Portuguese Cinematheque
On Rua Barata Salgueiro, Lisbon's home of cinema: daily screenings in seasons, temporary exhibitions, a bookshop and a terrace.
Portuguese Cinematheque – Film Museum
Created in 1948 as the Cinemateca Nacional, by a law that placed it within the services of the SNI, the Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema is the public institution that preserves and promotes Portugal's film heritage. It began programming screenings in 1958, at the Palácio Foz, and in 1980 acquired the building on Rua Barata Salgueiro, where daily screenings started that same year; in April 1981 a nitrate print caught fire and completely destroyed the auditorium. Refurbishment completed in January 2003 gave the headquarters two cinemas, the Sala M. Félix Ribeiro and the Sala Luís de Pina, exhibition rooms, a bookshop and a restaurant. Today it is above all a place to watch films: the monthly programme, organised in seasons, screens works from every period and part of the world each day. The Cupidos and Carvalhos rooms host temporary exhibitions with free admission. Film preservation is the job of the ANIM, the centre opened in 1996 in Bucelas, outside Lisbon, which houses the permanent exhibition on pre-cinema, devoted to the magic lantern, optical toys, photography and the beginnings of film, open only to schools and groups by appointment. The founder, Manuel Félix Ribeiro, ran the institution until 1982.
Located at: Cinemateca Portuguesa
Address: Rua Barata Salgueiro, 39, 1269-059 Lisboa
Opening hours: daily film screenings according to the monthly programme; temporary exhibition Monday to Friday 14:00-19:30 (free admission, until 31 October 2026); bookshop Monday to Saturday 14:00-22:00
Phone: +351 213 596 200
Coordinates: 38.7207707, -9.1486475
Buses: 706, 709, 774, 19B, 773, 711, 722, 732, 736, 744
Tram: 24E
Metro: Avenida (Blue), Marquês de Pombal (Yellow, Blue)
Train: Sintra Line, Rossio Station
Opened: 1980 (46 years)
