10 Best Sights in Lisbon, Portugal

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.

With a beautiful Moorish-style atrium, the city's movie museum hosts exhibitions on film history and screens classics from all over the world, usually in the original language and with Portuguese or English subtitles. Arrive early to check out the treasures displayed around the building, like the first Lumière projector used in the country. There's a café with a pleasant terrace.

Portugal has a rich history of using puppets—from cute to creepy—to tell stories, and this fascinating museum is an opportunity to see the marionettes and masks up close. The only one of its kind in Portugal, the Marionette Museum has expanded in recent years to include an impressive collection of African and Asian puppets, and big-ticket visiting exhibitions have included a selection of puppets from Tim Burton's animated movies. The location, inside a former convent, adds an extra dash of drama to the proceedings, and there’s a chance to get hands-on with some of the puppets.

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.

Portugal has a rich history of using puppets—from cute to creepy—to tell stories, and this fascinating museum is an opportunity to see the marionettes and masks up close. The only one of its kind in Portugal, the Puppet Museum includes an impressive collection of African and Asian puppets alongside the Portuguese exhibits. The location, inside a former convent, adds an extra dash of drama to the proceedings, and there's a chance to get hands-on with some of the puppets.

The Money Museum is much more than a collection of coins and banknotes from Portugal and around the world, beautifully presented; its fascinating interactive displays cover topics ranging from pre-monetary conventions and the origins of money, through the manufacture of coins and notes, to the tasks of central banks today. You'll also get the chance to try to lift a gold bar. Housed in a deconsecrated church long used as the garage of the neighboring Bank of Portugal, it's a beautifully adapted space. Don't miss the basement, with the only known remnant of Lisbon's 13th-century city wall.

Visitors intrigued by the haunting sounds of fado can learn about the celebrated Portuguese music at this small but carefully curated museum. A permanent exhibition outlines the emergence of the style and its key artists, while occasional live performances provide a chance to hear modern day stars.

The spirit of heroism is palpable in the sprawling barracks and arsenal complex of the Lisbon Military Museum, which houses one of the largest artillery collections in the world. You can ogle a 20-ton bronze cannon and admire Vasco da Gama's sword in a room dedicated to the explorer and his voyages. As you clatter through endless echoing rooms of weapons, uniforms, and armor, you may be lucky enough to be followed—at a respectful distance—by a guide who can convey exactly how that bayonet was jabbed or that gruesome flail swung. In this ornate building there is also a collection of 18th- to 20th-century art.

Designed by Brazilian Pritzker Prize winner Paulo Mendes da Rocha, this very popular museum has a dazzling collection of gloriously gilded horse-drawn conveyances. The oldest on display was made for Philip II of Spain in the late 1500s; the most stunning are three created in Rome for King John V in 1716. The museum was originally located at the nearby Royal Riding School, which still has exhibitions. It's right next door to the official residence of the president of the republic, whose Museu da Presidência tells the story of the presidency, profiles the officeholders, and displays gifts that have been received on state visits.