No products in the cart.
Bem-vindos a Portugal
Country219 places · 421 museums
No place found. Try another spelling.
★ Has its own city story
Tiles on the walls, fado in the evening and a small country that sailed around the world.
Portugal is one of the oldest countries in Europe, with borders almost unchanged since the 13th century. Its sailors opened the sea route to India and reached Brazil, and brought back spices, porcelain and new ideas. See the blue and white tiles at the National Tile Museum, the Panels of St Vincent at the National Museum of Ancient Art and the treasures of the Gulbenkian. Plan your museum days on museumtickets.com, then eat a warm pastel de nata and listen to fado.
Romans, Moors, explorers and a revolution with flowers.
Afonso Henriques becomes the first king of Portugal.
See it at: National Museum of Ancient ArtThe Treaty of Windsor with England, still in force, is signed.
Vasco da Gama sails around Africa to India.
See it at: Maritime MuseumAn earthquake, tsunami and fire destroy most of Lisbon; the city is rebuilt in a new grid.
See it at: Lisbon Story CentreSoldiers end 48 years of dictatorship; people put carnations in their rifles.
See it at: Aljube Museum – Resistance and FreedomPortugal joins the European Communities with Spain.
A doctor who voted first, a painter of cities and the voice of fado.
Doctor who in 1911 became the first woman to vote in Portugal, using a gap in the law.
Painter of maze-like cities and libraries, one of the great abstract painters of the 20th century.
See it at: Árpád Szenes – Vieira da Silva FoundationThe queen of fado, who took the songs of Lisbon around the world.
See it at: Casa-Museu Amália RodriguesFrom a court painter of the 15th century to Paula Rego.
Painter of the Panels of St Vincent, a portrait of a whole society around 1470.
One of the few women painters of the 17th century, known for still lifes full of sweets and flowers.
Modernist friend of Modigliani in Paris, who painted in bold colours before dying young in 1918.
Painter of strange, powerful stories; her museum in Cascais is called the House of Stories.
Architect from Porto whose white buildings include the Serralves Museum.
Custard tarts, salt cod and grilled sardines.
A custard tart in crisp pastry, best warm with cinnamon.
Dried salt cod, said to have 365 recipes, one for each day of the year.
The smell of summer festivals, eaten on a slice of bread.
Soup of potato and thin-cut kale with a slice of chouriço.
Porto's huge sandwich with meats, melted cheese and a spicy sauce.
Masked caretos, saints of June and towers of bread.
In Podence, the caretos in fringed costumes and masks run through the village; UNESCO lists the custom.
Lisbon celebrates St Anthony with sardines, parades and pots of basil with little poems.
In Porto people stay out all night, tapping each other with plastic hammers and leeks.
In Tomar, girls carry towers of bread and flowers on their heads in a long procession.
Roasted chestnuts and new harvests for St Martin's Day.
Lisbon and Porto are steep; trams, lifts and funiculars help.
The old trams are a sight but get crowded; ride early.
In Belém, the Jerónimos Monastery, the tower and several museums are side by side.
Many national museums close on Mondays.
On museumtickets.com: 421 museums with photos, the way there and the museums nearby. Save your favourites in the free Culture Passport and, where the museum offers it, pay your admission in advance.
From the airport to the city centre by public transport, then the trains and local lines to the museums.
Lines and timetables change. Check the operator’s website before you travel.
From the temples of Malta to the Wall in Berlin: Europe is one big cultural family. One site to plan your museum days, in your language.
