8 Best Sights in Lisbon, Portugal

Cementing Belém’s reputation as Lisbon’s top destination for arts and architecture buffs, the ultra modern Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology (MAAT) is a striking sight on the banks of the Tagus. Opened in 2016, the curved white building houses immersive exhibitions from the likes of revered Portuguese street artist Vhils, and there’s a restaurant overlooking the river. A refurbished 1908 power station next door is part of the same museum complex, and it offers enlightening tours.

Set in lovely gardens filled with leafy walkways, blooming flowers, and waddling ducks, the museum of the celebrated Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation houses treasures collected by Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian. The collection is split in two: one part is devoted to Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, and Asian art, and the other to European acquisitions. The quality of the pieces is magnificent, and you should aim to spend at least two hours here. English-language notes are available throughout. A walk through the gardens leads to the foundation's Modern Collection: 9,000 pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries, including sculptures, paintings, and photography. There's a café with a pleasant terrace overlooking the gardens, and a program of live outdoor music performances during the summer.

Housed in the minimalist Belém Cultural Center, the Berardo Collection Museum is a showcase for one of Europe's most important private collections of modern art. Works from this treasure trove—which range from Picasso and Warhol to Portugal's own Paula Rego—are regularly rotated through the galleries, and there are also excellent visiting exhibitions. There are several bookstores, cafés, and gift shops in the complex, including a terrace café on the upper floor with lovely views.

Portugal’s National Ancient Art Museum is housed in an opulent 17th-century palace, built at the behest of the Count of Alvor and later occupied by the brother of the Marquis de Pombal. Try not to spend too much time gaping at the dramatic painted ceilings, stucco detailing, and baroque doorways or you’ll miss the collection of more than 40,000 works, including the unsettling 1501 triptych Temptation of Saint Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch, one of the most important pieces in the country. A café set in lovely gardens is the perfect place for a bite.

One of Lisbon’s lesser-known but most extraordinary museums, this is the former residence of collector António de Medeiros e Almeida. Every room of his late-19th-century mansion is filled with works of art ranging from paintings to ceramics, sculptures to furnishings. Highlights include paintings by Rubens and Tiepolo, a Rembrandt portrait, a silver tea set used by Napoléon, fountains originally from the Palace of Versailles, and what's said to be the world's most notable private collection of clocks.

This small but beautiful museum in a former silk factory displays paintings, drawings, and prints by Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and her Hungarian husband, Árpád Szenes. The couple lived in Lisbon, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro and were influential artists after their participation in the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. Most of Vieira da Silva’s pieces are geometrical abstractions and can be seen over the two floors of the building that face the arches of the city’s landmark aqueduct. Throughout the year the museum also hosts temporary exhibits of 20th-century and contemporary art.

Housed in a former bacalhau (salt cod) warehouse with impressive bas-reliefs on its facade, the Museu do Oriente is one of Lisbon's most important cultural institutions. Funded by the Fundação Oriente (a legacy of colonial Macau and its gaming revenues), this dockside giant seeks to tell the story of the centuries-long Portuguese presence in Asia and to provide a showcase for Asian cultures. Highlights of the permanent collections include unique maps and charts from the golden age of Portuguese maritime exploration and stunning Chinese and Japanese painted screens. The museum hosts excellent, inexpensive concerts in its cozy auditorium.

Also known as the Museu do Chiado, this museum housed in a former convent specializes in Portuguese art from 1850 to the present day, covering various movements like naturalism, surrealism, and modernism. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions of paintings, sculpture, and multimedia installations, as well as summer jazz concerts in its small walled garden.