walk wasn’t too bad. Would definitely recommend for history nerds. She was able to provide a lot of historical context to past and present Portugal.

Filipia gives a phenomenal walking tour of Lisbon. She is not just knowledgeable about the history of Africans in Portugal, she is extremely passionate about how their contributions and disenfranchisement is still relevant in Lisbon and other Portuguese territories today. She also knows the city like the back of her hand so I recommend doing her tour early during your visit so she can show you the elevators/lifts that make navigating the city easier. This tour is a must for people who want to understand the entire story of Portugal.

Filipa was an amazing guide. I appreciated how she explained the history thoroughly and in an engaging way and connected it to the present. The views were beautiful and the walking was relaxing.

Myself, my partner and adult child took this private tour on a beautiful warm day. Filipa, our guide met us at the door of the Rossio station with a welcoming smile, and thus began an engaging 3 hour tour where Filipa led us through a little known and appreciated aspect of the history of Lisbon- the contribution of Africans to this city. Filipa is passionate about her work, to educate the public to the voice of the unsung whose echoes lie in the very steps of some of the most visible locations in downtown Lisbon. I highly recommend this tour if you’re willing to go beyond the typical and learn the forgotten, and at times unsavory história de Lisboa. And if you can, cap the experience with a meal at one of Lisbon’s Afro-Portuguese restaurants recommended by Filipa. We had lunch at Mambo, and I can genuinely say it was one of the friendliest, warmest meal services I ever had anywhere in the world!

An eye opening and emotional experience. Filipa was amazing and very knowledgeable. She did such an awesome job taking you through the revolutionary experience. I would take her tour again and highly recommend. If your trip brings you anywhere near Lisbon, consider booking with Filipa ❤️

Filipina introduced me to a well-researched and historically integrated history of Portugal (generally) and Lisboa specifically! I was awed by her command of so much history that centers the integral African contributions to the Portuguese culture. Our tour was so thorough that I spent the rest of my week revisiting all the places on our tour for closer exploration. I will definitely return to Lisbon as a result of one of the finest “welcome to my country” tours I’ve ever experienced.

This was a highly informative walking tour highlighting the African experience and impact in Portugal. Filippa was very well versed on the history as well as passionate about the topic. I really enjoyed that it was a private tour- just the two of us- which allowed for more in depth discussion and questions. I would definitely recommend this experience if you are looking to explore Lisbon from a different perspective.

Our guide was very thorough and able to provide a different perspective to the culture of Lisbon and Portugal.

I enjoyed learning the African history of Lisbon. The route was perfect and I appreciate having a book to show the before and after. Filipa was very knowledgeable and I recommend this tour

Filipa was so lovely and warm and very knowledgeable about this history - we saw many landmarks and learned about key historical figures and we also had some amazing discussions about history and current affairs over coffee and pastel de natas. I left wanting to research more about what I had learnt that day. Thank you Filipa! I will be back for more!

This tour with Filipa was one of the best I have been on. She was friendly, informative and thoughtful in her analysis of the experience of African people in Lisbon, and Portugal as a whole since the start of Portugal’s existence. She also incorporated other groups of people and events in Portugal’s history into her analysis of the African experience then and now. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone and feel that it complimented tours I have taken in other countries but also more than stands on its own. I thank Filipa so much for providing this perspective!

An eye opening experience in learning African history in Lisbon!! Spending the morning on the walking tour throughout downtown Lisbon with Filipa, gave me a deeper insight on the contributions and struggles of Africans within Portuguese society dating back to the 16th century to present day. During the tour, she answered our questions with relative ease and provided historical information to serve as a visual aid to support her position. I recommend tourists to book a tour with Filipa to learn the African history of Portugal for it was well worth the cost! You will not regret the experience for persons will walk away with a different outlook on life!

excellent tour, Filipa the guide was patient when I ran a few minutes late due to lunch taking longer than expected. She was very enjoyable to talk to, knowledgeable, and I learned a lot about the city.

Filipa was AMAZING! So knowledgeable! She really put the right history in perspective on this tour with gentle empathy & brilliant knowledge. She just really gave us a wonderful taste of Lisbon and did not mind taking extra time for us! Would highly recommend this tour with her, despite having thought what is a blond blue eyed lady doing giving this tour- couldn’t have been more perfect!! She lives & feels her countries history from a balanced perspective!

