Fragata Dom Fernando II e Glória

Moored at the Cacilhas waterfront, the Fragata Dom Fernando II e Glória is a beautifully restored 50-gun wooden frigate from the Portuguese Navy — and one of the most remarkable museum ships in Europe. Built in 1843 at the Portuguese shipyards in Daman, then a Portuguese territory on the west coast of India, the vessel served under sail during the last years of the age of fighting sail. Her restoration took fifteen years after she was recovered from the riverbed where she had sunk decades earlier.

Visitors can board the ship and explore multiple decks, from the gun deck lined with its cannon to the captain's quarters at the stern. The guides are enthusiastic and the ship's history — from Indian-built warship to prison hulk to sunken wreck to restored showpiece — is genuinely compelling. There is an admission fee. The frigate is a short walk along the waterfront from the Cacilhas ferry terminal, and it is easy to combine with lunch at one of the riverside seafood restaurants.

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A story
The Dom Fernando II e Glória was built in Daman, India, in 1843, making it the last Portuguese warship built in the East. After active service she was used as a prison hulk and eventually abandoned. When she was raised from the Tagus mud in 1990 she was little more than a waterlogged skeleton; the restoration that followed took fifteen years. She is now the only surviving wooden-hulled sailing frigate in the world.

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