Tiles, fado and the Gulbenkian: Lisbon’s arts

About Tiles, fado and the Gulbenkian: Lisbon’s arts

By the ULTIMATE Lisbon Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Lisbon’s great collection was left to the city by Calouste Gulbenkian: his museum and the Centro de Arte Moderna stand in a garden in the Avenidas Novas. The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga holds the old masters on the Rua das Janelas Verdes, and the Museu Nacional do Azulejo tells the story of the painted tile. Along the river, MAAT and the Centro Cultural de Belém show architecture and contemporary art; at night, the city listens to fado.

The museums

The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and the CAM, the Centro de Arte Moderna (gulbenkian.pt); the MNAA, reopening on 21 November 2026 after works (museusemonumentos.pt); MAC/CCB, the museum of modern and contemporary art at the Centro Cultural de Belém; and MAAT on the riverfront.

Tiles

The Museu Nacional do Azulejo, in the Convento da Madre de Deus, founded in 1509, is closed for works; while it is shut, its temporary exhibition Open Azulejo is at the Palácio da Calheta (mnazulejo.gov.pt).

Check each museum’s own site before you go: several have been closed for works in 2026.

Music and opera

The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos for opera, Gulbenkian Música for the orchestra and choir, and the Centro Cultural de Belém and the Coliseu dos Recreios for concerts.

Fado

The Museu do Fado, in Alfama, tells the story of Lisbon’s song and lists the fado houses where it is sung each night.

Our advice: book fado for late in the evening, and keep silent while it is sung.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Tiles, fado and the Gulbenkian: Lisbon’s arts before you go.