MAAT

MAAT — the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology — opened in 2016 on the banks of the Tagus in Belém, and it instantly became one of Lisbon's most architecturally striking buildings. Designed by the London-based firm AL_A (led by Amanda Levete), the structure is famously low-slung and undulating, clad in roughly 15,000 oval ceramic tiles that shimmer as the light shifts across the water. It was built as an extension to the historic Central Tejo power station next door, which is now part of the same complex and houses a permanent collection focused on electricity and industrial heritage. Together, the two buildings form a genuinely unusual cultural compound — part contemporary art space, part industrial monument.

Inside the new building, you'll find rotating exhibitions of international contemporary art, digital art, and immersive installations — the kind of work that tends toward the experiential and the large-scale. The programming has a strong focus on the intersection of art and technology, which makes sense given the building's DNA. The old power station galleries are cavernous and atmospheric — think enormous turbines and cathedral-scale machinery — and the contrast between the two spaces is one of the most memorable things about a visit. Don't skip the rooftop walkway on the new building: it curves up over the top of the structure and gives you sweeping views of the Tagus and the 25 de Abril bridge.

Belém is already a destination-within-a-destination in Lisbon — home to the Tower of Belém, the Jerónimos Monastery, and the famous pastéis de nata at Pastéis de Belém bakery. MAAT sits right on the riverside promenade, so it fits naturally into a half-day walk through the neighbourhood. Tuesday is the one day it's closed, which catches a few visitors off guard. The museum has a small café and a thoughtfully curated bookshop. If you're visiting on a weekday morning, crowds are thin and the light on the ceramic facade is extraordinary.