For art lovers, Lisbon also has something to offer just about everyone. From contemporary galleries, urban street art, traditional fine art, to a new design museum, there is plenty to pack into your visit.

Among the more obvious visits are also the lesser known treats: it’s just knowing where to look. This “48 hour art beat” guide gives you tips for two days of non-stop creative sensory input.

Guide is organized according to geographic region within the city and can be followed in the order presented.

Lisbon for Art Lovers: Day 1

  • Museu Berardo - Start your tour out strong with a stop at the largest contemporary art collection in Lisbon. Inaugurated in 2007, the Berardo Museum which is housed in the CCB (Belem Cultural Center) has an impressive collection of the top names in contemporary art and finally puts a contemporary art space on the Lisbon map. Over 500 artists from the 20th and 21st century are represented in the collection.
  • Museu da Electricidade – Moving eastward along the river, take a moment to stop by the beautiful red brick building, a former electrical plant powering the city with energy, now an electricity museum with gallery space for contemporary art shows, including the World Press Photo exhibit. Check the large poster hanging on the outdoor cistern advertising the current show.
  • LX Factory – Lisbon’s newest hot spot for art, design, and creative connection. A former factory and warehouse space, the newly refurbished areas supply artist ateliers, creative office space, party rental space and an amazing bookstore with an old printing press in the middle. With two cafés, you are bound to find something to munch on as you explore the grounds, peruse the bookstore, and get connected to Lisbon’s creatives.
  • Museu da Arte Antiga – This stop is probably not much of a secret, but I’m including it here because it deserves your visit. Feast on paintings that date back to the 15th century and then treat yourself to something from the café on the ground floor, which opens up to one of the most beautiful garden spaces in Lisbon. If you’ve only got 15 minutes, make sure to see Nuno Gonçalves’ polyptych and Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych.
  • São Bento Street - To finish out the day, I suggest you wander up São Bento street in the São Bento district, bordering Santos. Passing the National Assembly building on the corner and heading upward, keep your eyes alert for: design/art gallery Yron, Portugal’s traditional glassware store Marinha Grande, urban street art lining both sides of the street, and the vast selection of high-end antique stores which time travel you centuries back into the houses and palaces that once housed the pricey furniture and home décor items now on display.

Lisbon for Art Lovers: Day 2

  • Galeria Graça Brandão: Step into the gritty, smelly, funky neighborhood of Bairro Alto. The hip bars and expensive designer shops are an ‘art walk’ in and of themselves, spaced apart by wall graffiti and remnants of last night’s party littering the floor. One gallery to visit in particular is Graça Brandão, which will introduce you to a bit of highbrow contemporary art from Portuguese and Brazilian artists.
  • Chiado 8: Wandering out of Bairro Alto, step into the heart of Chiado and find Chiado 8. The Fidelidade Mundial bank cedes a modest space to the programming of this contemporary art space, which is a satellite gallery of a larger institution, Culturgest. Free admission.
  • Museu do Chiado: Wander deeper into Chiado to the Museu do Chiado, an austere, concrete building housing temporary exhibits that tend to showcase both Portuguese and non-Portuguese work from the 20th and 21st century. Also plan on enjoying a drink in their pleasant outdoor café, one of the few places also serving Sunday brunches.
  • MUDE: If you’ve still got some fire under those soles, hop on the 28 eléctrico in Chiado and get off in Baixa to visit the newly opened MUDE museum. Francisco Capelo’s extensive collection of design and fashion is displayed in a former bank building, gutted and purposely left raw to house the art. The context works very well with the collection. Slated to reopen in 2010 in a more permanent space.
  • Museu Nacional do Azulejo: To finish off your marathon art walk, this last visit will require a bus or taxi ride to the outskirts of the city to visit the beautiful building and collection that is the National Museum of Ceramics. Familiarize yourself with the beautiful tiles, or ‘azulejos’, that are emblematic of Lisbon. Complete with a lovely café and shop.

Design Hotels in Lisbon

Photo of Museu Berardo, Lisbon, Portugaln by Ponto y Virgula

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About the author

Venere Travel Blog writer maureen moore

With an ever-present thirst for culture, travel, beauty, and adventure, Maureen shares her perspective on the people and places that walk through her world through these writings. As a current resident of the City of Angels, USA, she shares her favorite city secrets from around the globe with other world wanderers through these posts.

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