Get in touch with your inner sailor at the Maritime Museum. This nautical institution preserves the memory of Portugal’s pioneering explorers with displays of famous personalities, boat models and examples of their cartography. With a collection of 17,000 items, this is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of maritime history from the Middle Ages on.
Portugal boasts a prolific naval history, with many of the greatest nautical explorers departing on their journey from Lisbon’s port. Learn about such pioneers as Vasco da Gama, whose ground-breaking journey to India is remembered in a small wooden figure on display in the museum. Nearby, admire a 17th-century globe made by one of Portugal’s most renowned cartographers.
Also in the exhibition space, inspect two 18th-century ceremonial barges that were operational for nearly 200 years. In this time, these boats transported such famous clientele as Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Queen Elizabeth II of England. In the Far East Room, the maritime history of the Orient is represented in a collection of porcelain and Asiatic ships.
Imagine the strangeness of discovering a new world as you study centuries-old maps recorded by exploring sailors. Learn the intriguing stories of the discovery of America. Some legends suggest that Portuguese mariners discovered the North American continent long before Christopher Columbus was even born. Follow the evolution of nautical instruments that helped sailors navigate and journey further into the unknown. Amongst many such tools, learn about the sextants and telescopes that are on display.
The museum also features a number of displays of modern marine exploration. Walk around the Santa Cruz, a seaplane that completed the inaugural air crossing of the South Atlantic in 1922.
The Lisbon Maritime Museum is in a wing of the Jeronimos Monastery, located in the Belem district. Get there using bus and tram lines. The museum is within walking distance of other attractions and is open daily (except Monday). There is an admission fee.
