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Portuguese tiles, known as azulejos, are a significant part of Portugal‘s colorful, ancient history. On this walking tour you will see some of Lisbon’s most famous architectural structures in the historical neighborhoods of Graça and Alfama.
Along the way, we will learn about the history of these tiles – whose blue color comes from cobalt pigments and was influenced by the porcelain designs of China’s Ming Dynasty – and find out why they‘re so ubiquitous in Lisbon.
As you walk, you‘ll hear how Byzantine and Roman mosaics inspired the creation of azulejos. You‘ll find out about the cultural and historical connections between the Iberian Peninsula and the Arab world during the Middle Ages, and how this is reflected in the design and lay-out of the tiles, walls and art works.
Bert will also tell you how ceramics production during the Industrial Revolution led to tiles and other ceramic objects becoming a part of day-to-day life in Portugal.
By the end of this hour-long tour, you‘ll have a deeper appreciation for the artistry and craftsmanship behind Portuguese tiles, or azulejos.
MORE INFO Lisbon’s Iconic Tiles: A Walking Tour
ABOUT VoiceMap drapes stories over statues and paints them onto walls. It pins them to art, plants them in national parks, and anchors them like buoys in busy rivers. Then, when you come along, there they are, neatly tied together by audio walks, cycles, drives, train trips and boat rides.
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My background spans the humanities and the history of ideas and architecture. I have spent years studying how this small, Atlantic-facing city became the hinge of three continents — how its churches absorbed the wealth of spices and souls, how its tiles told stories the illiterate could read, how its poets turned longing into an entire philosophy of being.
My clients are academics, collectors, architects, novelists, philanthropists, and curious minds who travel specifically to understand — not merely to see. If you are looking for a tour that moves at the pace of genuine conversation, that answers the questions you haven’t yet thought to ask, and that leaves you feeling you have entered a place rather than merely visited it — we should speak.
Tell me what you’re curious about.
Looking for a tour in the next few days? Get in touch.
Every tour starts with a conversation. Write to me about your interests, your travel dates, your group, and what draws you to Lisbon. I will reply within 24 hours with an initial proposal — and a question or two of my own.
Fill in the formula below or write directly to me bertdemuynck.tourslisboa @ proton.me
