National Archaeology Museum

National Museum of Archaeology – Jerónimos Monastery

Housed in the Jerónimos Monastery building on Praça do Império, the National Museum of Archaeology was founded in December 1893 at the proposal of José Leite de Vasconcelos, by a royal order promulgated by King Carlos and signed by the ministers João Chagas and Bernardino Machado, the political patron of the idea. Over more than a century it has established itself as the leading institution of Portuguese archaeology. The collection brings together the founder's original holdings and those of Estácio da Veiga, later joined by the archaeological collections of the former Royal House, incorporated after the proclamation of the Republic, those of the former Museum of Fine Arts, gifts and bequests from collectors such as Bustorff Silva, Luís Bramão and Samuel Levy, and the finds of intensive fieldwork by the museum itself and by other archaeologists. Conceived by its founder as a kind of Museum of Portuguese Man, it keeps that purpose: telling the story of the settlement of the territory from its origins to the Middle Ages, although the collections include objects and documents reaching into the twentieth century. The museum has been closed for refurbishment since 2022 and no reopening date has yet been announced.

Located at: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia
Address: Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Praça do Império, 1400-206 Lisboa
Opening hours: Closed for refurbishment since 2022; no reopening date announced
Phone: +351 213 620 000
Coordinates: 38.6973662, -9.2070794
Buses: 729, 79B, 728, 751, 714, 727
Tram: 15E
Train: Cascais Line, Belém Station
Boat: Belém River Station
Opened: 1893 (133 years)