City: Portugal
Top Things to do in Portugal
The 10 Best Specialty Museums in Portugal, Portugal
– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green)
Restaurants in Portugal
1. Museu Nacional dos Coches
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,588 reviews
Located in an 18th-century riding academy attached to the royal palace, the museum features coaches and carriages dating back to the seventeenth century.
Reviewed By JLW1789
National Coach Museum is really a one of kind place. I have always wanted to go was the coach museum in Lisbon. This place did not disappoint! My favorite coaches were the The Ocean Coach, The Processional Coach, The Mail Coach. The Ocean coach was made to represent the power of Portugal in the discovery of new lands and its empire. Fun fact the Mail coach made the run from Lisbon to Porto do you know how long that took? 34 HOURS! Now we have 2 ½ hours by train. The Processional Coach was used on religious feast days and they would take sacred relics that belonged to saint being celebrated through streets of Lisbon. A great place to go to see a part of history that is not looked at very often.
2. Rota da Cal
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
3. Museu Nacional do Azulejo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,198 reviews
A must-see for people interested in the history and design of ceramic tiles, this specialty museum houses a splendid collection of decorative tiles dating from the 15th century to the present.
Reviewed By sharonhW264WM - Las Vegas, United States
The amazing museum is located in the former Convent of Madre de Deus (founded in 1509) so the building (the cloister, vestry, upper choir, and St. Anthony’s Chapel) and its original tile work are spectacular examples of 1500’s art and architecture in themselves. In Portugal glazed tiles have been used since the 13th century. Initially tiles displayed plain colors and geometric shapes, but by the 16th century more decorative patterns, based on Hispanic, Moorish, and Islamic knot work and geometric patterns, emerged. These were gradually replaced by European motifs with plant and animal patterns, as well as gothic and romantic motifs. The museum’s collection traces tile development from the second half of the 15th century to present day. It was wonderful to wander from room to room and watch the stylistic changes in the tiles as time progressed. We saw everything from giant religious wall presentations and altarpieces, to fully-tiled rooms and stairwells, to hunting scenes and flowers, to fairytales and legends retold in tiles, to colorful tiled maps of Lisbon. St. Anthony’s Chapel was especially impressive—beautiful barrel-vaulted ceiling with a huge dome, blue and white tiled scenes along the back and side walls, and baroque gilding throughout. This museum is truly one of a kind—a Lisbon must see.
4. Museu Colecao Berardo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,458 reviews
Located in Belém, the Museu Coleção Berardo is The Most Visited Museum in Portugal and is the Main Modern and Contemporary Art Museum in Lisbon, with 6 Major Exhibitions on view. Open every day, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last entrance: 6:30 p.m.) Admission Ticket (adult): 5€, discounts available. Free on Saturdays, all day. Houses the Berardo Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, together with temporary exhibits. The permanent collection of the museum presents the major art movements of the 20th century - Cubism, Dadaism, Constructivism, De Stijl, Surrealism, Post-war Figuration, CoBrA, Abstract Expressionism, Kinetic and Op Art, Nouveau Réalisme, British Pop Art, American Pop Art, among others, presenting works from artists like Mondrian, Picasso, Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Jackson Polock, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dalí, Francis Bacon, Balthus, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Pistoletto, Bill Viola, Andreas Gursky, Frank Stella, among others. A must-see in Lisbon!
Reviewed By jr87traveller - Prague, Czech Republic
Was kind of a spontaneous stop at this museum and we were really happy we entered this place... very interesting expositions and some world famous items from artists such as Andy Warhol or Picasso..
5. Museu de Portimao
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 455 reviews
Reviewed By philsO1099NR
Set in a former sardine processing factory, the museum is divided into two areas. One half tells the history of Portimao from prehistory to modern times. The other half explains the processes involved in the sardine canning industry, using the actual equipment and location where it all happened. English captions throughout, and good use of video to make production stages clear. Also houses temporary display space, and good cafe/restaurant. Check out the joint ticket arrangements with other local historical sites, and note that there is free entrance on Sundays.
6. The Maritime Museum of Ilhavo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 239 reviews
Reviewed By Jorge007007 - Brasilia, Brazil
Very nice museum. We learned so much and understood very well the history of the portuguese people relation with codfish. The codfish aquarium is simple but great. One can learn also about history on boats and fishing boats from Aveiro and Portugal. I recommend visiting.
7. Museu de Evora
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 322 reviews
The collections of the Museum of Evora consist of about 20 thousand pieces, which highlight the collections of Painting, Sculpture and Archaeology. Besides the aesthetic value and historical importance of many works, the only condition is the panorama of museums in Portugal, the fact that its core come from an eighteenth-century collection of great diversity and inclusiveness, organized by Frei Manuel of the Upper Room, Archbishop of Evora. It is in the organization of the collections system, in order to articulate all fields of knowledge, which expresses the thinking Library-Museum and its educational function in the second half of the eighteenth century in Portugal. This initial condition and this universalistic core also part of the collections of Numismatic unfortunately looted during the French invasions, the collections of drawings and prints, and the core of Naturalia, where they meet several specimens of Natural Sciences. The extinction of the religious orders contributed significantly to extend the estate, benefiting from the collections of Painting and Sculpture, and Decorative Arts with the constitution of several nuclei important as jewelery, ceramics, furniture and textiles. Conducting numerous archaeological excavations during the twentieth century, especially on the Prehistory and Roman times, has enriched the Museum's collection, deepening the relationship with the history of the city and the region.
Reviewed By simona548 - Nuneaton, United Kingdom
This is an interesting museum with an excellent English audio guide to explain the exhibits. It provides an interesting overview to the history of Évora and the region.
8. Museu Condes de Castro
9. Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 654 reviews
Reviewed By DutchBrother - Boston, United States
This is such an amazing museum one wonders why it is not better known. It is a very odd mixture of art, architecture and history. The bottom two floors are an excavated, Roman forum from 2000 years ago. The museum is built on top on the Roman forum because it is housed in a palace that was built on the Roman ruins. I have no idea how they were able to excavate the Roman ruins with a building on top of it, but it is amazing. The forum has two levels of similar sized rooms, at least 20 or 30 rooms plus long halls. It is like a maze. The main museum is three floors above the Roman ruins. It has an excellent collection of sculptures over many centuries, with excellent collections from the 15th and 16th centuries. There is a sublime collection of medieval and more recent metal work. There are some very fine religious paintings and some decorative arts including tapestries. Much of the art was not familiar to me. We were entranced. There is also a nice cafe with seating on the outdoor terrace. It mainly has drinks and snacks. It has great views over the city. We spent two hours here and felt like we could have spent more. It's that good.
10. Museu do Ar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 174 reviews
Air Museum. Our purpose is to tell the story of the Portuguese aviation through its people and collections.
Reviewed By hans-jaguar - Santa Comba Dao, Portugal
The Air Museum is a museum of aeronautical material of the Portuguese Air Force, based at Air Base No. 1 (Sintra), the museum has two visitable poles one at the Aerodromo de Manobra nº 1 (Ovar), and a second at the Military Complex of Alverca (Alverca do Ribatejo). It has been created on February 21, 1968 and opened on Air Force Day (July 1), 1971, the Air Museum is under the responsibility of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and aims at the conservation, safety and exhibition of objects of historical, artistic and documentary value, airplanes and miniatures of the same that it is possible to gather and preserve, as they constitute a valuable contribution to the history of national aviation. You can see all kind of airplanes, helicopters etc. it is very nice to visit, we anyhow enjoyed our visit, and are already thinking to visit the second one very soon.
