Guide to Museums in:


Braga

Lisbon

Porto

PORTUGAL

LISBON MUSEUMS

The National Archaeology Museum of Lisbon is the most important centre for archaeological research in Portugal, and has a collection of finds from the whole country. Since 1903 it occupies the Western wing of the Jerónimos Monastery, in the Belém district. The permanent exhibits are divided into Egyptian Antiques and a collection of Treasures of Portuguese Archaeology, consisting mostly of notable metalwork dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages. The museum also possesses the most important Portuguese collection of Roman mosaics, mostly from Southern Portugal, but also from "Estremadura" (Póvoa de Cós) in the Centre. Apart from its permanent collection, the museum often organises temporary exhibitions covering several subjects.

For more information regarding the National Archaeology Museum please contact Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Praça do Império, 1400 - 206, Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: (351) 213 620 000 E-mail: mnarq.info@imc-ip.pt

Entrance to the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia
Photograph taken by Scalleja

The National Coach Museum is located in the Belém district of Lisbon, in Portugal. The museum is housed in the old Horse Riding Arena of the Belém Palace, formerly a Royal Palace. The museum has one of the finest collections of historical carriages in the world, being one of the most visited museums of the city. The collection gives a full picture of the development of carriages from the late 16th through the 19th centuries, with carriages made in Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, Austria and England. There are several pompous Baroque 18th century carriages decorated with paintings and exuberant gilt woodwork.

For more information and enquiries please contact Praça Afonso de Albuquerque 4, 1300 Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: +351 213 610 850, E-mail: mncoches@ipmuseus.pt

A Portuguese carriage
Copyright © Cytech, Tokyo, Japan

The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, is the most important art museum in Portugal as well as being among the most important in Europe. It is located in the Palácio de Alvor-Pombal. It is the best museum in which to understand the development of Portuguese art prior to the early nineteenth century. The museum collection includes painting, sculpture, metalwork, textiles, furniture, drawings, and other decorative art forms from the Middle Ages to the early nineteenth century. The collections, especially those for the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are particularly important regarding the history of Portuguese painting, sculpture, and metalwork.

For more information and enquiries please contact Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, R. das Janelas Verdes 17, 1249 Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: +351 213 912 800, E-mail: mnaa.depcom@ipmuseus.pt

Main entrance of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

The Maritime Museum of Lisbon is dedicated to all aspects of the History of navigation in Portugal. The museum is administered by the Portuguese Navy and is located in the touristic district of Belém. It occupies a part of the neo-Manueline Western wing of the Jerónimos Monastery (together with the National Museum of Archaeology) as well as a modern annex built to the North of the monastery. The exhibits include historical paintings, archaeological items and many scale models of ships used in Portugal since the 15th century. It is one of the most visited Portuguese museums.

For more information and enquiries please contact Museu da Marinha, Praça do Império 1400 Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: +351 213 622 828

Ship model in the Maritime Museum

Museu Calouste Gulbenkian is a museum in Lisbon, Portugal, containing a collection of ancient, and some modern art. The museum is located within a landscaped park, at the intersection of Av. de Berna and Av. António Augusto de Aguiar, in Lisbon. The first section in the museum highlights Oriental art and Classical art on display in the Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian, Persian art from Islamic period, Armenian and Far Eastern art. The second covers European art with sections dedicated to the art of the book, sculpture, painting and the decorative arts, particularly 18th century French art and the work of René Lalique. In this section, the wide-ranging number of pieces reflect various European artistic trends from the beginning of the 11th century to the mid-20th century. The second section also includes work in ivory and illuminated manuscript books, followed by a selection of 15th, 16th and 17th century sculptures and paintings. French 18th century decorative arts have a special place in the museum with outstanding gold and silver objects and furniture, as well as paintings and sculptures. These decorative arts are followed by galleries exhibiting a large group of paintings by the Venetian Francesco Guardi, 18th and 19th century English paintings, and finally a superb collection of jewels and glass by René Lalique, displayed in its own room.

For more information and enquiries please contact Avenida de Berna 45a, 1050 Lisbon, Portugal, Tel: +351 217 823 000, E-mail: info@gulbenkian.pt

Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
Photograph taken by Osvaldo Gago

The Museum of the Orient in Lisbon is located in a refurbished industrial building on the Alcântara waterfront. The museum celebrates the history of Portuguese exploration with a collection of Asian artifacts. The collection includes Indonesian textiles, Japanese screens, antique snuff bottles, crucifixes made in Asia for Western export, and the Kwok On Collection of masks, costumes, and accessories.

For more information and enquiries please contact Avenida Brasília, Doca de Alcântara (Norte), 1350-362, Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: +351 213 585 200, E-mail: info@foriente.pt

Outside view of Museu do Oriente

The Electricity Museum, in Lisbon, is located in Belém near the the Tagus River.

The museum is a unique example of the Portuguese Industrial Heritage. It is a center of culture that shows past, present and future usage of energy. The exhibition seeks to give visitors a clear understanding of the functioning of this former power station in Lisbon , from the identification of its various components to the explanation of its operation. There is also an exhibition about the scientists who contributed most to the discovery and development of the phenomena of electricity. The Museum of Electricity has an education department which organizes guided tours and experimental sessions for primary and secondary schools.

For more information and enquiries please contact Museu da Electridade, Edifício Central Tejo, Avenida de Brasília, 1300-598, Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: +351 210 028 130

Coal Square to the Electricity Museum
Copyright © Elmf

Carmo Archaeological Museum, also known as Carmo Convent, is a monument located in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal. The Carmo Convent is located in the Chiado neighbourhood, on a hill overlooking the Rossio square and facing the Lisbon Castle hill. It is located in front of a quiet square (Carmo Square), very close to the Santa Justa Lift.

The nave and apse of the Carmo Church are the setting for a small archaeological museum, with pieces from all periods of Portuguese history. The nave has a series of tombs, fountains, windows and other architectural relics from different places and styles. The old apse chapels are also used as exhibition rooms. One of them houses notable pre-historical objects excavated from a fortification near Azambuja (3500 - 1500 BC).

The group of Gothic tombs include that of Fernão Sanches, a bastard son of King Dinis I, (early 14th century), decorated with scenes of boar hunting, as well as the magnificent tomb of King Ferdinand I (reign 1367-1383), transferred to the museum from the Franciscan Convent of Santarém. Other notable exhibits include a statue of a 12th century king (perhaps Afonso Henriques), Spanish-Moorish azulejos and objects from the Roman and Visigoth periods.

For more information and enquiries please contact Museu Arqueológico do Carmo, Largo do Carmo 92, 1200 Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: +351 213 460 473 / +351 213 478 629, E-mail: carlavf@mac.pt

View of the Carmo Archaeological Museum
as seen from Rossio square

The Chiado Museum is an art museum located in Lisbon, in the Chiado neighbourhood. Since 1994, the Chiado Museum has occupied the old Convent of São Francisco (Saint Francis) in Lisbon, a building of mediaeval origin. The museum covers the period between 1850 and 1950, with works by the foremost Portuguese artists of the period, as well as some foreigners. It holds a vast collection of Portuguese paintings and sculptures from the Romanticism, Naturalism and Modern periods.

For more information and enquiries please contact Museu do Chiado Rua Serpa Pinto 4, 1200-444, Lisboa, Portugal, Tel: +351 213 432 148, E-mail: mnac-museudochiado@imc-ip.pt

"Grupo do Leão" painted by Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro,
displayed in the Chiado Museum