Museum sights in Lisbon
-
A
Castelo de São Jorge
Towering dramatically above Lisbon, the hilltop fortifications of Castelo de São Jorge sneak into almost every snapshot. These smooth cobbles have seen it all – Visigoths in the 5th century, Moors in the 9th century, Christians in the 12th century, royals from the 14th to 16th centuries, and convicts in every century. Roam its snaking ramparts and pine-shaded courtyards for superlative views over the city’s red rooftops to the river.
reviewed
-
B
Igreja de São Roque
The plain facade of 16th-century Jesuit Igreja de São Roque belies its dazzling interior of gold, marble and Florentine azulejos – bankrolled by Brazilian riches. Its star attraction is Capela de São João Baptista, to the left of the altar, a lavish confection of amethyst, alabaster, lapis lazuli and Carrara marble. Its four mosaics depicting scenes from the saint’s life are as elaborate as oil paintings. Portugal’s extravagant king, Dom João V, had the chapel built in Rome in 1742, then shipped it over to Lisbon for a cool UK£225,000.
reviewed
-
C
Pavilhão do Conhecimento
Kids won’t grumble about science at the interactive Pavilhão do Conhecimento, where they can launch hydrogen rockets, don spacesuits for a walking-on-the-moon experience and get dizzy on a high-wire bicycle. Budding physicists have fun whipping up tornadoes and blowing massive soap bubbles, while tots run riot in the adult-free unfinished house.
reviewed
-
D
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
Famous for its outstanding quality and breadth, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian showcases an epic collection of Western and Eastern art. The chronological romp kicks off with highlights such as gilded Egyptian mummy masks, Mesopotamian urns, elaborate Persian carpets and Qing porcelain (note the grinning Dogs of Fo). Going west, art buffs bewonder masterpieces by Rembrandt (Portrait of an Old Man), Van Dyck and Rubens (including the frantic Loves of the Centaurs ). Be sure to glimpse Rodin’s passionate Spring Kiss. The grand finale is the collection of exquisite René Lalique jewellery, including the otherworldly Dragonfly. Don’t miss the free classical concerts at noon on Su…
reviewed
-
E
Museu Do Oriente
Lisbon’s new kid on the dock is the stunning Museu do Oriente, highlighting Portugal’s ties with Asia from colonial baby steps in Macau to ancestor worship. The cavernous museum occupies a revamped 1940s bacalhau warehouse. Strikingly displayed in pitch-black rooms, the permanent collection focuses on Portuguese presence in Asia, and Asian gods. Standouts on the 1st floor feature rare Chinese screens and Ming porcelain, plus East Timor curiosities such as the divining conch and delicately carved umbilical-cord knives. Upstairs, cult classics include peacock-feathered effigies of Yellamma (goddess of the fallen), Vietnamese medium costumes and an eerie, faceless Nepale…
reviewed
-
F
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
Set in a lemon-fronted, 17th-century palace, the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga is Lapa’s biggest draw. It presents a star-studded collection of European and Asian paintings and decorative arts. Keep an eye out for highlights such as Nuno Gonçalves’ naturalistic Panels of São Vicente, Dürer’s St Jerome, Lucas Cranach’s haunting Salomé and Courbet’s bleak Snow. Other gems include golden wonder the Monstrance of Belém, a souvenir from Vasco da Gama’s second voyage, and 16th-century Japanese screens depicting the arrival of the namban (southern barbarians), namely big-nosed Portuguese explorers.
reviewed
-
G
Museu Colecção Berardo
Culture fiends get their contemporary art fix for free at Museu Colecção Berardo, the latest addition to the Centro Cultural de Belém. The ultrawhite, minimalist gallery displays billionaire José Berardo’s eye-popping collection of abstract, surrealist and pop art. Don’t miss Warhol’s blue-eyed girl Judy Garland, Lichtenstein’s utterly dotty Interior with Restful Painting, Paula Rego’s magical realism in The Barn and Magritte’s fantastical The Silvery Chasm. Outside in the sculpture park, Niki de Saint Phalle’s buxom Swimmers hog the limelight.
reviewed
-
H
Museu do Design
This superlative design museum, in the Centro Cultural de Bel�m, displays furniture and product design from the 1930s to the present. This very cool collection features the masters - Capelo, Panton, Gehry, Starck, Newson and the Eames - and there are frequent temporary shows, as well as a decent bookshop.
Not only are these beautiful, humorous pieces of design, but the museum also puts their development in a social context. The contest for the most uncomfortable-looking chair is also impressive, but we think Philippe Starck's WW stool has the edge. Other halls feature changing modern art exhibitions. There's an excellent bookshop and disabled access.
reviewed
-
I
Museu Nacional do Azulejo
The Museu Nacional do Azulejo. Housed in a sublime 16th-century convent, the museum covers the entire azulejo spectrum, from early Ottoman geometry to zinging altars, scenes of lords a-hunting to Goan intricacies. Star exhibits feature a 36m-long panel depicting pre-earthquake Lisbon, a Manueline cloister with weblike vaulting and exquisite blue-and-white azulejos, and a gold-smothered baroque chapel. Bedecked with food-inspired azulejos – ducks, pigs and the like – the restaurant opens onto a vine-clad courtyard. For more on azulejos, see p62.
