The Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves is one of the best contemporary art museums in Portugal, housed in a white Álvaro Siza building set within 18 hectares of art deco gardens that are as much of a draw as the gallery itself. The permanent collection focuses on Portuguese and European art from the 1960s to the present; the temporary exhibitions are ambitious and well-curated, with major international shows appearing regularly.
The surrounding Serralves Park is a world apart from the city noise — formal gardens giving way to woodland, a kitchen garden, and the Pink Villa (Casa de Serralves), an art deco mansion from the 1930s that predates the museum and functions as an exhibition space in its own right. Many visitors come mainly for a walk in the park and treat the museum as a bonus. The combination of excellent art in a calm setting makes Serralves the right antidote after the intensity of the historic centre. It is a 30-minute walk from Rotunda da Boavista, or accessible by bus.