Discover with Kleya a selection of Portugal ́s most iconic museums and let us guide you into the heart and soul of this beautiful country.
Portugal is a country of impressive history and art traditions, ranging from prehistoric times, to the most contemporary trends.
In Porto visit Museu Soares dos Reis. At more than two hundred years old, it is the oldest public museum in Portugal. The most impressive part of the Museu is its collection of paintings and sculptures. You can make the most of your visit and discover nearby sights, like the Glass Palace and its magnificent gardens.
Next on your list in Porto you cannot miss the world renowned Serralves, designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira. One of the most important institutions worldwide, raking in the top 100 most visited museums in the world, it includes a Contemporary Art Museum, a Park and a Villa, each one an example of contemporary architecture, Modernism, and Art Deco architecture.
A trip to Porto is not complete without a visit to one of the famous Port Wine cellars like Sandeman, Calem or Porto Ferreira. Just pick one! All will offer a tour of the cellars and wine tasting visits and you will have an amazingly good time.
In central Portugal visit the beautiful city of Coimbra, one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in the world, established in 1290.
A few kilometres away from the city centre you can travel back in time and visit Conimbriga, one of the largest Roman settlements excavated in Portugal. Inhabited since prehistoric times, Conímbriga was occupied by Roman troops in 139 BC and it became the prosperous capital city of the Lusitania province. You will find buildings for everyday life in a Roman city, such as the forum, the amphitheatre and the thermal baths.
In Lisbon you can start with the beautiful Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, offering one of the largest art collections in the world: 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, furniture, textiles, ceramics,and prints. The museum's collection travels across more than a millennium of art from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas and includes masterpieces by Hieronymus Bosch, Hans Holbein the Elder, Francisco de Zurbarán, Albrecht Dürer, Domingos Sequeira, and Giambattista Tiepolo. Take time to relax in the garden and enjoy a gorgeous view of the Tejo river.
Up in one of the oldest parts of Lisbon town, right next to the Moorish Wall and the unmissable Castelo de São Jorge, you have the Decorative Arts Museum. On display is magnificent Indo-Portuguese furniture, a priceless collection of silver and Chinese porcelain, and several Flemish tapestries from the 16th and 18th centuries. The interior of the palace is beautiful, with its original 17th-century wooden floors, painted ceilings, and panels of blue and white tiles.
Located in the most beautiful garden in Lisbon, you will love visiting Museu Calouste Gulbenkian. Regarded as one of the best museums in Portugal, the Gulbenkian can take you from Ancient Egypt to the present day across its collections.
Go down to the river Tejo and discover Belém. Belém offers a wide range of historic and contemporary museums, and is a very comfortable location to spend a day, with gardens and lovely views.
Just to name a couple you have Museu da Marinha, with perfect models of ships, from naus and caravels to "modern" cruisers, it is a fascinating testimony to maritime history and the activities of the Portuguese navigators.
Located right across the street from the Monastery of Jeronimos, you have the Museu Coleção Berardo. It is the main Modern and Contemporary Art Museum in the country. With four current exhibitions on view, this is a museological space of reference in Lisbon.
