This Web Summit (9 to 12 November, 2026) is almost here, and we already picked 14 talks we’re looking forward to. But anyone who has been to Lisbon in November for this mega event knows the conference floor is only half of it. The Web Summit side events are the other half. As we always say, Web Summit is one of those build-your-own-adventure events, where your experience could look drastically different than that of another person. And that’s great! You want to be able to customise your experience.
Something to note this year is that a lot of the official Web Summit side events, which we don’t include here, will often start near the venue. I guess they listened to the feedback about traffic and the Lisbon rush hour! You can find those under Night Summit in the app. We’re also not including more private, invite-only events. First of all, it would require us setting up a spy network, and secondly, there would be no point showing those here.
So we went through all events available publicly and pulled out 12 friendly Web Summit side events we would actually go to (although humanly speaking, we won’t have time for all).
Here we go!
Get outside!
1. Get 2 Know Lisbon Power Walk
Just before the city fills up, get your steps with an hour on foot through the castle area, the historic centre, Pink Street and Time Out Market, plus… apparently some hidden spots. Don’t you love exploring first thing when you arrive somewhere new? Especially for anyone arriving alone and knowing nobody. In our opinion, walking side by side can be a much easier way to talk to strangers than standing in a circle holding a drink. Wear decent shoes, because Lisbon has seven hills and most of them are cobbled with famously slippery stones.
When: Monday 9 November, 10:00 to 11:00
Where: Farmácia Mouraria, R. da Mouraria 8-16
Access: Free, register in advance
2. Web Summit x Tech Talks Run Club & Coffee
A short run to shake off the first night and the potential hangover, then coffee and breakfast with podcaster and documentary maker David Savage from the Tech Talks podcast. Jog, network and chat (if you can) tech, startups and trends. No distance, pace or route for this social jog, so don’t worry if you’re not able to finish a marathon. Starts at seven in the morning, which is always a test of will, but one which will be rewarded with your runners’ high endorphines.
When: Tuesday 10 November, 07:00 to 08:00
Where: Honest Greens, Praça Dom Luís I 1, Cais do Sodré
Access: Free, register in advance
3. Founders 5K
If 7am is a tad too early for you, this is the hour-later alternative. You meet at Cais das Colunas on the riverside at eight, set off at quarter past, run an out-and-back 5K along the Tagus towards Belém to land in a nearby cafe from about quarter to nine, which gets you back in time for a main stage that opens at 09:50. Yes, sounds like a Swiss clockmaker designed the run, but the pace is deliberately slow and the host, Misha Kushka of compliance platform Kantis, promises nobody gets dropped.
When: Tuesday 10 November, 08:00 to 10:00
Where: Praça do Comércio, Baixa, meeting at Cais das Colunas
Access: Free, but you apply and wait for approval
4. Beach Field Trip
If you thought a bit of November sun was a welcome change, why not add the beach, too? Everyone piles into shared Ubers and goes to Costa da Caparica, a 25 minute ride that most visitors never discover, for a walk on the beach and a couple of hours of not talking about valuations (maybe). The fare is not covered, so budget a few euros and split it. It’s on the Friday after the conference closes and most people have flown home, so the perfect moment to relax a bit more.
When: Friday 13 November, 11:00 to 13:00
Where: Meet at Lisbon Bike Rentals, Av. 24 de Julho 4A, Cais do Sodré
Access: Free, register in advance
Drinks and dancing
5. Pre-Web Summit Morning Coffee Rave
DJs, cold brew and dancing, starting at 11am on a Sunday, run by Sundaze Morning Social. The pitch is that there is no pitching! “No club, no 2am, no awkward networking.” Apparently over 100 people came last year and they are expecting more. Ten euros gets you in with a cold brew, fifteen if you leave it late, and twenty five adds brunch from the 11:11 cafe. The DJ line-up was still unannounced when we checked, and the street address only goes out to people who have registered, so book before you plan your Sunday around it.
When: Sunday 8 November, 11:00 to 14:00
Where: 11:11 Prata, Marvila, address sent to registrants
Access: From €10, €15 late bird, €25 with brunch
6. staaake Jump Off Rooftop
The unofficial opening party, now in its fourth year, on a rooftop out towards Olaias. Correct, not near the centre, so factor in the taxi. It looks like over 600 people have registered and no cap is published, which means it can only be pretty good. There is a free drink if you want it, unlocked by a passphrase sent out the day before and only honoured in the first hour, which is a decent reason to arrive early. Smart!
