Located in a 19th-century mansion in the center of Lisbon, Portugal, the Medeiros e Almeida Museum (Casa-Museu Medeiros e Almeida) is an opulent house-museum with an extensive decorative arts collection and incredible interiors.

The museum displays the private collection of Portuguese entrepreneur and collector Antonio Medeiros e Almeida inside his former mansion and an adjoining wing.

We highly recommend visiting the museum during a private Artisans of Leisure tour in Lisbon. The thousands of objects on display—including textiles, paintings, silverware and Portuguese tiles—reflect Medeiros e Almeida’s eclectic interests spanning centuries of the decorative arts.

The museum interiors include private quarters preserved as they were during Medeiros e Almeida’s lifetime…

…the Louis XIV Room, which is lined with colorful wood paneling…

…and the Lake Room, which is decorated with blue-and-white azulejo panels depicting the continents and seasons, a gilt fountain, 19th-century sculptures and a colorful ceiling.

Highlights of the collection include Chinese ceramics, decorative fans, and Portuguese and British silverware, including a service that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile on St. Helena.

Other rooms contain beautiful French and Portuguese furniture, French and Flemish tapestries and paintings by artists such as Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Tiepolo, Boucher, Delacroix and Gainsborough.

Medeiros e Almeida was fascinated by clocks and assembled an impressive collection of hundreds of timepieces. Displayed chronologically, they illustrate the evolution of horology in Europe over the centuries.

Upon his death in 1986, Medeiros e Almeida left the house and his collection to the country, establishing the Medeiros e Almeida Foundation (Fundacao Medeiros e Almeida) to oversee the preservation and management of the collection.

Artisans of Leisure can incorporate a visit to the Medeiros e Almeida Museum during any of our private Lisbon tours. The museum is a city highlight for travelers interested in architecture, design, interiors and decorative arts.

Contact Artisans of Leisure to begin planning a private Portugal tour featuring the cultural highlights of Lisbon, including our favorite palaces, gardens and museums such as Fronteira Palace, the National Tile Museum and the Ricardo do Espirito Santo Silva Foundation.