13 Most Famous Museums in Portugal

Nadia Podrabinek Nadia Podrabinek

Written by Nadia Podrabinek

Famous Museums in Portugal

Do you think that visiting museums and exhibitions is boring? Not in charming Portugal, a country with rich history and culture, unspoiled nature, delicious food, friendly people, and advanced infrastructure for easy travel.

Portugal is unique – it has experienced rapid ups and downs throughout its history. In the 16th century, it was a world power with many colonies. However, stagnation and decline overtook the country, and it soon found itself at the margins of Europe for an extended period (until the 1960s). Since then and until today, Portugal has been experiencing an economic boom.

In this post, I prepared a list of great Portuguese museums so you can make the most of your cultural trip.

In short, these are the most famous museums in Portugal:

  • A 5-in-1 Museum of Lisbon
  • National Tile Museum, Lisbon
  • The Carriage Museum, Lisbon
  • Carmo Convent, Lisbon
  • Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon
  • Maritime Museum, Lisbon
  • Design and Fashion Museum, Lisbon
  • Tram Museum, Porto
  • Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto
  • Biscainhos Museum, Braga
  • Image Museum, Braga
  • National Museum of Ancient Art (MNAA), Lisbon
  • Puppet Museum, Lisbon

What people say on Reddit

Lisbon is a huge city and full of museums and historical places, I’m not a huge fan of museums but the one I think is most important is Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga which is “old art”, about the clothes I really don’t know. Most probably, the museums will be closed on the 31th December and 1st January. Most capitals of Europe were destroyed on WW2, but not Lisbon, expect a very old city with thin medieval streets specially if you never been on Europe. 

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You can go to Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, a gothic massive building built during the 16th century. Its beautiful and if you love history there’s something you will love for sure. There’s also Terreiro do Paço, a area built in the mid 18th century to serve as a commercial spot after the big earthquake that hit Lisbon in 1755. It is full of cool coffe shops and the view of Cool Antique buildings/ the river is awesome. I bet you can visit them both in one day but there’s a lot of other places too. I don’t know that much about art to be honest but about history there are so many museums here, theres a museum that showcases royal clothing centuries old, called Museu do Traje, a museum called Museu do Coche that shows the royal (things) pushed by horses that go back a few centuries too.

CheiroAMilho

Do you mean azulejo tiles? The blue and white?

The mosaics of Portugal and parts of Spain are some of my favorite thing. It’s such meticulous art and almost entirely public. Something about the fact that the tile work is outside and readily viewable by anyone warms my heart.

complexluminary

Read also: Things to do in Lisbon

Museum of Lisbon (5-in-1)

The Lisbon Museum consists of 5 sites located in different parts of the city:

  1. Pimenta Palace
  2. House of the Spikes (Casa dos Bicos)
  3. Museum of Saint Anthony
  4. Roman Theater
  5. The West Tower at the Commerce Square

In Pimenta Palace (Palácio Pimenta), an 18th-century summer house in the Alvalade district, you will find a collection of paintings, ceramics, engravings, maps, azulejo tiles, and archaeological finds.

From ancient artifacts dating back to 300,000 B.C. to a model of the city before the earthquake, there are various reasons to explore Palacio Pimenta and the history of Lisbon.

Head to House of the Spikes, a building with a unique facade covered with diamond-shaped figures. It was utterly destroyed in the infamous 1755 earthquake and thoroughly restored to its original design.

Proceed to the Museum of Saint Anthony, a Catholic church. The Church of Saint Anthony was built on the site of the house where Saint Anthony of Lisbon was born; he is considered the patron saint of Lisbon.

The Roman Theater brings together several exhibitions devoted to the Roman history of Lisbon. The main one is the remains of the Roman theater itself. Besides, there is a museum of Roman antiquities and excavations of several neighboring structures.

Finally, visit Commerce Square (Praça do Comércio), the city’s central square, one of the largest in Europe. It is Lisbon’s counterpart to Times Square – just as crowded, noisy, and iconic. It also has perfectly preserved the spirit of a historic corner, where you will see the last site of the Museum of Lisbon – the West Tower (Torreão Poente).

National Tile Museum (Azulejo)

Azulejo is a traditional Portuguese craft that has developed into a unique, unparalleled art of tile paintings. The abundance of glazed riches and centuries of history led to Lisbon’s one-of-a-kind National Azulejo Museum.

Azulejo is a word derived from the Arabic al zellige, referring to ceramics, a mosaic of glazed tiles.

Although the Azulejo museum is not located in the city’s historic center, it is still worth a trip.

Book online

The Carriage Museum (Museu Nacional dos Coches)

It is one of the most visited museums in Lisbon. The museum officially opened in 1905 in the 18th-century Royal Riding School (Picadeiro Real) hall.

The hall was built in the neoclassical style by the architect Giacomo Asolini. The building was finished in a few years, but it took 40 years to complete the luxurious interiors.

The only problem was that the hall could only accommodate 29 carriages. Hence, the government funded a construction of a new modern 40-million-dollar building across the street for the remaining carriages.

