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Old photos of Lisbon

40 photographs of Lisbon, from 1898 to 2019 — each pinned to the exact place it was taken.

Streets in Lisbon in 1900 — EU: Portugal-Lisboa-Convento de los Gerónimos-Coro Solsona Rius S.A. (1900) 1900 Streets in Lisbon in 2017 — Lisbon, Portugal (Unsplash HWlrhpN07uU) 2017
Then and now: Streets in Lisbon, 1900 vs 2017
Have an old photo of Lisbon? A family album, a postcard, a print from the attic. Pin it to the map and it becomes part of the record.
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What the photos show

The 40 photographs of Lisbon on PlaceWas span 11 decades, from 1898 to 2019. 21 of them were taken before 1980; the other 19 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.7 spots were photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.37 of the photos carry a written caption explaining what is in the frame. Every picture is pinned to the place it was taken, so the map below shows where the photographers stood.

Pick a decade to filter the photos below and the map above. Open full map ↗

Places in Lisbon through time

Spots photographed more than once — compare the same place across the years.

Streets in Lisbon, Lisbon — photos through time
Streets in Lisbon 21 photos · 1898–2019
EU: Lisboa. Claustros dos Jeronimos. (1920), Lisbon — photos through time
EU: Lisboa. Claustros dos Jeronimos. (1920) 3 photos · 1920–1933
LISBOA CIUDAD VIEJA PANORAMA ALFAMA, Lisbon — photos through time
LISBOA CIUDAD VIEJA PANORAMA ALFAMA 3 photos · 2009
A tram SAM, Lisbon — photos through time
A tram SAM 2 photos · 1939–2014
A turkey from Portugal, Lisbon — photos through time
A turkey from Portugal 2 photos · 2019
São José, Lisboa, Lisbon — photos through time
São José, Lisboa 2 photos · 2019
Tramway Lisbon, Lisbon — photos through time
Tramway Lisbon 2 photos · 2007–2008

Stories from Lisbon

What contributors wrote about these photographs.

EU: Memória Church's dome, Lisbon (1900), Lisbon, 1900
EU: Memória Church's dome, Lisbon (1900) 1900 The dome of the Memória Church rises over Lisbon, Portugal, in this photograph from 1900. Built on the Ajuda hillside, the domed sanctuary was raised to commemorate the site of an eighteenth-century attempt on the life…
EU: Portugal-Lisboa-Convento de los Gerónimos-Coro Solsona Rius S.A. (1900), Lisbon, 1900
EU: Portugal-Lisboa-Convento de los Gerónimos-Coro Solsona Rius S.A. (1900) 1900 This 1900 postcard-style photograph, issued by the Barcelona publisher Solsona Rius, shows the choir of the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon. The Manueline-style monastery stands near the Tagus River in the Belém district…
EU: Lago maior no parque do Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal (1903), Lisbon, 1903
EU: Lago maior no parque do Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal (1903) 1903 Campo Grande, one of Lisbon's principal public parks, has centered since the nineteenth century on a long ornamental lake bordered by tree-lined walks. This 1903 photograph shows the main lake as it appeared in the…
EU: Implantação da República [Militares na Praça do Rossio] (1910), Lisbon, 1910
EU: Implantação da República [Militares na Praça do Rossio] (1910) 1910 Soldiers gather in Lisbon's Rossio Square in this 1910 photograph, taken amid the events surrounding the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic on 5 October of that year, which ended the country's constitutional…
EU: N.º 222 Lisboa - La torre de Belem - Detalle. (1933), Lisbon, 1933
EU: N.º 222 Lisboa - La torre de Belem - Detalle. (1933) 1933 A detail of the Belém Tower is shown in this 1933 photograph, numbered 222 in a series documenting Lisbon, Portugal. The fortified tower stands at the mouth of the Tagus River, built in the early sixteenth century to…
EU: N.º 223 Lisboa - El Tajo visto desde la Torre de Belem. (1933), Lisbon, 1933
EU: N.º 223 Lisboa - El Tajo visto desde la Torre de Belem. (1933) 1933 The Tagus River is seen from the Belém Tower in this 1933 photograph, numbered 223 in a series on Lisbon, Portugal, looking out over the waterway that leads past the city and on to the Atlantic Ocean.
EU: Tower of Belém, Lisbon (1993), Lisbon, 1993
EU: Tower of Belém, Lisbon (1993) 1993 The Tower of Belem on the Tagus River in Lisbon, photographed in 1993. Built in the early 16th century to defend the harbor, it later served as a symbolic gateway for Portuguese explorers and is now a UNESCO World…
Dome in the portuguese architecture, Lisbon, 2013
Dome in the portuguese architecture 2013 A domed building photographed in Lisbon, Portugal. Domes of this kind appear across the Portuguese capital on churches, civic buildings, and monuments built over several centuries of the city's history.
1890s · 1 photo
1900s · 6 photos
1910s · 1 photo
1920s · 1 photo
1930s · 6 photos
1940s · 1 photo
1970s · 5 photos
1980s · 1 photo
1990s · 1 photo
2000s · 7 photos
2010s · 10 photos