The Military Museum of Lisbon

Museu Militar de Lisboa

Lisbon’s Unbelievably Cool Military Museum

You probably wouldn’t think that Lisbon’s Military Museum would be anything special. Nobody ever talks about it, and it hardly appears in travel guides. You’ll never find it on a “Best of Lisbon” list. So when we showed up this week with nothing else to do, our expectations were low. But this turned out to be a major surprise; in fact, it was one of the coolest museums we have seen.

Good ole Vasco da Gama

The exhibits are about what you’d expect: old cannons, uniforms, armor, guns, swords and stories. It’s all nicely presented, but the pieces themselves aren’t going to knock your socks off. The building itself, however, will. This former arsenal of the Royal Army, converted into a museum in the mid-19th century, is absolutely stunning.

Nearly every room of this palace-like structure is breathtaking. With sculptures, tiles, paintings, and gorgeous ceilings and floors, each is better than the last. 

There are 34 rooms in all - each amazingly ornate. Most of them are named after national heroes such as Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator.

Unfortunately, almost everything is only labeled in Portuguese, but we're getting used to that!

Definitely with the €1 admission fee.