Calouste Gulbenkian Museum

One of the great private art collections in the world, assembled over a lifetime by the Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian and given to Portugal on his death in 1955. The collection spans 5,000 years and six continents, and unlike many large museum collections it was selected by a single eye — every piece was chosen because Gulbenkian personally loved it.

The highlights include Egyptian antiquities, Islamic art, Armenian manuscripts, Rembrandt, Rubens, Turner, Degas, Renoir, and Lalique jewellery. The Lalique room alone — a suite of Art Nouveau jewels of extraordinary fineness — is worth the journey. The museum is in Parque de Palhavã in the Avenidas Novas district, about 25 minutes walk north of the Baixa or two metro stops from Marquês de Pombal. Allow two to three hours for the permanent collection.

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A story
Calouste Gulbenkian was an Armenian oil magnate who controlled 5% of the Iraqi Petroleum Company — enough to make him one of the richest men in the 20th century. He spent his wealth obsessively acquiring art over six decades, buying from the Hermitage when the Soviets were selling, from Degas's estate, from the Rothschilds. He moved to Lisbon during World War II to avoid the fighting, liked it, and never left. When he died in 1955 he left his entire collection to Portugal.