The best museums in Lisbon

If you’re planning a trip to Portugal, it’s essential for history and discovery enthusiasts to visit Lisbon, the country’s largest city and capital. Lisbon is a cosmopolitan city with an impressive amount of history in many museums. A visit that could be free for those who get the famous Lisboa Card. Below you will find a selection and some information about the best museums in Lisbon. There are many others but these seem to me to be the most interesting and most visited in the capital.

Guided tour of Lisbon

If you would like to go on a guided tour of Lisbon organized by a professional English-speaking guide who knows the city like the back of his hand, then you will find below my selection. All of these guided tours of Lisbon are rated 5 stars out of a large number of participants, are organized by english-speaking guides and can be cancelled 24 hours before the visit in case you change your mind. These guided tours of the Portuguese capital do not specifically concern museums but can be useful to you to set the pace of your holidays in the city.

Free or cheap museums in Lisbon

For those of you who don’t know it, you can make entries to some of Lisbon’s museums free of charge or at a greatly reduced price with the Lisboa Card. This Lisbon Card can be purchased for a validity of 24, 48 or 72 hours and allows you to use Lisbon’s public transport for free but also to have discounts at the city’s museums or free entrance. To know all the details of this Lisbon discount card, you can consult the page Lisboa card Lisbon and if you wish to order it directly online, you can use the block below :

The National Coach Museum in Lisbon

Known as the Museu Nacional dos Coches, the Museu des Carroses is a must-see for tourists thirsty for historical discovery. It dates back to 1905 and is one of the first royal carriage museums in the world.

If you want to discover the carriages belonging to Portuguese royalty around the 16th century, you will love the museum. It exhibits many carriages, including the last carriage of King D. Carlos, who was killed in 1908.

• Entrance fee to the carriages: 8€ and free if you have the Lisboa Card.
• Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm (Last entry at 5.30pm)
• You can get there by bus (28, 714, 727, 729, 751), tram (15), train or ferry (Belem Station).
• Address: Avenida da Índia nº 136, 1300-004 Lisbon

The Maritime Museum in Lisbon

Much of Portugal’s maritime history is exhibited and explained in the Museu da Marinha, one of the most visited museums in Lisbon after the Museu dos Coches.

The programme includes 17,000 historical pieces: ship parts, navigational instruments, weapons, maps, plans and more. Located in Praça do Império, this Lisbon museum honours the maritime history of Portugal that has made its fame over time. You will also find in this area of Lisbon Bélem, other monuments related to Portuguese navigation as the monument to discoveries.

• Entrance fee to the Maritime Museum: €6.5 per adult, €3.5 per child and -30% for holders of the Lisboa Card.
• Open every day from 10am to 6pm in summer and from 10am to 5pm in winter.
• Address: Praça do Império, 1400-206 Lisboa

The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon

It is a building that is part of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. It houses about 6000 pieces of modern and ancient art, of which only 1000 are on display to the public. To discover the whole museum, you can choose between 2 circuits:

• European art and its ensemble: sculpture, painting, decorative arts and literature.
• All the classical and oriental arts of Egypt, Japan, China, Greece, Rome…

You will find below all the practical information to visit the museum:

• Admission to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum: 10€ for the “Founder’s Collection + Modern Collection” and 14€ All-inclusive “Collections + Exhibitions” / -50% for those under 29 and over 65 years old / -20% if you have the Lisboa Card.
• Open every day except Tuesday from 10am to 6pm. Closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 and 25 December.
• You can get there by bus (713, 716, 726, 742, 746, 756) or by metro S. Sebastião (blue and red line) or Praça de Espanha (blue line).
• Address: Av. de Berna 45A, 1067-001 Lisbon

The Chiado Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon

The Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado (MNAC) is nestled in the heart of Lisbon at Rua Serpa Pinto 4 – Rua Capelo 13. Created in 1911 and renovated in 1994, it gathers all the Portuguese contemporary art since 1850.

You will find all kinds of sculptures, paintings, drawings and even videos. If you visit Lisbon, this museum has the advantage of being located in a very pleasant area of the Portuguese capital. If this is your first visit to the city, then this is your chance to kill two birds with one stone.

• Entrance fee to the Chiado Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon: 4,5€ (You will find many discounts on this page of the museum’s official website)
• Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
• You can get there by bus (60, 208, 758), by metro at the Baixa-Chiado stop or with Lisbon Tramway 28 (Rua Nova da Trindade station).
• Address: Rua Serpa Pinto, 4 | Rua Capelo, 13 1200-444 Lisboa

The National Museum of Archaeology in Lisbon

Created in 1893, the National Museum of Archaeology or Museu Nacional de Arquologia is located in Praça do Império, close to the Monastery of Jerónimos. If you are studying archaeology or are simply a lover of it, then this is the perfect place to acquire new knowledge and exchange.

This museum incubates an archaeological research centre and exhibits all kinds of ancient objects, from Egyptian sarcophagi to goldsmith’s pieces to the Romanesque mosaics that make it a world famous museum. The Museum of Archaeology in Lisbon exhibits all kinds of period objects to the visitors with the possibility of attending conferences and seminars organized by this museum in Lisbon.

• Entrance fee to the Archaeology Museum in Lisbon: 5€ per adult and 2,5€ per child (Free for children under 12 years old)
• Open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm.
• You can get there by tram (line 15), bus (Mosteiro Jerónimos stop with lines 714, 727, 728, 729 and 751) or train (Belém stop on the Cascais line).
• Address: Praça do Império, 1400-026 Lisboa

The Museum of the Roman Theatre in Lisbon

Among the history and discovery museums to visit in Lisbon, you will find the Museum of the Roman Theatre or Museu do Teatro Romano located on the rua de São Mamede 3A. This museum is dedicated to the ancient Roman theater of Lisbon, created between 27 and 14 B.C. It was abandoned in the 5th century A.D., remained buried and resurfaced after the earthquake of 1755.  

Various archaeological actions started in 1967 have allowed the recovery of part of the bays, the orchestra, the stage, the backstage and decorative elements.

• Entrance fee to the Roman Theatre Museum: 2€. Free if you have the Lisboa Card.
• Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
• You can get there by Tramway 28 or 12 (Limoeiro or Sé stop), by bus (737 Limoeiro or Sé stop) or by metro (Terreiro do Paço stop).
• Address: Rua de São Mamede 3A, Lisboa

The Museum of Design and Fashion in Lisbon

Located at Rua Augusta 24, the Lisbon Museum of Design and Fashion, also known as MUDE (Museu Do Design E Da Moda), is the ideal place for fashionistas and fashion fanatics.

Right in the heart of the city of Lisbon, it showcases the world’s great fashion and design collections with about 2000 exhibits: about 1000 objects (designer furniture and accessories) and 1200 pieces of haute couture that represent all the artistic currents of the 20th century.

• Entrance fee to the Design and Fashion Museum: Free for all.
• Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
• You can get there by bus (711, 794, 714, 732, 735, 736, 759, 760, 781), tram (Lines 12, 15, 18, 25, 28), metro (Baixa-Chiado, Terreiro do Paço, Rossio stops) or boat (Terreiro do Paço or Cais do Sodré).
• Address: Rua de S. Paulo 79, 1200-275 Lisboa