The capital of Portugal can offer its guests (and residents too) many interesting museums. But if a tourist has only a few days left, he will not look at all of them. I have to choose. Of course, we can proceed from the criterion of our own interests. Someone is fond of ships, and someone is interested in modern art. Among the temples of culture in Lisbon, there are also quite original ones. For example, the Museum of Electricity. And do not think that its exposition will interest only specialists of a narrow profile.
Many museums in Lisbon are organized in a new format - interactive. Unlike the classic gallery, where you can only look at the exhibits, in such institutions you can touch, turn, turn, start, and so on. In this article we have compiled a list of the most interesting museums in the capital of Portugal. Having familiarized yourself with this selection, you can better plan your stay in the beautiful city of Lisbon.
Gulbenkian funds
In Portugal in the first half of the twentieth century there lived an oil tycoon of Armenian descent who collected art paintings, sculptures, and decorative art objects. In 1955, Galust Gulbenkyan died, and according to his will, a huge private collection, together with a magnificent mansion and the garden surrounding it, was transferred to the city of Lisbon.
The fact that during his lifetime the tycoon bought paintings and sculptures at the Hermitage in the 1920s and 1930s eloquently speaks of the wealth of funds. He meticulously collected his collection around the world. And if you don’t have a lot of time allocated for exploring the city, feel free to go to the Gulbenkian Museum (Lisbon, Bern Avenue, 45 A). Tourists described the benefits of visiting this location:
- a beautiful park right in the center of the city;
- an amphitheater, where free concerts and other events are often held;
- two museums at once: the actual Gulbenkian collection and the exhibition of contemporary art;
- library;
- showroom.
Museum of the sea
The Portuguese are the people who were directly involved in the great geographical discoveries. Therefore, the Maritime Museum (Lisbon, Belem district) is the second most popular in the capital. You can get to it on the usual city tram number 15. The Museum of the Sea occupies the western wing of the ancient monastery of St. Jerome (Zheronimush). The exposition has 17 thousand artifacts.
Here you can see not only models of various ships - from ancient eras to the present. The exhibition also contains weapons and armor of different times, military uniforms, awards and orders. Tourists are advised to look into the long passage of the monastery. There is an art gallery, which exhibited paintings by marine painters. The Maritime Museum, as well as the funds of Galust Gyulbenkyan, is open from 10:00 to 18:00. Monday is the day off. An adult ticket to both museums costs 5 euros (approximately 380 rubles). Children there are also very fond of.
Carriage Museum in Lisbon
If you already got into the Belem area, do not rush to leave it. Just a hundred meters from the Museum of the Sea is another temple of culture. It is called Museu Nacional Dos Coches. And the main exhibits in it are carriages. Undoubtedly, this is the best and richest collection of crews in the world. Most carriages were made in the 17th - early 19th century.
Some rich carriages can be viewed for hours, as their doors are painted or inlaid. Tourists say there are carriages in the collection. They harnessed ponies. So the Portuguese aristocrats got used to luxury from infancy. The Carriage Museum operates, like most similar institutions, from 10 a.m. to six in the evening. It is a day off on Mondays. A ticket also costs 5 euros.
National Museum of Ancient Art
Are you attracted to the work of artists and sculptors of ancient eras? Then visit the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon. It is located in the center of the city, along the street 9. Janelas Verdes, the basis of the collection of this museum was, oddly enough, the trophies of the monastery reform. In 1834, the government decided to abolish religious orders, as these “unrestrained” turned into wealthy latifundists. As a result of the expropriation, many art objects were collected. Later, secular artifacts were added to them.
Such a rich collection had to be placed somewhere, and the palace of the 18th century with the chapel of the destroyed monastery of St. Albert was adapted for this. Tourists are advised to look not only at the exposition, but also at the buildings. This entire complex is located on the high bank of the Tagus River and is surrounded by a garden. The collection will appeal to lovers of the classics. There are paintings and sculptures, decorative objects of Portuguese and Western European masters from the 14th to the beginning of the 19th centuries. This is the third most popular museum in Lisbon. Tourists unanimously claim that he is a “must visit” (a must visit).
Museum of Arts, Architecture, and Technology (IAAT)
This ambitious project by Amanda Levetre, a British architect, was implemented not so long ago, in 2017, and it became the newest museum in Lisbon. Arts (fine and plastic), architectural innovations and technologies have found their place under the roof of one building, the futuristic and original facade of which promises to be another hallmark of the capital of Portugal.
The museum is located in the same famous Belem district, adjacent to the Tagus River. It can be reached by train Cascais, tram number 15 and numerous bus routes. Admission for an adult costs 5 euros, but if you want to visit the Electricity Museum in one fell swoop, it is better to buy a comprehensive ticket for 9 euros (about 650 rubles). But keep in mind - unlike other temples of culture, the Foundations of Arts and Technology are closed on Tuesdays. And this museum works from noon to eight in the evening. Therefore, you can take time to visit him in the afternoon.
