In for some modern and contemporary art in Lisbon ? Then visit the exquisite Museu Coleção Berardo located in the Belem Area. This museum was one of the highlights of our visit to Lisbon in the spring of 2022. For more tips on Lisbon, read my blog ‘5 fantastic things to do in Lisbon’.

Museu Coleção Berardo

Billionaire Berardo Coleção privately collected modern art and decided to make his collection accessible to the public. And so, displaying art is a moment of coming together with the public, a time of pleasure and dreaming’, as also written by Rita Lougares, artistic director, in the leaflet distributed at the entrance.

The museum hosts a magnificent collection of modern and contemporary art, earning its place as the most visited museum of Portugal and one of the world’s largest ones. It’s a must see for modern art lovers.

The museum brings together a remarkable and significant collection of works from certain moments which marked the history of art of the twentieth century, including creations by some of the great masters, in total over 1000 works. Cubism, Surrealism, Kinetic Art, Pop Art, … from the first Modernism to the new avant gardes of the 20th century.

Gape at works of Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, Roy Lichtenstein, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, David Hockney, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Karel Appel, Donald Judd, Bruce Nauman and more.

This time travel takes about 2 hours at least, even more if you want to visit the other exhibitions. Indeed, the permanent collection is complemented by various temporary exhibitions, such as the colourful Splendour from Gérard Fromanger. So make sure you foresee sufficient time to fully enjoy.

The Gérard Fromager exhibition

At the time of our visit, we visited the Gérard Fromager collection. 60 major paintings, encompassing 26 series, feature the artist’s characteristic works. The series have an internal logic within the artist’s work and mark the different eras within his personal biography, his encounters, and his relationship with current events and, more broadly, with history. In historical terms, the artist’s work converges with Pop Art, displaying his preference for bold, non-modulated colours, but is also in constant revolt against any categorical form of artistic convention. In short terms, an explosion of colors.

Location and costs

This museum is located in the Belem area. If you are visiting the Mosteiro, it’s a five minutes walk to the museum. Make sure you have at least 2 hours to visit, there is a lot to see, in particular if you also wish to visit the temporary expositions.

A visit to the museum costs 5 €, with reductions for children and students (50%). On Saturday, admission is free.