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.

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.

More than just a place to take the kids. I really enjoyed the visit. Very few other visitors while…read moreI was there, practically had the entire place to myself. As you'd expect, this is a whimsical collection of puppets of every kind. A few dozen rooms where the puppets are sorted by categories such as Balinese shadow puppets, Indonesian masks, European political parodies, Theater puppets, stop motion movie puppets, etc... All displays have explanation posters in Portuguese and English. A few TV screens with video loops of the puppets in action. Small gift shop. Admission price is a mere 5 Euros. A slow walk through takes 75 minutes. I visited 5 museums during my stay in Lisbon, honestly this was my favorite.

What a great, interesting and fun place! Beautiful marionettes and puppets, and very informative…read more I'm very happy to have found it, and spent an afternoon learning so much! Obrigado!!

Was walking in Alfama and stumbled across this FREE museum. On entry, you do need to go through a…read moremetal detector and bags and all items through X-ray like at the airport because I think this is a working bank? Not really sure why, but makes you feel safe. Go to get a ticket because the displays with change based on language. This museum really focuses on 1974 and the change in banking in Portugal due to the revolution. There are some interact displays for kids and why you need a ticket because you put the ticket in the machine to get it to interact in your language. This museum gets 5 stars because it is FREE, super clean, has great working very cold AC, clean bathrooms, WIFI, free drinking water machine near the bathrooms with super cold water, comfortable seats at entry to sit and relax and refresh, and great views of Alfama from 2nd floor. Bathroom: super clean

It took me three years to go to the Museu do Dinheiro because, while it's free and right downtown,…read moreI've been to a lot of similar museums that were super boring. Lots of coins and bills in glass cases. I finally went because I had someone visiting and it was raining. I figured we'd go here and to the other free archaeology site downtown and still have time to get a coffee. Nope. The space is big: three levels of exhibits about money, plus the basement archeological finds. All of the exhibits are in English and Portuguese. If you're a history nerd and actually interact with the exhibits, you can easily spend three plus hours there like we did. If you're not a nerd, you can touch a gold bar, get a (picture of a) coin with your face on it, and use the bathrooms for free before going to drink at the quiosque outside. The interactive exhibits were kind of confusing, but trying to figure them out was part of the fun. My friend and I are both trying to learn Portuguese history, so it was particularly cool to see artifacts and piece things together. While there are coins and bills in glass cases, they worked really hard to explain why each item is interesting and present it in an engaging way.

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

So much history. You can learn so much about Asian history especially Japanese. Costumes…read moretraditions paintings spiritual beliefs. It's very well done and they have a restaurant on the 5th floor. It's not closed even though it looks like it is.

This was a very interesting museum. I did not expect to see this in Portugal. There was a special…read morefan exhibit going on while we were there that was fascinating. Overall, not a bad museum.

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.

The best part of this experience was walking alongside the water as a cool breeze was blowing and…read moretaking in the beautiful architecture of the building and gazing at the bridge and surrounding landmarks. Once inside I was bewildered by the scarcity of the "Art". And it somehow got much worse when I visited the galleries. I'm baffled that there is any cost to this attraction let alone 15 Euros and the cafe was no better. Wish I had read the reviews first. Definitely left completely bummed out. However the persons working the front desk were super kind and helpful and for that, they deserve all the stars.

Five stars for the beautiful exterior and delightful patio overlooking river Tejo. Nice place to…read moreenjoy views of the 25 of April Bridge. There is also a nice fluorescent installation right on the river and when we visited recently there was some performance art happening outside. All this is free and open to the public. There are also often vendors selling ice cream etc. To see inside, you pay 15€ per person for non- residents of Portugal, which is ridiculous for what it is, IMO. This museum is interesting from a technology/ architecture perspective and anyone who likes steampunk or industrial art would appreciate it. The exhibit on climate change and the exhibits of the history of the former steam power station and its workings were interesting. However what they are displaying as "art" is beyond subpar in my view. I am a fan of contemporary art also visited the museum of contemporary art which has infinitely superior art. The "art" here was very amateurish at best and disgusting at worst. One exhibit featured gross depictions of overweight old women and traumatic scenes of childbirth. IMO this museum would do better just focusing on science, technology and architecture and just get rid of the so called art. The person who commented below about inappropriate themes is also correct in that we saw depictions of pedophilia in the "art" section of the museum, which was rather disturbing, especially as there were families with small children touring. If you don't mind paying 15€ for the science and architecture aspect of this place it's okay. Skip the "art".