Why go

MAAT, the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, brings contemporary culture to the Belém waterfront, a district otherwise dominated by monuments to Portugal’s past. It is run by the EDP Foundation, the cultural arm of the Portuguese energy company, and occupies two very different buildings side by side on the river.

The newer one, MAAT Gallery, opened in 2016. Designed by the British architect Amanda Levete, it is a long, low curve clad in white ceramic tiles that shimmer in the sun, and its roof is a public walkway that rises gently over the galleries to a viewpoint above the Tagus. Next door, MAAT Central occupies the Tejo Power Station, a red-brick industrial building from the early 20th century that supplied much of Lisbon’s electricity, with its boilers, turbines and control rooms still in place.

Exhibitions change through the year and range from contemporary art to architecture, design and fashion. From 2 October 2026 to 22 February 2027, the gallery hosts VENUS, a show on the designer Valentino Garavani seen through the eyes of the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos.

What to see

  • The roof walk. Climb the gallery’s sloping roof for views of the 25 de Abril Bridge, Cristo Rei and the river.
  • The Oval gallery. The main exhibition space in the gallery building, used for large installations.
  • The turbine and boiler halls. Giant machines in MAAT Central show how coal became electricity for the city.
  • Temporary exhibitions. Several shows run at once across both buildings, included in the same ticket.
  • The riverside garden. Landscaped grounds link the two buildings along the promenade.

Plan your visit

MAAT opens Wednesday to Monday from 10am to 7pm and is closed on Tuesdays, which makes it a useful choice on a Monday, when most of Belém’s monuments are shut. It is also closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December, and closes at 3pm on 24 and 31 December. The museum warns that its ticket office may shut before closing time on busy days.

A ticket for both buildings costs €16 for visitors who live outside Portugal and €12 for residents in 2026. Students with a card get 25% off, over-65s 15% off, and children under 12 go free. A joint ticket called CABE gives 20% off entry to MAAT and three other contemporary art museums in Belém, valid for 90 days. Allow one and a half to two hours.

Trains on the Cascais line stop at Belém station, about five minutes away, and tram 15E stops a little further inland.

The museum has a café and restaurant, MAAT Café & Kitchen, and a shop selling objects made mostly in Portugal. The riverside around the museum is part of a long promenade from Cais do Sodré to Belém, popular with walkers, runners and cyclists, so it is easy to arrive along the water.

Nearby

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the Jerónimos Monastery are a short walk west, and the National Coach Museum is just inland. The LX Factory creative quarter in Alcântara is one stop back towards the city centre.