Museu Nacional dos Coches

The Museu Nacional dos Coches houses the finest collection of royal coaches and carriages in the world. From ornate baroque vehicles to the carriages used on state occasions, the museum offers a vivid picture of European court life between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.

A royal collection

The museum was created in 1905 on the initiative of Queen Amelia, who wanted to preserve the royal vehicles of the Portuguese court. It opened in the former riding school of the Belem Palace, and in 2015 a new building across the avenue, designed by the Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, gave the collection a modern home.

What to see

• Coaches and carriages spanning the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
• Ceremonial coaches of the Portuguese court and of other European courts.
• Richly painted and gilded vehicles, with their original textiles and fittings.
• The light-filled new building, which displays the collection along a single, dramatic route.

Visiting the museum

The museum is at Avenida da India 136, 1300-004 Lisbon, in the Belem district. Opening hours and tickets are published on the official website, so check before your visit.

Visitor information: museudoscoches.gov.pt.

Image credit: Museu Nacional dos Coches, Lisbon, by GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.