City of Spies Walking Tour

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Duration: 2h 30m
Location: Lisbon, Portugal | Lisbon, Portugal


Category: Tours & Sightseeing

Highlights:
Insight into Lisbon's role as a nest of spies during WWII
Famous spy hotels like the Hotel Palacio & Hotel Valkyrie
Intriguing stories of real spies & double agents like Garbo
Known spy hideouts in Lisbon's cobbled streets &alleyways
Local & knowledgeable guide provides in-depth commentary

Inclusions:
Guided walking tour of Lisbon city center
Live tour commentary provided in English

Description:

Discover the secret, stealthy side of Lisbon as you step into an era of espionage, learning about the city's World War II role as a veritable nest of spies. Learn about this period's notable figures as you follow your guide through the hidden alleyways where they rendezvoused during war time.

Meet your guide at Comércio Square and start your walking adventure through the Lisbon's storied cobblestone streets. During World War II Lisbon remained a neutral zone, and with its strategic proximity to the Atlantic it soon became a hotbed of both Allied and Axis spies. Hear stories about the days when “spy fever” gripped Portugal and explore hotels like the Hotel Palacio, where British agents sipped martinis Bond-style—shaken, not stirred—and the Hotel Valkyrie, where agents conspired to assassinate Hitler.

It wasn't just spies who sought sanctuary on Lisbon's neutral ground. Europeans seeking escape to America from the war-torn continent also found themselves in the seaside city, awaiting visas to cross the Atlantic. Your guide explains the influence of these refugees on fashion trends and popular culture—the “flight to Lisbon” was referenced in the movie Casablanca—at a time when everyone in Lisbon was being watched.

As you pass by strategic hideouts that riddle the city center, your guide tells you about the real James Bond and the exploits of double agent Joan Pujol Garcia, who built a fictitious network of spies under the code names Garbo and Arabel.