In Lisbon and Porto you can do sport without a gym membership: parks and sports halls host free sessions, and beginners come along too. Foreigners can take part, and for people who have recently moved, these meetups are also a way to make friends they have a reason to see regularly. Xpat.Land has gathered such activities in both cities, from walks and yoga to skateboarding lessons. For some you can simply turn up; for others you need to sign up in advance. The rules don’t mention Portuguese citizenship or a particular type of residence permit, and if it matters to you, check with the organiser which language the sessions are held in. Bear in mind that district programmes sometimes have age conditions and give priority to local residents.
Lisbon
Running and Walking in Company
If you’d like to start running but can’t yet picture yourself on a long distance, the Correr Lisboa community has a beginners’ group, Primeiro KM. You don’t need to be able to run a kilometre beforehand: participants alternate walking with easy running and simple exercises. A session lasts about 50 minutes, and one of the first goals can be just five minutes of running without stopping. The group is also meant for people who have tried to start before and given up, or who are coming back after a break.
For those who already run, there are other formats, from runs through city streets and up staircases to training on forest trails. Besides running groups, the project’s programme includes walking, Pilates and functional training. The sessions vary in intensity and length: Pilates, for example, takes about 45 minutes, and a group walk about an hour.
The community’s motto is “Nobody runs alone”, and socialising matters a lot here: the shared WhatsApp group has around five hundred members. Sponsors keep the sessions free. Groups train in different parts of the city, including Monsanto and Parque das Nações.
The place and time of each meetup are listed in the schedule, which is also where you sign up; if you are coming with friends, each person registers separately. Under the community’s rules, the sessions are recommended for people over 16, and minors need to agree their participation with the organisers. For Pilates you’ll need a mat or a towel.
In Olivais you can also find company for evening walks: Olivais By Night groups meet on weekdays at 20:45 and walk around the district from 21:00 to 22:00. They have several meeting points, including outside the parish council and the library; the exact addresses are on the programme’s page.
Yoga, Qigong and Fitness
In Arroios you can come to your first yoga class without even signing up: on Saturdays from 10:00 to 11:00, just bring your own mat to Campo dos Mártires da Pátria park.
On Sundays from 09:00 to 11:00, a free personal trainer works at the outdoor fitness area in the same park. The trainer helps people use the equipment and do exercises for strength, endurance, flexibility and joint mobility.
The Arroios parish council says the project came about because people often train here on their own and don’t always do the exercises correctly. So it brought in a specialist you can ask for help without a membership or a booking.
On weekdays Arroios also has walking and general fitness sessions: on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 09:30 to 10:30, at the district sports ground Polidesportivo de Arroios. The programme combines walks with functional exercises, so it suits those who want to move regularly but aren’t planning to run yet. Sessions are free, and no sign-up is needed.
The school of traditional Chinese medicine at Rua de Dona Estefânia, 175 offers gentle exercise with breathing practice at its open qigong sessions. They are led by students finishing the instructor course. The next sessions are on 24 and 31 October, from 10:00 to 12:00; the website has a sign-up form and a calendar up to July 2027.
The Olivais parish council invites residents to Zumba and functional training. Zumba takes place on Saturdays from 10:00 to 11:00 in Vale do Silêncio park, and functional training on Mondays and Wednesdays from 19:00 to 19:45 on the Sarah Afonso school field.
Here you do need to plan ahead: the application form has to be submitted at least a week before the first session, registration is for one month at a time, and priority goes to people who live in the district. The parish council can help you fill in the form.
Classes for People Aged 55 and Over
For those aged 55 and over, the city runs Lisboa +55, a programme of free gymnastics, dance, Pilates and yoga. It is open to people who live or work in Lisbon. The programme lasts from September to July, but each group has its own timetable and set of classes — you can find out about the nearest one at your parish council or the municipal sports department.
In Olivais the parish council also organises free gymnastics for people aged 55 and over: on Mondays in Vale do Silêncio and on Thursdays on Alameda da Encarnação, from 09:00 to 09:45.
For Those Who Prefer to Train on Their Own
If fitting in with a group doesn’t work for you, you can find the nearest outdoor fitness equipment on the municipality’s map.
In Campolide, for example, equipment has been installed in Bela Flor park next to a picnic area and a playground, so a workout can be combined with a family walk. Jardim do Recolhimento, in the historic centre, has both exercise equipment and a viewpoint over the Tagus. In Beato you can train under a roof: the Mata da Madre de Deus area on Largo da Madre de Deus is open free of charge every day from 08:00 to 20:00, with no booking.
If you’d rather move around the city than train in one place, Correr Lisboa has a free challenge covering all 24 of Lisbon’s parishes. For each parish, a route of at least five kilometres counts: the start and finish must be within its boundaries, as must at least one kilometre of the route. You can walk or run. You choose the time, the route and the company yourself, and confirm the result with a GPS track. A free account is all you need to take part; separately, the programme sells T-shirts and other merchandise.
Porto
Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi on Saturdays
In Porto you can attend yoga, Pilates and tai chi for free through the city’s Dias com Energia programme, open to people of any age and fitness level. In summer the groups meet in parks, and from October to May they move into sports halls.
The Saturday schedule is as follows:
| Sports hall | Classes |
|---|---|
| Fontes Pereira de Melo | Pilates — 09:00; yoga — 10:00; tai chi — 11:00 |
| Viso | Tai chi — 09:30; yoga — 11:00 |
| Lagarteiro | Yoga — 09:30 |
| Pêro Vaz de Caminha | Pilates — 09:00; yoga — 10:00 |
To take part, you need to register on the Portal do Desporto and sign up for the class you want; bring a mat with you.
Walks and Orienteering
In Porto you can join Domingos em Forma, Sunday walks with exercises. The walks are led by physical education specialists with support from health workers, and the programme also includes exercises guided by an instructor. Look for current meetups and sign-up on the Portal do Desporto, in the section on physical activity programmes.
For walking on your own, Parque da Cidade, Parque do Covelo and Parque de São Roque have permanent orienteering routes. On the website of the municipal company Ágora you can download the route maps for free and then look for the checkpoints marked on them. With these maps you can walk around the park at your own pace, alone or with company.
Learn to Skateboard
At Ramalde skatepark, instructors teach adults and children over six to skate for free. You can start from scratch or keep learning if you already have some experience. You don’t need to buy a board and protective gear before your first lesson — they hand out both on site.
Lessons run on Mondays and Thursdays from 17:30 to 19:30, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 12:00. You also sign up through the Portal do Desporto, but there is a limit: up to two lessons a week, and only one of them can fall on a weekend. Each lesson has twenty places. The organisers recommend comfortable clothes and flat-soled trainers. If you’ve signed up but can’t make it, let them know in advance: miss a lesson without warning and your access to booking is suspended for a week.