My husband and I took this tour last week and had a great time with Filipa. Filipa is super passionate about her city, and she led us on an interesting walking tour around Lisbon. She focused the tour on the role that the Portuguese expeditioners played in the development of the African slave trade. The Portuguese “explorers” were great boatsmen who have been described as “discoverers,” but this glorifies them without acknowledging how their expeditions eventually shaped much of Europe’s view on slavery and its perspective on race relations. Filipa had a book with historical newspaper articles, diary excerpts, and pictures depicting life in Lisbon at the time of these expeditions, and even the shock of many Portuguese nationalists when the Africans first arrived in chains. Really fascinating! We visited an area where slaves would have first marched off the ships at port in Lisbon, we visited the city square where many African slaves would have been sold. We discussed how and why certain areas in the city still serve as a stronghold for modern day Africans. She interestingly pointed out a stature of Pai Paulino near the cathedral, who was an African Brazilian and a former slave who bought his own freedom and then became an important activist for the African community. Sadly, I had taken a prior city tour two days before with no mention of this statue nor anything else regarding Portugal’s role in slavery, which needs to be acknowledged as a simple fact. This was really an enlightening and important historical tour that still managed to be fun as strolled all around the city. The tour was well paced and covered most of the main city highlights and look out points while adding this fresh perspective on the African history of Portugal. Filipa was sure to fine shaded areas for us to stand in to avoid the heat, and she took elevators or shortcuts when possible, making the walk easy and not strenuous despite the hills in Lisbon. We stopped for coffee, water, and pastel de natas halfway through the tour at a nice hilltop cafe. I cannot praise Filipa enough! If ever in Lisbon again, I would definitely seek her out to try her food tour or a tuk tuk tour of the city. Highly recommended!

This was a very interesting tour. I learned a lot about the African influence on Lisbon. She made the tour very enjoyable with her knowledge as well as her friendly personality.

Sometimes historical walking tours — especially the darker side of history — can feel daunting, but Filipa was different. She was engaging, informative, and considerate. She treated us to coffee and pastries halfway through, and accommodated questions and additional stops

It was perfect the tour guides were very exceptional and knowledgeable and was the best and good at what they do

The tour guide Filipa was amazing. She’s very friendly and informative. She helped give a great perspective of Lisbon, Portugal as a whole and the history of who, how and what built Portugal. Very knowledgeable about the African slave trade and the history of what brought the Africans to Portugal and the important role they played and continue to play in the country. Absolutely loved every moment of this tour and recommend to anyone visiting Lisbon with a quest for knowledge of some African history.

Filipa was so kind and pleasant. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about the history of African people on Lisbon and Portugal. The experience was enjoyable and it was a comfortable walk.

Love this tour. Filipa is knowledgeable and gives a fabulous and engaging tour. She told the story of Lisbon from the perspective of the enslaved people as we visited each monument and landmark. With the private nature of the tour, I was able to engage in thoughtful conversations. One of the best tours as her passion and commitment show.

Filipa was an excellent tour guide. We learned a great deal about the history of Africans in Portugal. She also shared a lot about the culture and way of life in Portugal. We especially enjoyed our coffee break with the custard pies - delicious.

Filipa was a great guide in this tour exploring the forgotten history of Africans in Portugal and the slave trade. I learned of many great people who have no statues or memorials of their contributions (except for Pai Paulino) to the building up of Portugal. Filipa communicated perfectly and planned a great stop to enjoy pasteles nata (sp). We saw the ancient amphitheater ruins and ended along the water near the square. Great experience.

Filipa is an excellent guide with passion for the subject matter. She provided information with honesty and compassion. Everything came to life as Filipa connected all the dots with facts, not just what appears on the surface like most tours. I came away wanting to research to gain more knowledge. You do not want to miss this gem!! I recommend filtering to easily locate it in the tour listing's, you will not be disappointed.

The guide was nice but her english was poor. The group complained that they could not understand what she was saying most of the time and that they had to do their own research. Group was also disappointed that the African experience was not led by someone of african origin. Would not recommend

Touring with Felipa was great. She was knowledgeable and informative of the history of Lisbon, Portugal. She was kind and considerate as it relates to our level of comfort. She also treated us to lunch at one of the historical cafes in the commercial area. Would definitely tour with her again.

A very interesting perspective from a historian who realized that not just the people of Portugal need to talk about the African History in Lisbon, but also the tourists should hear the history as well.

I was travelling alone, so I was lucky enough to get a private tour, moving at our own pace. Filipa is very knowledgeable and empathetic. She is very easy to warm up to and made me feel comfortable right away. I thoroughly enjoyed my tour and I would highly recommend this to anyone planning a trip to Lisbon. Bring a hat and comfortable shoes with good traction; there is a small amount of uphill/downhill walking on slippery cobblestone.

Filipa was a delight; very knowledgeable with a warm personality. I thoroughly enjoyed my tour and I would highly recommend this to anyone planning a trip to Lisbon.

Very good tour. Very knowledgeable and super professional and responsive. Even walked our group to our wine tasting tour that started after their tour end which was awesome. I definitely recommend.

The guide was extremely informative and knowledgeable about Lisbon's history and the role the city and the country of Portugal played in the enslavement of African peoples.

Filipa was so knowledgeable about the African history in Lisbon. I could really see her passion to share the knowledge and desire to educate. She took me places that I ordinarily would not have gone on my own and now I have been there plus know it’s history. Very nice person! Glad to have met her! Thank you