Museu Nacional dos Coches

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Lonely Planet review

This amazing museum, housed in the Royal Riding Arena of Belem Palace, has one of the world's best collections of royal, aristocratic and ecclesiastical coaches from the 17th to 19th centuries. Apart from anything else the exhibits clearly illustrate the ostentation and staggering wealth of the old Portuguese elite.

The Neo-Classical style building, designed by renowned Italian architect Giacomo Azzolini, opens up with a large 50m-(164ft) long, 17m-(56ft)wide hall. The upper storey tribunes of the hall, connected by a series of galleries, were intended for the Royal Family and Court, a privileged position from which to watch the all-important Equestrian Games.

The horsey theme is carried through to most of the decorating panels and much of the ceiling; allegorical scenes painted in three large oval medallions on the ceiling feature horses, riders on horses, or things that are represented by horses but aren't really. Like the pictorial representations of the four continents: a crocodile for Africa, a camel for Asia, a parrot for America and a horse for Europe.