When: Sunday 8 November, 18:00 to 20:00
Where: IDB Rooftop by Mīrārī, Praça José Queirós 1, Olaias
Access: Free, register in advance
7. Networking drinks at Delirium Café
You got two options for this one (or go to both?), on Sunday and again on Wednesday, by WeRoad, the travel community that runs small group trips to destinations all over the world. Get your first drink on them and also expect some free nibbles for those post-second beer munchies. Two separate listings, one per night, and you need the one matching the date you want. Check out the Eventbrite links for more info.
When: Sunday 8 and Wednesday 11 November, both 18:00 to 22:00
Where: Delirium Café Lisboa, Calçada Nova de São Francisco 2A, Chiado
Access: Free, register in advance, Web Summit badge checked at the door
Sunday 8 November on Eventbrite or Wednesday 11 November on Eventbrite
8. Tech Art Lisboa Meetup and MILL Open Night
Tech meets art, but guess what? This event has nothing to do with venture, and it’s the only event on this list that was already happening before the conference came to town. Tech Art Lisboa is a group of nearly 4,000 artists and makers that meet on the second Wednesday of the month at MILL, the maker space in Little Lisbon. The evening is composed of an informal talk and works-in-progress demos, then a more structured presentation slot with a projector for anyone who wants to show something, then everyone flocks to a local bar at ten for drinks and empanadas. Curious? Beer, water, tea and coffee are provided. If you have hit saturation point by Wednesday (we wouldn’t blame you), go here.
When: Wednesday 11 November, 19:00 to 22:00
Where: MILL, Calçada Moinho de Vento 14B
Access: Free, RSVP on Meetup
Side events that could have been part of the conference
9. Fake by Default: How to Prove What’s Real
Have you ever heard of the liar’s dividend? It’s what happens when genuine evidence gets waved away as AI-generated. As if deepfakes themselves weren’t enough trouble. The agenda covers chain of custody for digital content, what courts and investigators can still treat as evidence, and where the openings are for startups working in trust and forensics. Sounds like fascinating stuff.
This one is dense with information, and even has a proper speaker line-up published: Gilberto Torres, Halan Borges of DolutechAI, Paulo Pinto of XKONSULTING, Brian Long of Summit Cognitive and Art Linkov. It is organised by Cybertech Acceleration with the 351 startup association.
When: Wednesday 11 November, 11:30 to 12:30
Where: PTW Palace, R. Gomes Freire 98, Arroios
Access: Free, register in advance
10. How AI Tools Change How Women Do Business
A practical hour from Nina Patrick, a longevity researcher and writer based in Lisbon who publishes Nina’s Notes to about 4,000 readers and started the Ladies Who Claude community. The promise is the workflows she actually runs her business on rather than a tour of the tool landscape, and the stated goal is that you leave with a framework you can use the next morning.
When: Tuesday 10 November, 20:30 to 21:30
Where: PTW Palace, Garden Room, R. Gomes Freire 98, Arroios
Access: Free, register in advance
Useful for the day job
11. AI in Marketing. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
You arrive for coffee at 1pm, sit through three five-minute provocations, then spend most of the afternoon in small table conversations, each one hosted by a speaker, before every table reports back at 3pm and it turns into drinks. The three parts match the title: how AI makes the job easier, how you stand out when your competitors all have the same tools, and who sets the rules once agents are talking to agents. Capped at around 30 marketing leaders and a day before the conference opens.
When: Sunday 8 November, 13:00 to 16:00
Where: Lisbon, venue to be confirmed
Access: €30, apply and wait for approval
12. Roast your website, or win a coffee
We’ll roast one thing or another! Drop in any time across four hours, hand over your URL, and have your website pulled apart by Nik Zechner, a Lisbon product designer with eight years behind him and work for Almetra AI, MarvelX and Digimarc. Not a bad deal, huh! If he finds nothing critical to say, your team gets a free coffee, and if he does, you leave with something to fix. Nothing to prepare, nothing to bring beyond a link to your site, and no appointment to keep. He asks you to register anyway so he knows how much coffee to buy (not sure he knows how much we’re capable of drinking).
When: Wednesday 11 November, 10:00 to 14:00
Where: TEJÁ HOUSE, Cais do Sodré 5. Enter from the river side and go upstairs
Access: Free, register in advance
