Sights in Lisbon
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Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Assunção
Weave through the back alleys west of the câmara municipal to the palm-fringed square that is home to the whitewashed Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, adorned with azulejos predating the 1755 earthquake.
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Museu do Trabalho Michel Giacometti
How does the sardine get in the tin and 1001 other fishy mysteries are solved at this quirky yet often empty museum, set in a cavernous former sardine-canning factory. In pride of place is an entire 1920s grocery, transported from Lisbon wholesale.
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Museu da Carris
For something entirely different, head to charming Museu da Carris, housed in the Carris headquarters, which tells the history of Lisbon's most endearing means of transport using the models-in-glass-cases method. Tram 15 passes right by so you can have a holistic experience.
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Galeria da Pintura Quinhentista
Art buffs should take a peek inside this gallery, dedicated to 16th-century painting. Star pieces include a set of 14 intricate panels that were once on display in the adjacent Igreja de Jesus. Also on display is the stained glass of the church’s main window.
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Núcleo Arqueológico
Hidden under Banco Comercial Portuguesa is the Núcleo Arqueológico, a web of tunnels believed to be the remnants of a Roman spa dating from the 1st century AD. You can descend into the depths on a guided tour run by the Museu da Cidade. Phone ahead to book.
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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.
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Articula
This anticonformist gallery-cum-workshop displays Teresa Milheiro’s rebellious, recycled creations made from bones, medical tubes and aluminium. Look out for doll’s-eye necklace ‘Big Brother is watching you’ and syringe chain ‘be botox, be beautiful’.
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Mãe d’água
The king laid the aqueduct’s final stone at Mãe d’Água, the city’s massive, 5500-cu-metre main reservoir. Completed in 1834, the reservoir’s cool, echoing chamber (check out the start of the narrow aqueduct passage) now hosts art exhibitions.
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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.
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Aqueduto das Águas Livres
The 109 arches of the Aqueduto das Águas Livres lope across the hills into Lisbon from Caneças, more than 18km away; they are most spectacular at Campolide, where the tallest arch is an incredible 65m high. Built between 1728 and 1835, by order of Dom João V, the aqueduct brought Lisbon its first clean drinking water.
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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.
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Cemitério Dos Ingleses
Overgrown with cypress trees, the Cemitério dos Ingleses was founded in 1717. Expats at rest here include Henry Fielding (author of Tom Jones ), who died during a fruitless visit to Lisbon to improve his health in 1754. At the far corner are the remains of Lisbon’s old Jewish cemetery.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Palácio da Assembleia da República
The columned, temple-like Palácio da Assembleia da República is where the Assembleia da República, Portugal’s parliament, makes its home. It was once the enormous Benedictine Mosteiro de São Bento. Its lofty Doric columns and graceful statues of temperance, prudence, fortitude and justice give visitors the shutterbug.
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Parque da Pena
A further 200m up the road from Castelo dos Mouros is Parque da Pena, filled with tropical plants, huge redwoods and fern trees, camellias, rhododendrons and lakes (note the castle-shaped duck houses for web-footed royalty!). It’s cheaper to buy a combined ticket if you want to visit Palácio Nacional da Pena too.
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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.
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Museu do Palácio Nacional da Ajuda
This grand neoclassical museum of the Royal Palace building replaced the original, which was destroyed by fire in 1795. It was used until the royal family went into exile in Brazil in 1807, and then not again until King Luis I married an Italian princess in 1861 and lavished it with the riches that can be seen today. The Winter Garden is wonderful!
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Praça da Figueira
Praça da Figueira is framed by whizzing traffic and Pombaline townhouses. At its centre rises gallant King João I, once celebrated for his 15th-century discoveries in Africa, now targeted by pigeons and gravity-defying skateboarders – that’s justice for you. Take a seat at one of the pavement cafes for cake, sunshine and perfect snapshots of Castelo de São Jorge.
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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.
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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.
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Parque Municipal da Gandarinha
Shady and beautiful with the feel of wilderness, Parque Municipal da Gandarinha is a great place to explore. It's dotted with birch and pine trees, palms and eucalyptus, rose gardens and flowering shrubs, and there are peacocks, aviaries, duck ponds and a playground scattered among the flora. The grounds also contain the delightful Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães.
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Casa dos Bicos
The pincushion facade of Casa dos Bicos, the eccentric 16th-century abode of Afonso de Albuquerque, former viceroy to India, grabs your attention on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros. Chequered with 1125 pyramid-shaped stones, it now houses a private organisation, but nip inside if the lobby is open to glimpse remnants of the old Moorish city wall and brick streets.
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