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The National Museum of Roman Art was inaugurated on September 9, 1986, specifically to house the Roman findings in the city. The building resembles the splendour of the Roman monuments and it mirrors Roman construction through modern architectural concepts and techniques. It was built with bricks specially manufactured for the museum. One of the features of the museum is the use of natural light to illuminate the items on display. The museum is built on top of Roman remains of houses and roadways, which can also be visited, in the museum's crypt. The creation of the first archaeological museum dates back to 1838 but it had to be re-evaluated, particularly after major excavations in 1910 and in the 1960s significantly increased its collections. The church of Santa Clara, the original premises of the museum, still houses the Visigothic collection. Opening hours: 9.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (6.30 p.m. Oct. to Mar.; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sun.; closed on Mon.) Entrance fee: ...

The National Tile Museum is located in the Monastery of Madre Deus, founded in 1509 by Queen D. Leonor. The monastery was enlarged, by order of King John III, during the 16th century. In the 17th century it was renovated; the first tiles and gilded wood date from this period. It was further decorated during the reign of King John V, in the first half of the 17th century, when Portugal was prospering with the gold sent from Brazil. However, the great earthquake of 1755 caused some destruction and the monument had to be restored. In 1834 the religious orders were extinct in Portugal and later in the century, there were plans to convert the monastery into an asylum. Tiles started being brought in for the decoration but they ended up just being stored. At the beginning of the 20th century many monuments, including the Monastery of Madre Deus, were put under the tutelage of the National Museum of Ancient Art. In the mid-century, an exhibition was organised to celebrate the 500th annive...

The museum houses one of the world’s largest decorative arts collections with about 531,500 works divided into five chronological sections (the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the 17 th  and 18 th  centuries, the 19 th  century, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, Modern and Contemporary) and five thematic sections (graphic arts, jewelry, toys, wallpaper, glassware).  The museum was founded in 1905 by members of the Union des Arts Décoratifs and, from the start, the collections of the museum  have largely been formed by donations and bequests. Opening hours: Tue. to Sun. 11 am to 6 pm. (until 9 pm on Thu., Temporary Exhibitions only) Entrance fee: €11 How to go: Palais Royal//Museé du Louvre metro station.

The Museum of Portuguese Decorative Arts presents works from the 15th to 18th centuries, namely furniture, textiles, silverware, porcelain, Portuguese pottery and tiles, paintings, drawings and sculptures. It's almost entirely composed of artworks bought both at national and international auctions, in an effort to recover works from Portuguese artistic heritage. The Palace that houses the collection, the Azurara Palace, was built in the 17th century, on top of previous structures that stood between two towers of the Moorish wall, one of which can still be seen on the right-hand side of the palace. The palace was bought and recovered in 1947 by Ricardo Espirito Santo Silva to house his collection of Portuguese artworks and the school of decorative arts, where many of the artworks are restored. Opening hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed on Tuesdays Entrance fee (standard): €4 How to go: Tram 28 (beware of pickpockets) Back to Lisbon ...