Over the past decade, Lisbon has undergone a dramatic transformation in the eyes of international film and television production companies. From being a relatively overlooked European location to becoming one of the continent’s fastest-growing filming destinations, Lisbon now competes with established production hubs like London, Berlin, and Barcelona for major international projects. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, and other major streamers have discovered that Lisbon offers a combination of assets almost impossible to find in other European cities: world-class architecture spanning centuries, diverse and visually striking neighborhoods, sophisticated production infrastructure, experienced local crews, generous tax incentives, and a remarkably favorable cost structure compared to Western European alternatives. For travelers interested in contemporary filmmaking, streaming production, and the ways global entertainment companies choose filming locations, Lisbon represents a fascinating case study in how 21st-century media geography is reshaping European cities.

The Rise of Portugal as a Filming Destination

Portugal’s emergence as a major production destination didn’t happen overnight, but rather resulted from deliberate policy decisions, the development of local production infrastructure, and the increasing awareness among international production companies that Portugal could offer both quality locations and significant cost savings. Understanding this rise provides context for why so many major streaming productions are now filming in Portugal.

Government Support and Tax Incentives

The Portuguese government has been remarkably strategic in positioning the country as a filming destination. The key policy tool is AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION SUPPORT, a system of tax credits and financial incentives designed to attract international productions:

Tax Credit System:
Portugal offers a 32% transferable tax credit on qualifying production expenditure, with supplementary support available for productions in less-developed regions. For international productions, this means approximately 32% of money spent on production in Portugal can be recovered through tax benefits. For a major production with a budget of €10-20 million, this represents savings of €3-6 million—a significant incentive.

Comparative Costs:
While Portugal offers incentives, the fundamental cost advantage stems from lower labor costs compared to Western Europe. A production in Portugal can hire experienced crews at rates 20-40% lower than equivalent crews in the UK, France, or Germany. Accommodation, catering, equipment rental, and location fees are similarly favorable compared to Western European production centers.

No Currency Advantage (EU Member State):
Unlike countries outside the EU, Portugal doesn’t offer currency exchange advantages since both Portugal and many competing production locations use the Euro. However, labor and service costs remain more favorable.

Production Infrastructure Development

Lisbon’s rise as a filming destination required investment in production infrastructure—facilities, equipment, post-production services, and experienced crews. Over the past 15 years, this infrastructure has developed significantly:

Lisbon Film Studios (Estúdios de Cinema de Lisboa):
Though Lisbon doesn’t have a major studio facility comparable to European production powerhouses, the city has access to Portuguese studios and facilities in surrounding areas. Many productions use outdoor locations and rented warehouse spaces for sets.

Post-Production Services:
Lisbon has developed sophisticated post-production capabilities including color grading, sound mixing, VFX, and other services necessary for high-end television and film production. Companies like Glitch and other post-production facilities have established operations in Portugal.

Equipment Rental and Support Services:
The ecosystem of equipment rental companies, transportation services, catering, locations services, and other production support has grown to serve international productions.

Experienced Local Crews:
Perhaps most importantly, Lisbon has developed a pool of experienced directors of photography, production designers, grips, gaffers, and other skilled crew members who have worked on international productions and understand the standards and workflows of major studios.

Location Advantages: Why Production Companies Choose Lisbon

Beyond tax incentives and cost structure, Lisbon offers specific locational advantages:

Architectural Diversity:
Lisbon provides an extraordinary range of architectural locations within a compact urban area—medieval streets, baroque churches, 18th-century neighborhoods, contemporary architecture, historic palaces, fortress-like structures, industrial areas. This diversity means productions can find varied location options without extensive travel.

Climate and Weather:
Lisbon has approximately 300 days of annual sunshine and mild winters. This predictable weather pattern is valuable for productions with tight schedules—unlike northern European cities with unpredictable weather, Lisbon offers relatively reliable conditions.

Distinct Visual Character:
Lisbon’s distinctive visual character—the terracotta roofs, the blue azulejo tiles, the interplay of historic and contemporary architecture, the dramatic riverside setting—is visually distinctive and immediately recognizable on screen. This visual distinctiveness is valuable for productions seeking to create sense of place.

European Context:
While Lisbon is visually distinctive, it’s also clearly European. Viewers understand it as a European location. This is valuable for productions that want a “European” setting but aren’t tied to a specific European nation.

Doubling Potential:
Lisbon’s varied architecture means it can stand in for other European or Mediterranean locations. Productions needing “a European capital” or “a Mediterranean city” can use Lisbon locations, which expands its utility as a filming destination.

