Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Museum – What you need to know. Learn details about the collection, how to get to the Gulbenkian Museum, ticket prices, opening hours of the Museu Gulbenkian, and more.
What will you see at the Gulbenkian Museum?
The museum is housed in a simple, modernist building designed by architect Alberto J. Pessoa.
The museum complex has several auditoriums, a concert hall, and various galleries.
Built in a sprawling garden, the Gulbenkian Museum integrates the indoors and the outdoors with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out into the gardens and provide much natural light in which to showcase pieces such as Diana the Huntress.
The Gulbenkian Collection is comprised of more than 6000 pieces of art, of which 1000 are on permanent display.
All displays are labeled in both Portuguese and English.
As a collector, Gulbenkian had very broad interests, and as a result, visitors to his collection will see a wide variety of excellent works of art.
There are Greco-Roman pieces including coins from antiquity, Mesopotamian art, Egyptian works, Persian Carpets, and 18th-century French paintings, as well as multiple works by Rembrandt, Claude Monet, Éduard Manet, and Rodin.
Peter Paul Reubens and Rembrandt’s Portrait of an Old Man (1645) were both formerly owned by Catherine the Great.
There is an entire room of art nouveau jewels and glass, largely by French jeweler and master glass craftsman Rene Lalique.
Visitors can also enjoy SèvresPorcelain, French furniture, a variety of clocks, ivory altarpieces, and religious manuscripts.
360 degree virtual tour: 360º virtual tour – Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
The Gulbenkian Garden (Jardim Gulbenkian) is a lush green oasis in the middle of Lisbon. There is no charge to enjoy the garden’s fountains, ponds, bridges, and trails.
It is a great place to enjoy a picnic lunch.
The 7.5 hectare (19 acre) park designed by António Viana Barreto and Gonçalvo Ribeiro Telles has won awards for Landscape Architecture.
Who was Calouste Gulbenkian?
One of the richest men in the world in the twentieth century, Calouste Gulbenkian was born in Armenia in 1869.
He made billions of dollars in the oil industry.
He lived in London and Paris as well and spent his last 15 years in Lisbon.
He died in 1955 at the age of 86.
He never saw the museum, which finally opened in 1969.
Gulbenkian Museum Opening Hours
10 am – 6 pm. Closed on Tuesdays, and January 1, Easter Sunday, May 1, December 24, and 25.
Visitors can download a free audio guide in French, English, or Portuguese.
Admission to the Gulbenkian Museum
Tickets can be purchased at the museum for 10 euros. This includes “The Power of the Word” exhibit.
Children under 12 are free.
At the moment, online tickets are not available.
How to get to the Gulbenkian Museum
The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is located near Praca de Espanha, inside a large garden. The main entrance is at Avenida de Berna, 45A.
Parking is available at Parque Berna and Praca de Espanha.
The two closest metro stations to the Gulbenkian Museum are the Sao Sebastiao Station, (metro red and blue lines) and the Praca Espanha metro station (blue line)
Buses 716, 726, and 756 stop on Avenida de Berna.
What’s nearby
- Campo Pequeno – Lisbon’s bull-fighting ring and a shopping mall all-in-one. Where to shop in Lisbon? Lisbon’s best malls and shopping
- Parque Eduardo VII – An open space in the center of the city with sweeping views of downtown and the river. Parque Eduardo VII | Lisbon’s Central Park – What you should know
Thank you for reading about the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. I am not affiliated with any of the businesses mentioned in this article.
