Museu Nacional do Azulejo – Portugal’s National Tile Museum

Is Lisbon’s National Tile Museum worth visiting?

National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo) is ranked #8 out of 18 things to do in Lisbon and we quite enjoyed our visit. I do think it would have been a good place to visit earlier in our trip to Portugal. We spent a short 2 days in Lisbon, then headed to the Algarve for 5 weeks then back to Lisbon. Everywhere we wandered in Portugal, we saw examples of azulejo. 

The ceramic tiles adorn the facades of buildings, they’re used as flooring and as ceiling decoration. Knowing some of the history behind the designs and manufacturing processes likely would have helped us to appreciate more of what we saw.

What are some highlights of Lisbon’s National Tile Museum

The Museu Nacional do Azulejo, also know as the National Tile Museum, is an art museum in Lisbon, Portugal dedicated to the azulejo, traditional tilework of Portugal and the former Portuguese Empire, as well as of other cultures of the Ibero-America and the Iberian Peninsula.

The audio guide is very helpful and provides a tremendous amount of information

Examples are present for single and multi-panel designs. There are tiles and mosaics ranging from entire walls down to single small tiles. Azulejo placement on floors, walls and ceilings is represented

How much time should I plan to spend at Lisbon’s National Tile Museum

Based on a reasonable pace and fully utilizing the audio guide, it’s pretty likely that your visit will take around 2 hours. That pace allows a bit of extra time to take in pieces that really catch your eye; no rushing through. 

Is Lisbon’s National Tile Museum free with the ‘Lisboa Card’

Yes

How to get to Lisbon’s National Tile Museum

We were staying in Alcantara so it was a quick walk up the block to catch the 742 bus which runs right into the Madre Deus area. The stop was just a few blocks from the museum. 

The museum is about a mile from Santa Apolonia station; several bus routes run past the Santa Apolonia station and near the tile museum.

Since Lisbon is essentially made of hills unless you stay within about a quarter mile of the river; we highly recommend getting a transit pass (or the Lisboa card if you want to use some of the discounted entry fees). We found the transit system to be very easy to navigate; both the busses and the trams.

Where can I get more information about Lisbon’s National Tile Museum

The official museum website has been under renovation for months now (as of June 2024) so the best resource for hours of operation, temporary exhibits and ticket prices will be at https://www.visitlisboa.com/en/places/national-tile-museum