National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo)

PRR Works Worth EUR 4.5 Million

The National Tile Museum closed to the public on 1 November 2025 for construction works funded by Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), a programme of EU-backed investment. The works are worth EUR 4.5 million. The museum sits in the former Madre de Deus convent, a 16th-century building, and the project covers the entrance and shop areas, which the president of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal said are still being redone.

Both the museum's own site and Museus e Monumentos de Portugal carry the closure notice. Many other pages, including ticket sellers and blogs, still print the normal hours and sell tickets as if nothing had changed. The museum's own site wins: the doors are shut.

If you are planning days around other national museums, check best museums in Lisbon are open before you set out, because several museums in the city are closed or reopening in stages.

What the Officials Say

The museum's official site gives no reopening date. The president of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal said in an interview that the works are finished and the museum should reopen early next year, which means 2027. Treat that as an expectation from a press statement, not a promise.

The entrance and shop were still being redone when he spoke.

How to Check Before Your Trip

Two channels carry the truth. The museum's site is mnazulejo.gov.pt, and the closure banner there is the current record. You can also write to [email protected] or call +351 218 100 340. If a seller offers you a ticket for a date during the closure, the museum's own notice outranks the listing.

While you wait, the Gulbenkian Museum and the National Coach Museum are open, and the Free Museums in Lisbon page lists which ones cost nothing at all.

Open Azulejo at Palacio da Calheta

This is the stop-gap the museum itself points to. The Open Azulejo exhibition sits at Palacio da Calheta, Rua General Joao de Almeida 15, in Belem, and it runs until 15 December 2026. It opens Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-17:00, with last entry at 16:30, and entry costs EUR 5 per Time Out.

The museum's own site lists the exhibition's hours but gives no price, so confirm EUR 5 at the door. The exhibition shows the palace's own 17th-century tiles together with pieces from the Tile Museum's collection.

Sao Vicente de Fora in Alfama

The monastery church of Sao Vicente de Fora in Alfama holds a series of 38 panels with fables from La Fontaine in tile. A third-party guide puts entry at about EUR 5, but that figure comes from outside the church's own channels, so confirm the price and the hours on the church's site before you go.

Comparing Your Tile Stops

The table lines up the places you can see azulejos during the closure, with the price and days each one keeps. Figures come from the museum's own site and Time Out, and entries marked not confirmed are not published by the venue itself.

What the 2.5 Hours Look Like

The Create Your Own Azulejo Tile Workshop runs 2.5 hours and costs from EUR 55 per person depending on the option. An instructor takes you through designing a pattern, and your design is printed on a 10 cm x 10 cm tile that you leave with the same day. Drawing and painting material, tea or coffee and cookies are included. It is rated 4.9 from 603 reviews and the listing warns it is likely to sell out, so check availability early.

It does not include entry to any museum, and extra tiles or other personalized objects cost more. Children under 10 years are not suited to it. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before, and a private option for a group of up to 12 people or a small group of up to 6 exists depending on the option.

A Convent from 1509

The museum occupies the Convento da Madre de Deus, founded in 1509 by Queen Leonor. The tile collection itself tells the story of azulejos from the 15th century to today. The museum was created in 1965 and became a national museum in 1980.

The building is part of the exhibit: a Manueline cloister and a gilded baroque church sit inside the complex.

The Great Panorama of Lisbon

The star piece is the Great Panorama of Lisbon, a 36-metre frieze of about 1,300 tiles made around 1700, before the 1755 earthquake. It shows the city's riverfront as it stood. Another named highlight is Our Lady of Life, a 1580 tile panel showing the Nativity.

If the closure falls in your trip, the Museu de Lisboa covers the city's own history across four sites including a Roman theatre and the Casa dos Bicos facade.

Hours, Price and Closed Days

When the museum reopens, hours go back to Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-18:00 with last entry at 17:15. The regular ticket is EUR 10. The museum closes on Mondays and on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. The Lisboa Card covers entry free of charge, and the Lisboa Card for Museums page explains the pass, which starts at EUR 31 for 24 hours and includes free admission to more than 50 museums and monuments plus unlimited public transport.

Under the national Acesso 52 rule in force since 1 August 2024, Portuguese citizens and residents in Portugal get 52 free days a year at the 37 state sites by showing their Cartao de Cidadao, and children under 12 enter national museums free. Tourists do not qualify for those free days.

The Shop, for Now at Restauradores

The museum shop has not closed with the museum. It trades temporarily at Palacio Foz, Praca dos Restauradores 13, in the centre, which is handy if you want tile reproductions or books before the museum itself returns.

Finding the Convent

The address is Rua da Madre de Deus 4, 1900-312 Lisboa, in the Madre de Deus / Xabregas area east of the centre. One travel writer describes the trip from downtown as about 20 minutes by bus running along the river, with the water in view for much of the ride. The exact Carris line number is not published here, so check the Carris site or app for the current service before you travel.

Yes, for Two Things Above All

The National Tile Museum is worth visiting for the Great Panorama of Lisbon and the church. The Panorama is 36 metres of about 1,300 tiles showing the whole riverfront as it stood around 1700, before the 1755 earthquake changed the city. The gilded baroque church and the Manueline cloister of the 1509 convent come with the ticket. The collection also includes the 1580 Our Lady of Life panel and tile history from the 15th century onwards.

It is shut on Mondays. If your dates fall inside the closure, the workshop and the Open Azulejo exhibition carry the tile theme, and the Gulbenkian Museum and MAC/CCB (ex-Berardo) carry the art.