Major Productions Filmed in Lisbon and Portugal

Over the past decade, numerous significant streaming productions have filmed in or chosen Lisbon as a filming location:

Netflix Productions

Godless (2017): This western miniseries filmed in multiple locations including Portugal, though not exclusively in Lisbon. The production utilized Portugal’s landscape and diverse locations.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 4 (2019): While primarily set in New York, this season filmed scenes in various international locations including Portugal.

The Crown (Potential Portuguese Connections): While the primary season filmed for The Crown occurred in the UK, Portugal has served as a location for certain scenes and is increasingly being considered for major prestige productions.

Multiple Documentaries and Limited Series: Netflix has filmed numerous documentary series and limited series throughout Portugal, utilizing Portuguese locations, crews, and post-production facilities.

HBO/Sky Productions

As mentioned in the article about The Young Pope, this major prestige production filmed extensively in Lisbon using the Ajuda National Palace and other locations, representing a significant validation of Lisbon as a production destination for high-budget projects.

Amazon Prime Video Productions

Amazon has filmed multiple projects in Portugal, taking advantage of production incentives and location advantages.

The Algarve: Secondary Filming Hub

While Lisbon is the primary Lisbon-based production hub, the Algarve (southern coastal region) has emerged as a secondary filming location. The Algarve offers:

Coastal Landscapes:
Golden cliffs, dramatic rock formations, pristine beaches, and charming coastal towns provide locations for productions requiring seaside settings.

Lower Costs:
Labor and service costs in the Algarve are even lower than Lisbon, making it attractive for extended shoots.

Tourism Infrastructure:
The Algarve has well-developed tourism infrastructure, making it relatively easy to provide accommodation and services for production crews.

Flexibility for Productions:
Productions requiring both urban environments (Lisbon) and coastal/landscape locations (Algarve) can use both regions within a single project, with minimal travel time (the Algarve is approximately 4 hours south of Lisbon by car).

Casting and Talent Considerations

As Lisbon has emerged as a production hub, it has become easier for international productions to cast Portuguese actors and to access experienced cinematographers, directors, and other craft professionals from Portugal. This talent pool, while smaller than London or Paris, is sophisticated and experienced. Portuguese actors increasingly appear in major streaming productions, and Portuguese production professionals have gained reputations for quality work on international projects.

The Broader Context: Where is European Production Going?

Lisbon’s rise as a filming destination reflects broader shifts in European media geography. Several factors are driving this:

Decentralization of Production:
Major production companies are increasingly willing to film outside traditional hubs (London, Berlin, Paris) to access better locations, lower costs, and tax incentives. This decentralization is spreading production activity and economic benefits across Europe.

Streaming Wars and Budget Pressures:
Competition among streaming platforms has intensified budget pressures. Finding ways to produce high-quality television at lower costs is crucial. Portugal’s favorable cost structure is attractive in this context.

Post-Production Flexibility:
Modern post-production workflows are increasingly location-agnostic. With digital color grading, sound mixing, and VFX, much post-production work can happen anywhere. This reduces the necessity of filming in traditional production centers.

Tax Incentive Competition:
European nations are increasingly competing through tax incentives to attract production. Portugal’s generous system positions it favorably in this competition. Other European countries are responding with their own incentive programs.

Visiting Lisbon as a Film Tourist: Production Sites and Considerations

For travelers interested in contemporary filmmaking and production, visiting Lisbon as a “film tourist” offers opportunities to see where major productions film:

Specific Locations Being Used:

Central Lisbon Neighborhoods:
Major productions frequently film in neighborhoods like Chiado, Bairro Alto, and the riverfront areas. Walking through these neighborhoods, you’ll see evidence of filming: marked parking zones, location scouts, occasionally active filming.

Belém District:
As noted in the article about The Young Pope, Belém remains a frequently-filmed location for both historical dramas and contemporary productions.

Alcântara Waterfront:
The industrial Alcântara waterfront area, with its bridges, industrial structures, and river views, has been used in multiple productions and is increasingly being considered for major shoots.

Production Company Offices:

Major production companies and local production services companies maintain offices in central Lisbon, though these aren’t typically open to tourists. However, their presence indicates active production activity.

Contemporary Filmmaking Culture:

Lisbon’s emergence as a production hub has created a growing film community—film schools, production companies, post-production facilities, and crews. While not as established as London’s or Berlin’s film scenes, Lisbon’s growing film culture is evident in independent cinemas, film festivals, and creative communities.

