Museums and cultural centers, Lisbon

4 more images

In Carmo convent you have 2 in 1: The ruins are also the archaeological museum. Well I must confess that the display is not too convincing, and that the most remarkable thing is the building... or what remains of it. Anyway, if the theme interests you... it's there.

1 more image

The Pavilhão do Conhecimento (Pavilion of Knowledge) is an interactive museum on science and technology, located in the Expo area close to the more widely known Oceanarium. The concept is to make science more accessible to people of all ages through "live science". It was built in 1998 in time for the Expo that year.

The Pavilion houses a permanent exhibition divided into four areas: the “Exploratorium” where physics, humour and art mix together in educational exhibits; the “See, Do and Learn!”, the “Unfinished House” where children build houses at their own scale, and the “Live Mathematics”, which I found the most interesting. There are also temporary exhibitions. The exhibits have good English translation.

The exhibits are really fun to get into, and of course, there are plenty of things to learn here. Not only is it interesting for kids of all ages, but for adults as well -- and a day can easily be spent in this huge building. It's a big playground, essentially, but an intelligent one.

There is a cybercafé, a bookstore, a media library and a museum shop. A nice place to visit as a complement to the visit to the Oceanarium nearby. It is closed on Mondays.

4 more images

Museu Militar or Military Museum in Lisbon is one of the best military museums of the World. Of course it is smaller than the Imperial War Museum in London, UK, Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow or Artillery Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. But smaller doesn’t mean worse because majority of the artifacts in Museo Militar are really unique. The museum building consists of two floors and basement. The basement is the typical XV century structure build as the Arsenal and survived nowadays despite of the earthquake of 1755.

In the basement and yard you will see the Great collection of artillery pieces starting from XV century. Some of them are Portuguese and some produced in other countries including UK, France and even Malaysian Sultanates. Some of those foreign guns were received as the military assistance and some captured as the war trophies.

Exhibitions dedicated to Portuguese colonial campaigns in Africa, Portuguese Royal family, Vasco da Gama, Luis de Comoes, Albuquerque and other outstanding military leaders of Portugal are situated in the very beautiful halls deserving to be the Royal Palace interior. The museum armory is small but posses the absolutely unique and very rare examples of medieval arms and armor starting from XV century.

Special exhibition dedicated to the most famous Portuguese military Commanders the King Dom Joao I and Royal Constable Nun’ Alvaro Pereira and their incredible victory at the battle of Aljubarrota fought on August 14, 1385 is small but the brilliant. Excellent exhibition dedicated to the Peninsular War of 1807-1814 is in the museum and represents to your attention real uniforms and arms of those times. And of course nobody cannot remain indifferent to the exhibition dedicated to the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps and its efforts during WW I. This is the epic story of the over human heroism and self-sacrifice of small Portuguese Force during the Great War. You can see the huge mural paintings painted by Sousa Lopes and dedicated to the common Portuguese soldiers and officers. There are also weapons belonged to the enemies of Portuguese Army. The very important thing is that all exhibitions organized in such way which produces you some notion about the adversaries of Portugal but the same time show the respect to the enemy.

So, I can say that Museo Militar is the real “must see” place, because anybody whatever his interests are can get additional education and knowledge about Portugal and its glorious history. To my mind that museum taught me additional lesson that the Greatness of Country and Nation doesn’t depend on the size of its territory and number of subjects or citizens. I highly recommend to visit that museum.

One of the things that to me make Lisbon such an appealing city is just the right amount of her cultural offerings especially those that are considered permanent installations such as her monuments and museums. Enough are there available that one could easily feel satisfied gratified and even satiated in say, a full-week's visit. That said, it's a good sensation to feel enriched without being overwhelmed, full but not bloated that could turn a visitor feeling exhausted from exceeding saturation in places such as Rome, Florence or Paris.

In terms of fine arts, Lisbon has two outstanding museums: the Gulbenkian and the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Museum of Fine Arts). Both contain a repository of great paintings mostly from the 16th century to the present (in the case of the Gulbenkian, a separate wing of modern works at the Arte Moderna). This means, as in great museums anywhere, a collection robust in Flemish, Renaissance, Baroque and on to French impressionism, cubist, religious, etc. But the core of its collection are the rare paintings from the Portuguese school of the 15th century. For these I much prefer the Arte Antiga - tho I love the Gulbenkian besides - for its compactness and warm old-world setting both in its magnificent building of a converted palace and its landscape with the garden, cafe and restaurant high on a hill overlooking the docas by the River Tejo. Above all, this decidedly personal preference, is also triggered by the fact that my favorite painting of all times - Bosch's 'Temptation of St. Anthony' - is securely owned and housed in the Museu de Arte Antiga which shouldn't be missed by any means.

If you're one arts and culture-seeker traveller and looking to experience a night of opera in Lisbon, then the city's singularly opulent Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos is the perfect place to be. The theatre/opera house stages productions as well as concerts all year-round for the most part except during the suffocating months of summer when it tends to be closed.

This opera house, located at Rua Serpa Pinto in the city's fashionable district of Chiado, was built during the latter part of the 1700's from the design of architect Jose da Costa e Silva of neo-classical and rococo elements. It's a beautiful grand structure so pleasing to look at and admire even if only for its architectural offering thus satisfaction to the visitor. This house, clearly far more modern than the one it replaced which burned down as a result of the horrific eathquake of 1755 which destroyed so much of Lisbon unfortunately. Built in the grand scale of great opera houses, both its interior and facade was modelled after that of La Scala in Milan. Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos has a seating capacity of 1148 and its first performance opened on July 30, 1793.

