Portuguese Movies & Series

Culture and traditions

Watching movies and series is one of the best ways to learn European Portuguese. We've gone through dozens of options and picked the ones where you'll actually hear Portuguese from Portugal, not Brazilian Portuguese. Most are free to watch and come with Portuguese subtitles, which you can turn on in the video settings. Where subtitles aren't available, we've said so.

Every title on this list is full of everyday vocabulary and natural speech. That's what makes them a great way to get used to how European Portuguese really sounds, whether it's a formal drama or an everyday conversation.

➕ Note: all videos on the RTP website show a registration pop-up. You can dismiss it by registering or logging in, or by clicking outside the pop-up window a few times.

Portuguese drama films

Os Maias (2014)

Where to watch: RTP Play (a series of 4 episodes), YouTube
Subtitles: none. There is a subtitles button on RTP, but the subtitles do not appear.
Why we recommend it: you dive into 19th-century Portuguese life with clear, formal language that is perfect if you want to get used to more formal ways of speaking.

Portuguese comedy films

A Canção de Lisboa (2019)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: this modern remake of a classic comedy shows life in Lisbon with lively and natural dialogue, ideal if you want to get used to faster, more playful Portuguese.
Other notes: suitable for advanced learners. You may also be interested in the original version from 1933, available on YouTube.

O Pátio das Cantigas (1942)

Where to watch: Facebook
Subtitles: auto-generated Portuguese on Facebook.
Why we recommend it: a light and funny look at Lisbon's neighbourhood life, with clear and simple dialogue that fits well if you want to get more comfortable with everyday speech.

Portuguese TV series

Salto de Fé

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: RTP1's own national comedy about a painfully honest young priest sent to increasingly odd parishes. It's currently in its 3rd season and one of RTP's most-watched shows right now. It's funny with everyday spoken Portuguese.

Glória

Where to watch: Netflix
Subtitles: Portuguese and many others
Why we recommend it: a Cold War story set in rural Portugal, with clear dialogue and a steady pace, great if you want to get better at following natural speech.

Cuba Libre

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: a true story full of drama and strong emotions, with clear dialogue, good if you want to get used to real conversations and simple storytelling.

Rabo de Peixe

Where to watch: Netflix
Subtitles: Portuguese and many others
Why we recommend it: the series follows a young fisherman and his friends who find a boat full of cocaine off the coast of the Azorean village of Rabo de Peixe. They soon face the wrath of the dealer who owns it, the police who are after it, and a series of unpredictable events that put their lives at risk. Fast-paced, modern Portuguese with plenty of slang.

Conta-me como foi (seasons 6, 7 and 8)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: a warm family drama that follows one Lisbon household through the years around the revolution, with clear, everyday dialogue. Ideal if you want to get used to ordinary family conversation.

Pôr do Sol

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese, English
Why we recommend it: a funny and light series with modern Portuguese, perfect if you want to get used to everyday expressions and humour.
Other notes: it's a parody of soap operas in general, and Portuguese soap operas in particular, so it gets sillier the more it leans into that.

Bem-vindos a Beirais (seasons 1 to 4)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: none
Why we recommend it: a simple and funny look at village life, with easy-to-follow dialogue that fits well if you want to practise everyday Portuguese.

A Travessia

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: a historical series with clear and steady language, good if you want to hear structured Portuguese while learning about a big moment in history.

Os Filhos do Rock

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: none. There is a subtitles button, but the subtitles do not appear.
Why we recommend it: a look at Portugal's 80s rock scene with lively and natural speech, great if you want to get used to faster conversations and slang.

Os Filhos do Rock, the making of

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: a behind-the-scenes look with real, casual Portuguese, good if you want to practise listening to natural conversations about music and culture.

Desliga a Televisão

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: none. There is a subtitles button, but the subtitles do not appear.
Why we recommend it: a sketch comedy show that parodies Portuguese TV, including a recurring sketch making fun of the soap opera Morangos com Açúcar. Fast and dense, great if you want to push your listening past what subtitles can help with.
Other notes: suitable for advanced learners, since there are no working subtitles.

Portuguese documentaries

Nós, portugueses: nascer para não morrer (part 1)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese. The second part has no subtitles available.
Why we recommend it: shows real stories about Portugal's society with natural speech and accents, ideal if you want to handle more complex listening.

Repovoadores

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese on about half the episodes
Why we recommend it: real interviews with people who left the big cities to restart their lives in small and depopulated Portuguese villages. It's warm, conversational, and grounded in real places around the country.

Visita Guiada (seasons 14 and 15)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese on every episode of season 15
Why we recommend it: Paula Moura Pinheiro takes one building, one place or one work of art each week and tells you its story, speaking slowly and carefully the whole way through. This is the gentlest documentary listening on this page.
Other notes: fourteen seasons are free to watch, going back to 2014. Seasons 14 and 15 are the ones with reliable subtitles, so start there. Episodes run from 25 to 50 minutes.

Linha da Frente

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese on about half the episodes
Why we recommend it: a half-hour report on real life in Portugal today, full of ordinary people speaking at their own speed. Ideal if you are around B1+ and want to move past studio Portuguese.
Other notes: fourteen seasons are available. Check the subtitles button before you settle in, because coverage changes from one episode to the next.

