Tile detail in the Museo Nacional do Azulejo, Azulejos Museum.

Museu Nacional do Azulejo

Top choice in Lisbon


Housed in a sublime 16th-century convent, Lisbon's Museu Nacional do Azulejo covers the entire azulejo (hand-painted tile) spectrum. Star exhibits feature a 36m-long panel depicting pre-earthquake Lisbon, a Manueline cloister with web-like vaulting and exquisite blue-and-white azulejos, and a gold-smothered baroque chapel.

Here you'll find every kind of azulejo imaginable, from early Ottoman geometry to zinging altars, scenes of lords a-hunting and Goan intricacies. Bedecked with food-inspired azulejos – ducks, pigs and the like – the restaurant opens onto a vine-clad courtyard.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lisbon attractions

1. Panteão Nacional

0.88 MILES

Perched high and mighty above Graça’s Campo de Santa Clara, the porcelain-white Panteão Nacional is a baroque beauty. Originally intended as a church, it…

2. Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora

1.01 MILES

Graça’s Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora was founded in 1147 and revamped by Italian architect Felipe Terzi in the late 16th century. Since the adjacent…

3. Miradouro da Senhora do Monte

1.07 MILES

Lisbon spreads out before you at Graça’s highest of the high, Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Come for the relaxed vibe and the best views of the castle on…

4. Jardim da Cerca da Graça

1.1 MILES

Closed for centuries, this 1.7-hectare green space opened again in 2015 and is Lisbon's second-biggest park, offering a lush transition between the…

5. Miradouro da Graça

1.11 MILES

A much-loved summertime hang-out of lisboêtas, this miradouro (lookout) sidles up to the baroque Igreja da Graça. It has an incredible view of the castle…

6. Museu do Fado

1.19 MILES

Fado (traditional Portuguese melancholic song) was born in Alfama. Immerse yourself in its bittersweet symphonies at Museu do Fado. This engaging museum…

7. Alfama

1.21 MILES

Wander downhill (to save your legs) through Alfama's steep, narrow, cobblestoned streets and catch a glimpse of the more traditional side of Lisbon before…

8. Largo das Portas do Sol

1.24 MILES

This original Moorish gateway affords stunning angles over Alfama’s jumble of red rooftops and pastel-coloured houses, underscored by the true blue Rio…