Book online

Carmo Convent (Igreja e Convento do Carmo)

In the history of every city, there is a turning point. For Lisbon, it was the earthquake of 1755 that almost completely destroyed the city. However, there were some buildings whose walls survived that disaster. Many of them have been restored, but the Church and Monastery of the Carmelites (Carmo Convent) have remained intact. Looking at it, you can imagine the scale of what happened.

The Monastery of Carmo was founded in 1389 by the Portuguese commander Nuno Álvares Pereira. It was built in the Gothic style and, at the time, had the most prominent church.

An earthquake on November 1, 1755, partially damaged the monastery. The roof collapsed, burying the church furnishings, the tomb of Nuno Álvares, and the people who came to celebrate mass that day. The ensuing fire destroyed the library with over 5,000 books, and only the walls remained.

In 1864, the ruined church became a museum with sculpture fragments, funerary slabs, and other objects of archaeological interest.

Tip Take some Instagram-worthy shots of the impressive ruins.

Book online

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon

The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world’s finest private art collections. The works of art come from the private collection of Calouste Gulbenkian (1869-1955), an oil magnate of Ottoman origin. It includes a superb display of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Asian and European art.

Visitors can admire Egyptian relics, Chinese porcelain, and masterpieces of Western art and then stroll through the beautifully landscaped park nearby.

Book online

Maritime Museum, Lisbon

The Maritime Museum showcases the country’s pioneering role in oceanic exploration and houses a significant collection of 17,000 exhibits. You will see historical paintings, navigational instruments, and various 16th-century maps depicting the world as the people of the time knew it.

The most impressive part of the exhibition is the scale models of 15th-century ships, including those from the Age of Discovery.

Many of the pieces on display came from the private collection of King Luis. He had a keen interest in Portuguese maritime history and started collecting exhibits in the 19th century.

Design and Fashion Museum, Lisbon

If you strive for fashion, then be sure to visit the Museum of Design and Fashion (MUDE). This museum is considered one of the richest and best design exhibitions of the 20th century in Europe and houses the works of more than 230 designers.

The collection represents design trends from around the world from 1937 to the present. The exhibits, originating from the private collection of artist Francisco Capelo, include dresses, fashion accessories, furniture, and everyday objects. Visitors can also attend talks, workshops, and educational programs.

Tip The building is currently closed for renovations, check the opening date at the official website.

Tram Museum (Museu do Carro Eléctrico), Porto

You will find the museum in the former heating and power plant building which powered the entire tramcar network of the city until 1940. Until the late 1950s, trams were Portugal’s most popular form of urban transportation.

This museum will be of interest to all those who are fond of vehicles and parents with children. It is relatively small and takes about 45 minutes to visit.

If you are traveling with family members, ask for a family discount.

Book online

Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto

Uniquely located on the grounds of the Serralves Estate in Porto, the Serralves Museum is one of the 100 most visited museums in the world. In fact, it is the most prominent contemporary art museum in Portugal, with 14 exhibition galleries spread over three floors. They feature world-class modern and contemporary art from around the world.

The museum also offers temporary exhibitions, performances, and educational and public programs to make art more accessible to the public. The museum building is a piece of art, including a movie theater, library, auditorium, and restaurant surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens.

Tip: The best time to visit is early in the morning or right before the sunset (the museum closes at 8 p.m.)

Book online

Biscainhos Museum, Braga

Located in Braga’s beautifully preserved 17th-century palace, the Museu dos Biscainhos is a must-see for art and history lovers. It houses permanent collections of 17th-18th-century art. These include Baroque furniture and ceramics, European glassware, Chinese porcelain, and Portuguese and European paintings.

Every year, the palace delights visitors with its magnificent gardens, laid on three levels and surrounded by a fortress wall. You can also learn about the daily life of the 17th-century aristocrats and chaplains, servants, and enslaved people who lived there.

Image Museum, Braga

The Image Museum (Museu da Imagem) is a Photography Temple in Portugal. Located in a medieval tower near Braga Castle, the museum displays more than 200,000 photos of all time. They cover a wide range of topics and trace the historical development of Braga over the past two centuries.

Every year the museum hosts contemporary photography exhibitions and exhibits showing its historical archive.

Tip Visit the cameras exhibition and the library, which has an extensive collection of books, magazines, and catalogs on photography.

National Museum of Ancient Art (MNAA), Lisbon

The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga features one of the largest art collections in the world.

More than 40,000 pieces can be seen here, including an extensive collection of paintings, sculptures, goldwork, furniture, textiles, ceramics, and prints. You can see works of art from the 14th through 20th centuries, including the famous panels “Adoration of Saint Vincent.”

The MNAA is one of Portugal’s most visited museums and a must-see for any art lover.

Book online

Puppet Museum, Lisbon

The Museu da Marioneta collection includes more than a thousand puppets from different parts of the world.

Do not expect to see a smiling Pinocchio and a romantic Pierrot – the main collection of dolls includes characters from the 17th and 18th centuries: devils, knights, and jesters.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum offers performances and master classes in puppet-making.

Tip If you want to participate, you must pre-register on the museum website.

Conclusion

Nadia WhyThisPlace in Lisbon

I hope you now have a clearer idea of which museums in Portugal you would like to see first. Have a nice trip!

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