Lisbon Salon

Conversation, culture, and shared presence in the city.

Lisbon welcomes Glainne for a weekend salon shaped by dialogue, reflection, and the particular rhythm of the city. Gathered in intimate spaces across Bairro Alto and Chiado, participants come together for focused conversation, shared meals, and moments of cultural exchange.

Lisbon · November 13–15, 2026

On this salon

The Lisbon Salon brings together a small group for two days and evenings of conversation and shared company. It is designed for those who value exchange that is thoughtful but unforced — where discussion moves naturally, and connection develops without choreography.

This is not a conference or a retreat. Participants remain embedded in the city, moving between shared moments and personal space, allowing Lisbon itself to remain part of the experience.

Lisbon as host

Lisbon offers contrast: light and shadow, movement and pause, history layered into daily life. The salon unfolds across carefully chosen venues — cafés, cultural spaces, and gathering rooms selected for character rather than spectacle.

The city is never background. It shapes the tone of conversation, the pace of the days, and the feeling of arrival and departure.

Shape of the weekend

The salon opens on Friday evening with a welcome gathering and shared dinner.

Saturday moves between guided conversation, time in the city, and a longer evening together — allowing discussion to continue across settings and moods.

Sunday concludes late morning, leaving space for departure, return, or lingering in Lisbon.

The weekend is structured, but never dense.

Presence is encouraged. Rest is respected.

In conversation with Two Bad Tourist

A conversation about queer travel, culture, and gathering.

Contributors

The Lisbon Salon includes a small group of invited contributors whose work centers conversation, culture, and reflection.

Paul Burston

Ebrahim Elmoly

David McAlmont

Paul McVeigh


Each brings a distinct way of holding space — through conversation, creative practice, or attentive presence.

Practical details

  • Dates: November 13–15, 2026

  • Group size: Intentionally limited

  • Accommodation: Boutique hotel in central Lisbon

  • Meals: All meals during the salon included

  • Participation: By registration.

  • 15:00–16:30
    Salon Arrivals & Check-in

    Guests arrive, settle in, and begin transitioning into the shared rhythm of the Salon.

    16:30–19:00
    Welcome and Opening Gathering
    Hosted by David McAlmont

    David formally opens the Salon, introducing the spirit of the weekend and guiding the first shared conversation. This opening establishes the tone—intimate, reflective, and grounded in presence.

    19:00–21:30
    Evening Break

    Time to rest, reflect, or explore Lisbon at your own pace.

    21:30 onward
    Welcome Dinner

    The first shared meal together—where conversation begins to deepen and the group begins to take shape.

  • Morning

    Breakfast (at your own pace)

    10:00–12:00
    Where Have You Belonged?
    Led by Paul Burston and Paul McVeigh

    A guided exploration of memory, identity, and the places—physical or emotional—that have shaped each of us.

    12:30–14:00
    Mapping in Blue
    With Ebrahim ElMoly

    Guests contribute to a shared artistic work that will evolve across the weekend, alongside written reflections shaped by the conversations and experiences of the Salon.

    Afternoon

    Lunch

    16:00–18:00
    Rooms That Held Us

    A continuation of the shared exploration—examining the spaces, moments, and encounters that formed how we understand ourselves and how we are seen.

    Evening

    Time for rest, reflection, or informal connection

    21:00–23:30
    Closing Dinner

    A final shared table—celebratory, reflective, and open.

    Late Evening (Optional)
    Informal exploration of Lisbon’s nightlife

  • Breakfast

    10:00–11:00
    The Azulejo Tapestry

    The unveiling of the collaborative artwork and written reflections created across the weekend. Like an azulejo tapestry—formed from individual tiles into a unified whole—this moment reveals how individual presence becomes collective expression.

    11:00–12:00
    Departures

The Cartography of Belonging Itinerary

An intimate weekend of conversation, art, and shared discovery—set within Lisbon, a city shaped by layered histories, reinvention, and quiet forms of belonging.

For those arriving early

Some participants choose to arrive in Lisbon a day ahead of the salon.

For those who do, Glainne will host an optional, intimate walking experience exploring the city’s layered queer history — offered as a gentle way to arrive, meet one another, and settle into the weekend together.

Participation is optional. Details are shared separately.

Early Arrival: Lisbon

Explore participation

The Lisbon Salon is offered as a chapter — a moment of gathering shaped by place, people, and time.

Those who join do so not for spectacle or outcome, but for the pleasure of being present together.

Request Details