This was a great museum and we also really enjoyed the café and gift shop. The museum showcases…read moretiles from the 15th century through today. It was cool to see how the tradition has evolved over the years. Many signs are in both Portuguese and English. All the staff we spoke with were also very fluent in English. This was also the first place I saw a people love us on Yelp sign (in Portuguese) which was super cool. The café serves coffee, beer and wine as well as sandwiches and pasties in a beautiful setting. Part of the café is indoors and part is in a garden courtyard. Beautiful sculptures and flowers. We got here on the bus but you could also Uber. Bus stop is very close but it's a bit out of the way from the main touristic areas. I would budget about two to three hours here depending on how interested you are in the tiles. Definitely have a drink and a snack and enjoy the courtyard garden area. Shop was well stocked, reasonably priced and featured some work by local artisans.

Everyone and their mother told me to come to the tile museum on my recent trip to Lisbon. Honestly,…read moreit was cool to see, but I didn't spend anywhere near the 1-1.5 hours people recommend spending here. It was a 30 minute max type of museum unless you're going to stop and read every single thing about every single tile in this place...which I guess people must do. One thing that was incredibly cool is the panoramic view of what Lisbon used to look like before the big earthquake they had. It's interesting to see what monuments survived, which ones didn't and what stands there today. Overall, if you have extra time during your trip this isn't a bad way to spend it - I just wouldn't plan on being here for hours and hours (unless you really, really want to).

The ruins of the 14th-century Carmo Convent are quite photogenic to walk through once you pay the…read more7€ admission fee (Photo). Towering Gothic arches frame the open sky. It's a remnant of the 1755 earthquake that destroyed much of Lisbon and leads the visitor to the Carmo Archaeological Museum where artifacts have been gathered from the prehistoric through medieval eras. There are items like Peruvian mummies & shrunken heads as well as Roman sarcophagi including the Sarcophagus of the Muses which details nine Greek muses (Photo 10). My favorite piece is actually outside, a bright red statue entitled "Encontro" by Franz Weissman (Photo 2) standing in stark contrast to the heraldic items. The museum is around the corner from the popular Santa Justa Lift. RELATED - Exploring Lisbon? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/btGN-VGvo8

The convent was left in a partially ruined state after the great earthquake of 1755 and the…read morecharacter of the ruins were so much more atmospheric to enjoy. Admission was reasonable and if one had a the Lisboa Card then you would get a 2E discount. The small museum in the remaining covered portion of the convent contained a variety of subjects ranging from a Neolithic site, South American mummies, a library to various sculptures, crypts, etc recovered from around Portugal. A bilingual audio visual show was running on an endless loop in the last exhibit room and presented a brief history and overview of the convent that was worth seeing. The main part of the church was an open air exhibit hall with coats of arms, columns, baptismal basins as well as a gift show. I asked about the outdoor lighting as we were there at sunset but staff said none. We spent about 45 minutes here and then headed off for dinner nearby.

Sintra is where the royals went to rough it in their vacation castle. The Sintra Palace, complete…read morewith those two giant inverted ice cream cones on top, is basically a royal Airbnb with views to die for and tiles for days. Their of the medieval town is adorable. This is a popular day trip from Lisbon. There are several castles and palaces to explore. Views for days.

This is such an underrated spot in Sintra. Folks come here for the bigger castles, and honestly, we…read morewould've skipped this too if it weren't for the big storm that had come through a few days earlier and closed the larger castles down. Palacio Nacional de Sintra is full of rich history. It was so fun to see the way people used to do things hundreds of years ago -- where they slept, how they entertained, etc. The grounds were beautiful and each room had a distinct theme and vibe, but for me the coolest part were the giant chimneys in the kitchen. Back in the day, it would signal that the king and his court were home when they were really going. If you have time, I would stop in and see the sights. There are guided tour options, but there were plenty of written notes throughout to explain what you were seeing so that you really didn't need it. A cool experience for sure.

A welcome quiet and peaceful experience to escape the noise, crowds and chaos of Lisbon…read more Eclectic museum. Collection has a little bit of everything from 5,000 year old artifacts to modern abstract paintings and sculptures. For a complete overview plan to spend about 3 hours here.. If you are lodging downtown, take an uber to get here instead of changing buses several times. You'll save an hour commute.

