National Tile Museum

Walk any street in Lisbon and you will see azulejos, the painted ceramic tiles that cover façades, churches, metro stations and kitchens across Portugal. The Museu Nacional do Azulejo tells their story, and it is one of the most rewarding museums in the city. It occupies the former Convent of Madre de Deus, founded in 1509 by Queen Leonor, in the Xabregas district east of Alfama, and the building is half the attraction. The collection runs chronologically, starting with the Hispano-Moorish tiles of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, with their raised geometric patterns, moving through the Renaissance and the polychrome carpet-pattern walls of the seventeenth century, and arriving at the great blue-and-white panels of the Baroque, when tile painters covered entire rooms with hunting scenes, saints and allegories. Later galleries show how the tradition continued through Rococo, nineteenth-century industrial tiles for building façades, Art Nouveau and the modern artists who designed tiles for the Lisbon metro and public buildings. Two highlights stand out. On an upper floor, a long tiled panorama shows Lisbon's riverfront as it looked around 1700, stretching for more than twenty metres, before the earthquake of 1755 destroyed much of it: you can trace the old royal palace on the Terreiro do Paço and the churches along the shore. And the convent church of Madre de Deus is a stunning interior of gilded carved wood, paintings and tiles, one of the richest Baroque spaces in Lisbon. There is also a calm café in a tiled former kitchen with a courtyard.

Why go: tiles are Lisbon's signature art form, and after a couple of hours here you will read the city differently. The geometric patterns on a Mouraria façade, the blue-and-white saints in Alfama churches and the cheerful modern panels in metro stations all slot into a story that runs from the Moorish world to the twentieth century. The museum is also one of the most beautiful buildings you can visit in Lisbon, with cloisters and chapels that most visitors never expect, and it is rarely as crowded as the Belém monuments.

Working the visit: go chronologically, starting on the ground floor, and allow about two hours. Do not miss the church, which is reached through the cloister, or the upper choir, with its gilded ceiling and paintings. The Lisbon panorama is on an upper floor; spend time with it and look for landmarks you will have seen in the modern city. The café makes a good lunch stop, as there are few options nearby. According to the Tiqets venue listing, the museum opens Tuesday to Sunday with a midday break and is closed on Mondays, so check the hours before you go. Entry is modestly priced, and on Tiqets it is sold through the Lisboa Card, which also covers public transport; if you plan to visit several museums and travel a lot, that card can be good value.

Getting there: the museum is not on the metro. It is a bus ride along the riverside from the Baixa or Santa Apolónia, or a taxi from the centre, and a walk of around half an hour from Alfama along a busy road. Pair it with Alfama, the cathedral and the castle, or with the river and the eastern docks. It is an ideal choice for a rainy day, a hot afternoon or anyone who wants to go deeper than the classic sights.