IAAT Interactive Branch
Not far from the futuristic building, on Brazil Avenue, is the building of the former power plant. Portugal is now increasingly using alternative energy sources. Therefore, the structure of the station, so as not to be empty, was adapted for a museum of electricity. In Lisbon, this is one of the few interactive places where visitors can not only touch the exhibits, but also start them, disassemble, and fiddle with them in every possible way.
Tourists with children highly recommend this museum. Groups of schoolchildren are often brought here to explain in a playful manner where the current comes from. The exposition consists of two sections. The first can be called visual and educational. Visitors can independently launch a current, start various mechanisms. The second half of the exposition is the power plant itself. Many installations are no longer in use, although they are in working condition. Entrance to the electricity museum is free. It works from noon to 20:00, the day off is Tuesday.
National Azulejo Museum
In the 7th century, Portugal and Spain were captured by the Arab conquerors. Then, in the 13th century, the Reconquista came. But the fashion for fancifully painted ceramic tiles that Muslims used to clad facades and interiors remained. Such artistic tiles are called "azulejos." The most skillful, ancient, hand-made by skilled artists and were collected in a museum. The building for him was found appropriate. The Azulejo Museum in Lisbon is located in the monastery church of Our Lady of the 15th century. The building is decorated with painted tiles outside and inside. Therefore, it is included in the list of national property of Portugal.
Those who happened to see the Azulejus collection claim that it is unique. Nowhere else in the world is there a similar museum. The oldest tile dates from the 15th century. Of great interest is usually the ceramic panel, which depicts Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake. In addition to azulejou, visitors can familiarize themselves with the collection of ceramic products from various eras. Opening hours and ticket prices are the same as in other national museums in Lisbon. The Church of the Mother of God is located at: st. Madre de Deus 4. The closest metro station is Santa Apolonia.
Museum of Modern Art (Lisbon)
In the area of Belem, which was repeatedly mentioned here, there is another temple of art. And it is called the Berardo Museum (Piazza Imperio). His collection is dedicated exclusively to contemporary art of the twentieth century. The museum is only a few decades old, but in terms of attendance, it is not inferior to the Hermitage or the Louvre. His collection can not be called neither meager nor of little interest. Travelers who have visited Lisbon unanimously say: even if you are a connoisseur of classics, be sure to visit the Berardo Museum.
Here are paintings by Casimir Malevich, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and other masters of our time. The halls of the museum are divided into areas: pop art, cubism, surrealism, and so on - there are seventy such separate exhibits. It is noteworthy that the entrance to the Berardo treasury is free. But the museum has an exhibition hall. You may have to pay for visiting imported collections. The Berardo Cultural Center operates from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Museum of the city of Lisbon
The status of the capital obliges the temples of culture to display artifacts related to the whole of Portugal. And only one of all the museums in Lisbon is dedicated to the city itself. After all, the place where the capital of Portugal is now located was inhabited even in the Stone Age. The City Museum is located in the beautiful building of the Pimento Palace (Campo Grande, 245). There are many people there, because he is one of the most visited in Lisbon. His richest collection painstakingly collected over the years.
In the halls you can see both the arrowheads of primitive hunters and the pottery shards of Neolithic civilization. There is also an azulejo hall. An interesting collection of sculptures dating back to the era of the Roman Empire. Lisbon was a haven from where the Portuguese set sail across the ocean to discover new lands. Therefore, visitors are often interested in a selection of old maps. A lot of attention in the exposition is given to the great earthquake, which destroyed almost the entire population of the city.
Museum of the East
This attraction is located on Brazil Avenue, 352. The museum opened recently, but its collection was collected bit by bit several decades before. In fact, here under one roof two museums of Lisbon coexist at once.
The first is entirely devoted to the Arab period in the history of Portugal. And the second part is a collection of artworks brought from various Asian countries - China, Japan, India. The Oriental Museum is open from ten in the morning until six in the evening (on Fridays - until 22:00). Closed on Mondays. Tourists consider his collection to be original and successful. Fans of oriental art will love it very much.
Museum of the Roman Theater
Long before the Arab conquest, the city of Lisbon was part of the great empire as the province of Iberica. And the city was called in that era of Olisippo. In all the cities of the Roman Empire there was - where small, and where huge - theater. There were games of gladiators, fights of animals and even sea battles. There was such an amphitheater in ancient Olisippo.
A museum of Lisbon was later built over its ruins, which vividly and colorfully illustrates the life of citizens in that era. The main exposition is an archaeological site with the remains of an amphitheater and neighboring buildings. But also there are halls showing artifacts of that era - ceramics, weapons, coins. The museum is located in the very center of the city, close to the cathedral and the church of St. Anthony. Tourists believe that here you can make great photos for Instagram.