The theatre/opera house also has a high-end restaurant on the ground floor complete with luxurious interior decor, a massive stupendous chandelier, fastidiously-dressed waiters and a dining experience believed to equal the opera's high notes.

It's good to pay the theatre a quick visit for a look-see of their current productions and/or the restaurant beforehand rather than buying opera tickets on-line.

This long tip was written in French and separately in English at a time where VT limited the number of characters.

Cette page est réservée aux amateurs et passionnés de modélisme naval.
Lorsque j'ai lu que la collection de modèles du début du 19ème siècle entreposée à l'école navale de Lisbonne avait été détruite en 1916 par un incendie, je me suis demandé si le musée de Belem valait la visite étant donné la perte des anciens modèles de voiliers. Lorsqu'on sait d'expérience combien de mois ou d'années il faut pour construire une maquette de voilier ancien sous voiles on ne peut qu'être sensible à cette perte.

Heureusement le Portugal a pu compter sur Henrique Maufroy de Seixas (1896-1948), chercheur et homme de la mer qui a reproduit ou fait reproduire par des artisans de l'Arsenal naval des modèles d'une grande qualité et précision historique. Pour s'assurer de l'exactitude des modèles Maufroy de Seixas a utilisé un grand nombre de documents, dessins, plans, photos et s'est entouré des conseils de marins. On peut penser que grâce à lui les maquettes manufacturées après l'incendie sont peut être plus précises que les maquettes plus anciennes détruites par l'incendie de 1916.
Il a légué ses collections soit environ 300 modèles de navires ainsi que d'innombrables documents à l'état portugais ce qui permet à ce musée de présenter tant de belle maquettes des différentes époques.
Une salle lui est consacrée.

1 more image

This long tip was written in French and separately in English at a time where VT limited the number of characters.

L'amateur d'art se doit visiter ce musée dont les collections furent constituées par Calouste Gulbenkian, arménien, investisseur dans le pétrole dont il tira sa richesse. Ce fut un collectionneur d'un goût très sur qui légua sa fortune et sa collection à l'état portugais après s'être établi à Lisbonne de 1942 à 1955.

C'est un musée multiple en ce sens qu'il présente aussi bien des antiquités égyptiennes que des arts décoratifs. Environ 1000 pièces sur les 6000 que comprend la collection sont exposées dans un cadre très agréable.
Le musée se caractérise par sa diversité: art égyptien, gréco-romain, mésopotamien, islamique, arménien, d'extrême orient avec une magnifique collection de porcelaines, une belle collection de peintures européennes comprenant la plupart des grands maîtres depuis les primitifs flamands aux impressionnistes.
L'art oriental islamique de Perse, Turquie, Syrie est fortement mis en évidence notamment avec de très belles tapisseries.
Il y a encore des sculptures dont Rodin, des livres anciens avec enluminures et une collection d'art décoratif européen dont des tapisseries françaises.

Le plus époustouflant est la salle entière consacrée aux bijoux du français René Lalique.
J'oserais dire que cette seule salle justifie déjà la visite du Musée Gulbenkian.

4 more images

Azulejo is the name we give to glazed ceramic tiles, and are a noble expressions and a very important element in the Portuguese decorative arts. Actually this is the kind of art that you will see disseminate throughout the streets of Lisbon, and the entire country -inside and outside churches, palaces, ordinary houses and even train stations or subway stations. They constitute a major aspect of Portuguese architecture as they are applied on walls, floors and even ceilings. Moreover, they are not only used as an ornamental art form, but also had a specific functional capacity like temperature control at homes.

Nevertheless, to fully understand the evolution of the tiles, either as decorative art and as element of building covering, and the craftsmanship that goes into making them, this museum is definitely the place to visit.
Its collection is the only of its kind in the world, and contains a splendid array of tiles from as early as the 15th century. Displays range from individual glazed tiles to elaborate pictorial panels. Along with the azulejos there are displays on the techniques used to make them. The name originates from the arab, al zulej (tile or tiled floor), and you will see how complex was the evolution of the tile making from the Moorish production to modern industry.

The five centuries of decorative ceramic tiles, tracing the history and production of the art form are housed in the monastic buildings of the Madre de Deus (Mother of God) Convent (built in 1509), which after renovation following the 1755 earthquake had its interior turned into one of the most magnificent in the city.
The highlight of the museum is a blue and white composition (on the cloister) of approx. 1300 tiles, 30m in length, of Lisbon's Panorama, a detailed study of the cityscape and waterfront, made in 1738 (prior to the 1755 earthquake), and reputedly the country's longest tile piece.

The richly furnished convent church contains some sights of its own. The splendor and opulence of the chapel dedicated to St. Anthony and the chapter house is particularly impressive. Noteworthy amid the rich decoration are panels in the ceiling with gilt frames set with paintings, including portraits of King João III and his queen, Catherine of Austria. Several other glorious paintings in the church depict the life of saints, and filling the main vault are scenes from the Life of the Virgin. This is a place I come from time to time to listen classic music concerts.

Don’t leave without visiting the café-snack bar both to admire the tiles and taste the yummy cookies, and the gift shop that sells tile reproductions -a very good souvenir from your Lisbon’s visit.

Despite its somewhat out-of-the-way location this delightful museum is well worth a visit. Although it is best reached by taxi, the place is served with some regular city buses