What to do and see in Central Portugal, Portugal: The Best Museums

The LOAD ZX SPECTRUM is the World's first museum dedicated to the ZX Spectrum and everything related to it. The ZX Spectrum was the first personal computer of so many Portuguese, Spanish, English and many others around the world. The ZX Spectrum played a significant role in the technological revolution and has a close connection to Portugal were many were assembled and even some models developed.

With works ranging from Antiquity to the early 20th century, the Founder’s Collection comprises more than six thousand pieces gathered throughout Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian’s life, including Egyptian Art, Greco-Roman Art, Islamic Arts, Painting, Sculpture and European Decorative Arts. Works by great masters such as Rubens, Rembrandt, Turner, Degas and René Lalique’s largest set of jewels are just a few examples of what can be found in one of the best private collections in the world. Besides the Founder’s Collection, the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is also comprised by the Modern Collection, which features the largest and most complete collection of modern and contemporary Portuguese Art. The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is surrounded by one of the most emblematic modern gardens in Portugal, open all year. The Museum offers a wide range of facilities to improve the visitor’s experience: three cafeterias overlooking the Garden, a museum shop, free cloackroom service and free Wi-Fi.

Located in an 18th-century riding academy attached to the royal palace, the museum features coaches and carriages dating back to the seventeenth century.

Considered to house the best collection of Portuguese and European art, this museum features works by Gonclaves, Bosch, Raphael and more.

A must-see for people interested in the history and design of ceramic tiles, this specialty museum houses a splendid collection of decorative tiles dating from the 15th century to the present.

The final seventeen kilometres of the Coa valley contain hundreds of Palaeolithic engravings along the river’s banks, extending all the way to the River Douro. This zone has been made into Portugal’s first Archaeological Park. This Park was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 2 December 1998. This entire open-air art collection, which buries the old myth of rock art only existing in caves, is exhibited in the Museum through original pieces of movable art, replicas of “rock panels” and interactive zones that use modern digital technology. The art can also be viewed in loco on organised visits to the valley with specialised guides (advance booking required). Visit also (no advance booking required) the Museum which provides an overview of the Ice Age Coa Valley rock-art, its archaeological context as well as magnificent views over the Coa and Douro rivers. Museum opening times: High season: 09:00 AM - 06:00 PM; Closes at lunchtime (01:00 PM - 02-00 PM) in low season from the 20th of October until the last day of February. Closed on Mondays, 1st of January, 1st of May and 25th of December.

Located in Belém, the Museu Coleção Berardo is The Most Visited Museum in Portugal and is the Main Modern and Contemporary Art Museum in Lisbon, with 6 Major Exhibitions on view. Open every day, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last entrance: 6:30 p.m.) Admission Ticket (adult): 5€, discounts available. Free on Saturdays, all day. Houses the Berardo Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, together with temporary exhibits. The permanent collection of the museum presents the major art movements of the 20th century - Cubism, Dadaism, Constructivism, De Stijl, Surrealism, Post-war Figuration, CoBrA, Abstract Expressionism, Kinetic and Op Art, Nouveau Réalisme, British Pop Art, American Pop Art, among others, presenting works from artists like Mondrian, Picasso, Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Jackson Polock, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dalí, Francis Bacon, Balthus, Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Pistoletto, Bill Viola, Andreas Gursky, Frank Stella, among others. A must-see in Lisbon!

The Carmo Archaeological Museum is situated in the ruins of the old Church of Santa Maria do Carmo, founded in 1389 by D. Nuno Alvares Pereira. This church was known as one of the most beautiful Gothic temples in Lisbon until the earthquake of 1755, which caused serious damage to the building and destroyed almost all of its religious-artistic contents. Its re-construction began in an experimental Gothic style in 1756 and stopped in 1834, when the religious orders were abolished in Portugal. In 1863, royal architect, Joaquim Possidonio da Silva, founded the Portuguese Civil Architects Association. About one year later, in 1864, the Carmo Archaeological Museum was installed there for the storage and display of important sculptures from old ruined buildings. Curing the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. the museum houses a collection which dates from Pre-History to the present day and shows the way people have thought and felt in different areas of culture throughout the ages.