Museu Nacional do Azulejo

Lonely Planet review

About 1km northeast of Santa Apolónia train station is Lisbon's most beautiful museum, the Museu Nacional do Azulejo. It's housed in the 16th-century convent of Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Madre de Deus, with lovely small tiled courtyards, Manueline cloister and gold-smothered baroque chapel, set off with more blue-and-white tiles.

Illustrating the history and development of the tile, the museum has many exquisite pieces, from early Ottoman geometry to zinging blue-and-yellow altars, and from chintzy religious scenes to Goan intricacies. Among the exhibits is a fascinating 36m-long panel with a rare depiction of pre-earthquake Lisbon. There's also a bright courtyard-facing restaurant, lovely for a long lunch, with tiled walls and white tablecloths.