Asian popular theatre
Masks, shadow puppets and costumes from China, Indonesia, India and Japan.
Joaomartinho63 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mike Steele — CC BY 2.0 · Daderot — CC0 · Timothy Vollmer from Oakland, USA — CC BY 2.0
A museum about Portugal's relationship with Asia, in a vast 1930s industrial building on the Tagus that was a refrigerated warehouse for salt cod. The subject is broader than the name suggests. Portugal maintained a presence in India, Malaysia, China and Japan for centuries — Goa, Malacca, Macau and Nagasaki — and the collection covers that exchange in both directions: the Asian objects that reached Europe, and the Portuguese traces that remained there. The second major section is devoted to Asian popular theatre: masks, shadow puppets and costumes from China, Indonesia, India and Japan, a strong collection and well displayed. The building is part of the visit: a huge industrial block intelligently reused, and a good example of the transformation of Lisbon's riverfront. The location is off the central route and needs a tram or bus, so give it a half day along with a walk on the waterfront.
Masks, shadow puppets and costumes from China, Indonesia, India and Japan.
Centuries of Portuguese presence in Asia, told from both sides rather than one.
A huge industrial block reused — a good example of the riverfront's transformation.
Avenida Brasília, Doca de Alcântara, on the Tagus
LX FactoryLX Factory is Lisbon's factory come back alive: an 1846 textile compound directl9 minutes walk4.6
Carris Transport MuseumA museum about the history of public transport in Lisbon, run by Carris, the com11 minutes walk4.4
25 de Abril BridgeA suspension bridge crossing the Tagus between Lisbon and its southern bank, ope15 minutes walk4.6
Puppet MuseumA museum devoted to puppetry, in a seventeenth-century convent in the quiet Madr17 minutes walk4.7
Estrela BasilicaA late eighteenth-century church with a prominent white dome west of central Lis18 minutes walk4.7A tram or bus along the waterfront from central Lisbon, or a local train to a nearby station. It is not within walking distance of the historic centre. Combine it with a riverfront walk or the nearby LX Factory.
Largely yes, because half the subject is Portuguese: how trade with Asia changed Portugal itself in food, tiles, furniture and language. Anyone visiting Lisbon who wants to understand its maritime past finds here the side that the Belém monuments do not explain.