(Poem) I went there not expecting…read moreTo be wowed or blown away But after just a bit I wished I could waste the whole day The art itself was good, Not all of it my thing But the breadth of works Was really a -maze-ing From Ancient Grecian coins To paintings by Renoir And one of the great collections Of Iranian tiles and arts by far Ok when I say by far, It's not that I knew this myself But I have a friend who's a potter And this museum books on his shelf Most of all the park and space Right outside is great With families picnicking And interesting green space. I felt good going since I'll be back In Lisbon soon someday If you're expecting modern though Pick another place

Even if you're not a fan of cubism, surrealism, etc., a visit is worthwhile for the beauty of the…read morebuilding itself and the views, which you can enjoy from either the second floor restaurant or the comfy outdoor chairs provided so you can sit and relax. Bonus: was not crowded on a beautiful Sunday in late May when downtown Lisbon was jammed with tourists.

A wonderful museum of the history of tiles in Portugal. Without a guide it would have been…read moreimpossible to fully appreciate the experience. Our guide was excellent. The only thing that would have improved this experience would be expansion of the ladies restrooms. At least 30 women waited in line while men came and went easily.

A feast for the eyes! I love and respect great design from clothing to furniture to advertising…read moreposters. This museum has it all. Such a pleasure to walk through and soak it all in. There's also a rooftop terrace with beautiful views and flowers to enjoy. It's conveniently located in the heart of Lisbon, so don't miss it.

Nice to enter for free in a museum, and particularly when it's not a very good exhibition. It's an…read moreold bank which became a museum of modern art. So a great building. Quite interesting ground floor : objects, furnitures and clothes from all the times. Not many explanations on the walls, too bad that they don't propose a short visit with a guide, even with a student in art. We went to see the exhition at the 1st floor but we didn't enjoy it. It was about researches necesary to organise an exhibition. A lot of papers to read, not very ludic or interactive. At the end a video on an old TV but just in portuguese, with no subtutiles ! We couldn' understand what it was about...

Often, contemporary art goes right over my head. Contemporary art is usually topical and current…read moreand political. And yes, they did have some of that here and yes, I did miss those messages. Much of the art was a bit more "modern" and this is the sort of art I like. Abstracts and impressionist and cubist. Pretty imagery and depth of color and quality of painting. Júlio Pomar (1926-2018) "Procissão", 1962. A stunning impressionist-styled painting of some sort of march or protest. Beautiful work of art. Joao Hogan (1914-1988) "Untitled", 1966. A beautiful and simple painting of a bridge that looked almost like the Western USA. Rene Bertholo (1935-2005) "Untitled", 1958. Fabulous browns and oranges and yellows. The museum has many great galleries and rooms for exhibits. The spaces are open, bright and perfect for art displays. I would only say that I wish there were more of these pieces for sale in prints or cards so that I could take them home with me. [Review 19034 overall - 229 in Portugal - 3 of 2023.]

Very interesting collection. Someone I know compared it to the MoMA but I don't like that…read morecomparison. One of the top floors had a large exhibit on photography and art. It was interesting. Then there were some small galleries of modern art, cubists and such. Then we came to Pinheiro and some contemporaries- my favorite part! We got in free because our hotel comped us but I think it's worth the ticket price if you like the art ( look at the Yelp pictures). Bathrooms are great. Spotless and comfortable.

The biggest palace I have visited. This palace is build in rectangular shape with wide length that…read morecreates the long corridor to walk from one corner to the other. The first level is convent with all the living quarters. The cathedral also located on center of the palace. The second level is the living space for the royal. This dual use palace is the first I have visited. The visit will take minimum 1.5 hours to complete if you walk fast. The first floor cathedral has a lot of relic that to be use for the festival on the street. The cathedral is actually the Basilica of Our Lady and St. Anthony of Mafra. I like marble construction. It connected to the convent and living quarters of the nun. You can see the each quarter has the fire metal bowl. At very interesting is the first time I see the hospital in the convent for the sick people. The second floor is huge. The royal quarter, painted ceiling, games room, throne room, trophies room, royal prince room, music room, and more. The most spectacular is the library. The collection is by section. This library is very similar to the University of Coimbra library. The collection includes monster, magic, science and more for the books. Love it.

I enjoyed my visit here. I drove from Lisbon planning only to see the library, which is…read morehistorically important, if you're a big fan of libraries like me. But, I ended up pleasantly surprised by the added parts which included a museum and a "birds of prey" exhibit. The bird exhibit (and photo op) alone was 5 stars--I'm easily impressed by birds, I guess. The library, which I came for, was visually impressive. Yet, I was SUPER DISAPPOINTED that visitors couldn't actually go into the library. You can only take photos from one end and only about 3 meters into the space. So. Disappointed. Even so, it was a gorgeous space and seeing the rest of the palace sort of helped assuage my disappointment. If you're in the area (or an old library fan girl, I'd recommend it.