Good morning, Lisbon. It's Monday, April 6, and we're looking at 18°C with clear skies. Easter is officially over, the working week is back, and you're about to see everyone you know for the first time since the holiday. Which means you're about to face the question that haunts every expat in Portugal: do I kiss, handshake, or awkwardly hover? Let's get into it.
🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 22 (Good). Back to business.
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THE EXPAT'S GUIDE TO NOT EMBARRASSING YOURSELF AT THE DOOR.
Travel + Leisure just published a piece calling the greeting ritual the single most important etiquette tip for visitors to Portugal. They're not wrong. But for those of us who actually live here, the stakes are higher than a tourist fumbling through a double-kiss at a pastelaria. We see these people again. We work with them. We go to their kids' birthday parties. And every single time, there's a split-second calculation: kiss, handshake, hug, or nod?
Here's the cheat sheet, based on how the Portuguese actually do it.
The standard: two kisses on the cheeks. Right cheek first, then left. This is the default greeting between women, and between men and women, when you know each other socially. They're light touches, not full lip-on-cheek contact. Think brush-and-air-kiss. This is how you greet friends, your partner's friends, neighbours you're on first-name terms with, and pretty much anyone at a social gathering where you've met at least once before.
The exception: one kiss. In parts of Lisbon, particularly among what the Portuguese would describe (with a knowing smile) as the more "posh" crowd, one kiss is the done thing. This creates the single most uncomfortable social micro-moment in Portugal: you go in for the second kiss, and the other person has already pulled away. You're left kissing air, tilting into the void, briefly wondering if you've been socially demoted. It happens to everyone. It will happen to you.
Men greeting men: a handshake. Firm but not aggressive. If you're close friends, it might come with a half-hug and a pat on the back. If you're family, some Portuguese men do the two-kiss thing, but this is family-dependent and you should absolutely not attempt this at a work function.
Professional settings: always a handshake, regardless of gender. Firm, direct eye contact, and use their title. Senhor, Senhora, Doutor, Doutora, Engenheiro. The Portuguese love a good title. When in doubt, go formal. Nobody has ever been offended by being addressed too respectfully.
First time meeting someone socially: this is where it gets genuinely tricky. The other person will usually signal. If they lean in, you kiss. If they extend a hand, you shake. If they do neither, you're both going to stand there for half a second figuring it out, and that's fine. The Portuguese are generous about this. They know it's confusing.
The thing nobody tells you: when you arrive at a group gathering, you're expected to greet every single person individually. Not a wave from across the room. Not a general "ola, pessoal!" from the doorway. You go around the room, person by person, kiss by kiss or handshake by handshake. When you leave, same thing. This can take ten minutes at a large dinner. It can feel excessive to British, American, or northern European sensibilities. But skipping it is noticed, and not in a good way.
And one more rule that will save you: always say hello when entering a shop, cafe, or any small business. A quick "bom dia" or "boa tarde" before you ask for anything is considered basic manners. Not doing it is considered rude. A greeting before a transaction is one of the small things that makes Portuguese culture feel warmer than anywhere else in Europe once you get the hang of it.
Bottom line: the Portuguese greeting system is built on warmth, respect, and a tolerance for the occasional awkward collision of faces. Lean into it. You'll be fine.
Of course, none of this is mandatory. Portugal is a warm culture, but it's also a respectful one. If physical greetings aren't your thing, whether for personal, cultural, or any other reason, most Portuguese people will pick up on that quickly and adjust without making it awkward. A smile and a "bom dia" will always be enough.
⚡ QUICK HITS
Cascais Line disruptions start today. If you commute on the train between Caxias and Cascais, expect disruptions from today. Safety upgrade work means services will be suspended on weekdays between 9:50pm and 2:35am, and on Sundays from 5:30am to 8:40am and 7:50pm to 2:35am. A replacement bus service will run, stopping at Monte Estoril, Estoril, Sao Joao do Estoril, Sao Pedro do Estoril, Parede, Carcavelos, Oeiras, Santo Amaro, and Paco de Arcos. On April 12, the Sao Pedro do Estoril to Cascais section will operate on a single track with platform changes. Check the CP website before you travel.
EES deadline is Friday. The EU's biometric border system goes fully mandatory on April 10. Four days away. If you hold a non-EU passport and you're flying this week, build in extra time.
Citizenship law: still with the President. No timeline for a decision on whether Seguro will sign the revised Nationality Law. Current five-year rule remains in effect.
EasyJet launches Lisbon to Glasgow and Liverpool. New direct routes starting this summer. More options for UK-connected expats.
🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY
Founded by three Danish women, Ida de Matos and twins Helle and Susan Jacobsen, Copenhagen Coffee Lab brought Scandinavian specialty coffee culture to Lisbon and made it stick. The original location on Rua Nova da Piedade in Principe Real is still the best: bright, airy, minimalist, with serious espresso and the kind of cardamom buns that ruin all other pastries for you.
The coffee goes deep. Single-origin filters rotate, the flat whites are consistently excellent, and the baristas actually know what they're talking about. The breakfast plates are generous and well-priced. If you work remotely, the space is laptop-friendly with wifi. It's not a traditional Portuguese cafe and it doesn't pretend to be. It's just a very good coffee shop run by people who care, in a neighbourhood that rewards the walk.
Rua Nova da Piedade 10, Principe Real. Weekdays 8am-7pm, weekends 9:30am-7pm. Cards accepted. €4-7 for coffee and a pastry. copenhagencoffeelab.com
Insider tip: Cardamom bun, flat white, window seat, Monday morning. That will do you good.
📅 WHAT’S ON
Rosalia (Wed April 8) MEO Arena.
EES Deadline (Fri April 10) EU biometric border system goes fully mandatory.
Italian Film Festival opens (Fri April 10) Latest Paolo Sorrentino film. Tribute to Claudia Cardinale. Runs to April 18.
Liberty Day (Sat April 25) Next public holiday.
📜 ON THIS DAY
April 6, 1909. Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, along with four Inuit companions, Ootah, Seegloo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah, became the first confirmed expedition to reach the geographic North Pole. Whether Peary actually stood on the exact spot has been debated for over a century.
What's less debatable is that Henson, an African American explorer who had been Peary's partner on multiple Arctic expeditions, did most of the pathfinding and spoke the Inuit language that made the journey possible. He was largely written out of the story for decades, only receiving formal recognition in 1988 when he was reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery. The Inuit companions were never formally recognised at all. On a Monday morning, that's a useful reminder: the people who do the work and the people who get the credit aren't always the same. Give credit where it's due this week.
See you tomorrow morning.
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