The Economic and Urban Impact of Film Production

Lisbon’s transformation into a major filming destination has had significant economic and urban impacts:

Economic Benefits:
Direct spending on productions (crew accommodation, equipment rental, location fees, catering) injects significant money into the local economy. Indirect benefits include equipment rental companies expanding, local restaurants seeing increased custom from production crews, and increased tourism as people visit locations they’ve seen on screen.

Urban Development:
Film production has incentivized the preservation and renovation of historic neighborhoods. The financial value of these locations for filming has contributed to preservation efforts and urban renewal.

Cultural Prestige:
Being the location for major international productions contributes to Lisbon’s cultural prestige and international visibility. This benefits tourism and cultural industries beyond just film production.

Gentrification Concerns:
As with other cities experiencing significant investment and cultural development, there are concerns about gentrification—rising rents in neighborhoods that become desirable filming locations, displacement of long-term residents, and changing neighborhood character. This is an ongoing tension in Lisbon’s development.

Practical Information for Production-Interested Travelers

Best Neighborhoods for Production Scouting or Observation:

Chiado: Historic neighborhood frequently used for period pieces and contemporary urban settings. Walking the neighborhood, you’ll see diverse architecture and locations that appeal to productions.

Bairro Alto: Similar to Chiado but even more bohemian; heavily used for contemporary urban settings.

Ribeira: The medieval riverside neighborhood is frequently filmed for period pieces and atmospheric contemporary dramas.

Alcântara/Docks Area: Industrial waterfront, increasingly used for contemporary and science fiction productions.

Belém: Historical district frequently used for period dramas and productions depicting Portuguese history.

Observing or Accessing Active Productions:

Productions filming in Lisbon will typically have location control—areas blocked off with barriers, signs indicating “Closed for Film Production,” and clearly marked crew areas. It’s generally not possible to access active filming unless you have credentials, but observing the production setup from outside the controlled area offers insights into how professional productions operate.

Visiting Production Facilities:

While major production facilities may not be open to casual visitors, Lisbon’s Film School and contemporary art museums sometimes feature exhibitions about film and production. The Cinemateca Portuguesa (discussed in the Portuguese Cinema article) offers access to film culture and archives.

Meeting Local Production Community:

Lisbon has growing film associations, production groups, and networking events. While these are primarily for industry professionals, traveling to Lisbon during film festivals (like Indie Lisboa or Lisbon Docs) offers opportunities to engage with the local film community.

Looking Forward: Will Lisbon Maintain Its Position?

The question facing Lisbon is whether it can maintain its position as a major production hub or whether rising labor and service costs will erode the cost advantages that make it attractive. Several factors will influence this:

Cost Inflation:
As Lisbon becomes more expensive (a natural consequence of economic development and international attention), the cost advantage diminishes. How this impacts production decisions is uncertain.

Infrastructure Development:
Continued investment in production infrastructure, post-production facilities, and crew training will make Lisbon increasingly attractive regardless of cost advantages.

Policy Stability:
Maintaining generous tax incentives and supportive regulatory environment will be crucial for sustaining production interest.

Competition from Elsewhere:
Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria) offer even lower costs than Portugal. These countries may capture budget-sensitive productions, leaving Portugal competing for mid-range and prestige productions.

Local Expertise:
As Lisbon’s reputation grows and local expertise deepens, the city may attract increasingly prestigious productions regardless of cost considerations, similar to how London remains a major hub despite high costs.

Conclusion: Lisbon as a 21st-Century Production Hub

Lisbon’s transformation into a major European production hub represents a significant shift in global media geography. Where television and films are made is not random; it’s determined by complex factors including costs, infrastructure, locations, labor availability, and policy support. Lisbon has strategically positioned itself to be attractive on all these dimensions.

For travelers interested in contemporary filmmaking, visiting Lisbon offers opportunities to see where major streaming productions are being made, to understand how production companies evaluate locations, and to recognize the economic and cultural forces reshaping European cities. You’ll find yourself walking through neighborhoods that are simultaneously historic sites for tourists and active production locations for major entertainment companies.

The next time you watch a Netflix series or HBO production, there’s an increasingly good chance some of those scenes were filmed in Lisbon. And if you’re visiting the city, you might find yourself standing in locations where major productions were filmed, walking through spaces that are simultaneously Portuguese historical sites and contemporary production locations.

That intersection—where history, geography, economics, and contemporary media production converge—is what makes Lisbon such a compelling destination for 21st-century travelers interested in how our media is made and where our stories come from.