PJ 7

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: none
Why we recommend it: eight episodes of about half an hour on the big cases investigated by the Portuguese Judicial Police, told by the people who worked them. Great if you want to hear how professionals explain their work.
Other notes: suitable for advanced learners, because there are no subtitles and the interviews move quickly.

Portugal Sonhou Até Eusébio Chorar

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: none
Why we recommend it: the story of Portugal's run at the 1966 World Cup and what it meant to a poor country under a dictatorship. A good 51 minutes of narration and archive voices.

Portuguese Soul

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: none
Why we recommend it: the fado singer Gisela João visits the people who work Portuguese leather, cork, rubber and the sea. About 25 minutes an episode, with a warm presenter and plenty of craft vocabulary.

Documentaries about Portugal itself

The Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos makes hour-long documentaries about Portugal itself and puts them on YouTube for free. There is no country restriction, so these play wherever you are, and YouTube lets you slow the speech down while you listen.

They are serious films about serious subjects. Housing, ageing, poverty, work, democracy. If you would rather have castles and countryside, the documentaries above will suit you better.

The whole collection is in one place: Documentários da Fundação.

Our pick of them, all with auto-generated Portuguese subtitles:

💧 Onde está a água?, 59 minutes. Whether Portugal is changing how it uses water, from the reservoirs to the fields to the kitchen tap.
👵 Longevidade: Desafios Económicos e Sociais, 49 minutes. Portugal is living longer and losing people every year, and this is what that means for everyone.
🕊️ Viva a Democracia: 50 anos e o futuro, 51 minutes. Fifty years of Portuguese democracy, through specialists and ordinary citizens.
📖 Nós, Portugueses: Partir para não Chegar, 54 minutes. How poverty and illiteracy shaped 20th-century Portugal, and what schooling was like under Salazar.
💼 Os Dias Contados, 52 minutes. The end of the job for life, and how technology changed Portuguese working days.
🧑 Juventudes, 50 minutes. The best-qualified generation Portugal has ever had, still living with their parents.

When you are ready to go without subtitles

These two have no subtitles at all, so you are listening with nothing to fall back on. Save them for when the ones above feel comfortable.

👩 Mulheres em Portugal, 47 minutes. Eight women tell the story of the last 40 years in Portugal, including the gaps that have not closed.
🏠 Portugal, uma casa para todos, 53 minutes. Why Portuguese young people stay home until 34, and what happened to house prices in Lisbon and Porto.

Portuguese children's TV

Rua Sésamo (Portuguese Sesame Street)

Where to watch: YouTube
Subtitles: none
Why we recommend it: simple language, slow speech, and lots of repetition make it perfect if you want to build basic listening and vocabulary.

A Carochinha e o João Ratão

Where to watch: YouTube
Subtitles: auto-generated Portuguese
Why we recommend it: a simple and fun story with easy language, great if you want to practise basic listening while learning a traditional children's story.

Traditional Portuguese children's songs

Here's a collection of traditional Portuguese children's songs, which make it easier to grasp basic sentence patterns and verb conjugations. Singing along is a natural way to improve pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation, and with the lyrics right there to guide you, it's easy to follow along.

🎸 Eu Perdi o Dó Da Minha Viola, with Portuguese subtitles
⚽ Olha a bola Manel, with Portuguese subtitles
🎈 O balão do João, with Portuguese subtitles
🐸 Eu Vi Um Sapo, with Portuguese subtitles
🐈 Atirei o pau ao gato, with Portuguese subtitles

Portuguese culture and education programmes

Cuidado com a Língua! (episodes 14 to 21)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: a fun show about grammar and idioms, great if you want to clear common doubts in European Portuguese.

Animais Anónimos

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: stories about rescued animals and the people who have saved them. Ideal if you want to practise listening to different ways of speaking.
Other notes: you will need a Portuguese VPN to play it.

Literatura Aqui (seasons 1 to 5)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese. The first season has no subtitles.
Why we recommend it: talks about books, poems, and stories with clear Portuguese, good if you are around B1+ and want to hear a range of voices and styles.

Literatura Agora

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: none
Why we recommend it: focuses on books and culture with thoughtful, steady speech, ideal if you are around B1+ and want to practise listening to more formal Portuguese.

Palcos Agora

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese
Why we recommend it: talks about theatre, dance, and music in different cities of Portugal, with real accents and rich vocabulary, great if you want to push your listening further.
Other notes: some episodes do not have subtitles.

Biosfera (seasons 12 to 24)

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese on about half the episodes
Why we recommend it: covers real environmental issues with clear, formal language, perfect if you want to build your scientific vocabulary.
Other notes: features Portuguese Sign Language. Thirteen seasons are available and the subtitles change from one episode to the next, so check before you start.

Portuguese food and travel shows

Paulo Oliveira, Terapia no Fogo

Where to watch: YouTube
Subtitles: auto-generated Portuguese
Why we recommend it: Paulo Oliveira is a chef, passionate about good food and a creator of gastronomic content. It's a great way to hear everyday vocabulary, regional expressions, and a natural conversational tone while learning at the same time.

Portugueses pelo Mundo

Where to watch: RTP Play
Subtitles: Portuguese on about half the episodes
Why we recommend it: real stories from Portuguese people around the world. Perfect if you want to hear natural accents and everyday language, all while exploring different cultures, cities, and personal journeys.