2 Best Sights in Beato and Marvila, Lisbon

This magnificent space dedicated to the city's eye-catching azulejo tiles is one of the city's top tourist attractions—and with good reason. Housed in the 16th-century Madre de Deus convent and cloister, it displays a range of individual glazed tiles and elaborate pictorial panels. The 118-foot-long Panorama of Lisbon (1730) is a detailed study of the city and is reputedly the country's longest azulejo mosaic. The richly furnished convent church contains some sights of its own: of note are the gilt baroque decoration and lively azulejo works depicting the life of Saint Anthony. There's also an azulejo-covered café with a pleasant courtyard, and a gift shop that sells, naturally, tiles.

Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro was the older brother of one of Portugal’s greatest artists, Columbano, and was himself a prominent artist but much more multifaceted. Born in Lisbon in 1846, he excelled not just as a painter but above all as an outrageous caricaturist and ceramist. He satirized Portugal’s political and social climate and put great wit into everything he did. He invented the iconic peasant figure Zé Povinho, who had the habit of bluntly saying exactly what he thought and who came to be represented in newspaper cartoons and ceramics. At this museum, housed in the former home of an admirer of the artist, there are drawings, paintings, and fantastically designed ceramics, often featuring animals and plants. There’s also a library with some of Bordalo Pinheiro’s original publications and a video explaining the art and times of the artist.