reviewed
-
J
Museu do Brinquedo
Sintra’s toy story is Museu do Brinquedo. João Arbués Moreira’s fascinating 20,000-piece collection presents a chronological romp, from 3000-year-old Egyptian stone counters to a 1999 Barbie Burberry. Standouts feature vintage Barbies from a more demure, housewifely era and archrival Sindy dolls. Also note tin soldiers used to drum up Nazi support, WWII Action Men, penny toys and Japanese kokeshi wooden dolls. On the 3rd floor is a toy-repair workshop, where a man sits studiously working in a glass case, beside a bizarre tray of disembodied heads.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Panteão Nacional
Perched high and mighty above Graça’s Campo de Santa Clara, the porcelain-white Panteão Nacional is a baroque beauty. Originally intended as a church, it now pays homage to Portugal’s heroes and heroines, including 15th-century explorer Vasco da Gama and fadista Amália Rodrigues. Lavishly adorned with pink marble and gold swirls, its echoing dome resembles an enormous Fabergé egg. Trudge up to the 4th-floor viewpoint for a sunbake and vertigo-inducing views over Alfama and the river.
reviewed
-
L
Centro de Arte Moderna
Situated in a sculpture-dotted garden alongside Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, the Centro de Arte Moderna reveals a stellar collection of 20th-century Portuguese and international art, including works by David Hockney, Anthony Gormley and José de Almada Negreiros. Feast your eyes on gems like Paula Rego’s warped fairytale Proies Wall and Sonia Delaunay’s geometrically bold Chanteur Flamenco. There’s also a well-stocked bookshop and garden cafe.
reviewed
-
M
Museu de Arte Moderna
The world-class Museu de Arte Moderna hosts rotating exhibitions covering the entire modern art spectrum – from kinetic and pop art to surrealism and expressionism. Sheltering Hockney, Lichtenstein and Warhol originals, the permanent collection is part of billionaire José Berardo’s stash, which also graces the walls of Museu Colecção Berardo. Exhibits change frequently because of space limitations.
reviewed
-
N
Casa Museu de Amália Rodrigues
A pilgrimage site for fado fans, Casa Museu de Amália Rodrigues is where the Rainha do Fado (Queen of Fado) Amália Rodrigues lived; note graffiti along the street announcing it as Rua Amália. Born in Lisbon in 1920, the diva popularised the genre with her heartbreaking trills and poetic soul. Short tours take in portraits, glittering costumes and crackly recordings of her performances.
reviewed
-
O
Museu da Marioneta
Discover your inner child at the enchanting Museu da Marioneta, a veritable Geppetto’s workshop housed in the 17th-century Convento das Bernardas. Alongside superstars like impish Punch and his Russian equivalent Petruschka are rarities such as Vietnamese water puppets, Sicilian opera marionettes and intricate Burmese shadow puppets. Tots can try their hand at puppetry.
reviewed
-
P
Museu do Chiado
Contemporary art fans flock to Museu do Chiado, housed in the strikingly converted Convento de São Francisco. Occasionally stowed away for blockbuster exhibitions, such as a recent one on kinetic art, the gallery’s permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century works features pieces by Rodin, Jorge Vieira and José de Almada Negreiros.
reviewed
-
Q
Museu de Marinha
The Museu de Marinha is a nautical flashback to the Age of Discovery with its armadas of model ships, canon balls and shipwreck booty. Dig for buried treasure such as Vasco da Gama’s portable wooden altar, the polished private quarters of UK-built royal yacht Amélia, and ornate royal barges including a 1780 neo-Viking number.
reviewed
-
R
Museu Nacional dos Coches
Museu Nacional dos Coches dazzles with its world-class collection of 17th- to 19th-century coaches. The stuccoed, frescoed halls of the former royal riding stables display gold coaches so heavy and ornate, it’s a wonder they could move at all. Stunners include Pope Clement XI’s scarlet-and-gold Coach of the Oceans.
reviewed
-
S
Museu de Artes Decorativas
Set in a petite 17th-century palace, the Museu de Artes Decorativas creaks under the weight of treasures including blingy French silverware, priceless Qing vases and Indo-Chinese furniture. It’s worth a visit alone to admire the lavish apartments, embellished with baroque azulejos, frescos and chandeliers.
reviewed
-
T
Museu do Teatro Romano
The light-flooded, ultramodern Museu do Teatro Romano catapults you back to Emperor Augustus’ rule in Olisipo (Lisbon). Head upstairs and across the street for the star attraction – a ruined Roman theatre extended in AD 57, buried in the 1755 earthquake and finally unearthed in 1964.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
U
Museu Nacional de Arqueologia
The Museu Nacional de Arqueologia is a fascinating way to spend an hour. Housed in Mosteiro dos Jerónimos’ western wing, the intriguing stash contains mesolithic flintstones, mummified crocodiles and Bronze Age torques. Even more curious is the collection of Roman phallic amulets and exorcism tables.
reviewed
-
V
Museu Nacional do Teatro
You won't need to know anything about Portuguese drama to find the National Theatre Museum fascinating. It houses a beguiling collection of 300,000 pieces - wonderful theatrical costumes, props, models of sets, drawings, posters, programmes, postcards, scripts, scores and photos. It's located in the lush Parque de Monteiro Mór.
reviewed
-
W
Museu Arqueológico do Carmo
The Museu Arqueológico do Carmo was set up to safeguard religious treasures after the abolition of religious orders in 1834. It has an outstanding collection of 14th-century carved tombs, some prehistoric implements and a dishevelled trio of mummies - one battered Egyptian and two gruesome 16th-century Peruvians.
reviewed
-
X
Museu do Fado
Immerse yourself in its bittersweet symphonies at Museu do Fado. This engaging museum traces fado’s history from its working-class roots to international stardom, taking in discs, recordings, posters, a hall of fame and a re-created guitar workshop. Pick up some fado of your own at the shop.
reviewed
-
Y
Museu da Água
The Aqueduto das Águas Livres and Mãe d'Água reservoir are part of the Museu da Água, in a restored 19th-century pump station. The museum explains the complex watering system and is run by Empresa Portuguesa das Águas Livres (EPAL), the municipal water company.
reviewed
