Azulejo Route

The building of the Convento da Santíssima Trindade (Convent of the Holy Trinity) was purchased in 1835 by Manuel Moreira Garcia, an industrialist of Galician origin who set up the Trindade Beer Factory in the former convent’s church, cloister and refectory, and the following year built Cervejaria Trindade. In 1863, he commissioned azulejo panels from Luís Ferreira, the artistic director of the Viúva Lamego Ceramic Factory, who, respecting the owner's eccentric taste, painted allegorical panels representing the four elements and the four seasons. The walls decorated with stone mosaic panels, from the 20th century, are the work artist Maria Keil, and are inspired by traditional Portuguese pavements.

Rua Nova da Trindade, 20C, 1200-466 Lisboa

Website: www.cervejariatrindade.pt
Email: ct.chiado@cervejariatrindade.pt
Telephone: +351 213 423 506

Opening hours:

Daily, from 11:00 am to 12:00 am

How to get there:

Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.71246803887465, -9.142485708608806

A historic fado house, located in Bairro Alto, which stands out, among other things, due to the iconic yellow azulejo panel, by Thomaz de Mello, decorating its façade. The panel dates from 1937, and is an ode to the Portuguese spirit and a reflection on what happened and continues to happen inside this establishment, where Amália sang and so did many other renowned fado singers, including the Machado family.

Rua do Norte, 91, 1200-283 Lisboa

Website: www.adegamachado.pt
Email: geral@adegamachado.pt
Telephone: +351 213 422 282

Opening hours:

Daily, from 7:00 pm to 2:00 am

How to get there:

Tram: 12E, 15E, 24E
Bus: 758, 760, 758, 711
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.71229254046877, -9.143814445800652

The Casa dos Parafusos (House of Screws) is an over one-hundred-year-old commercial establishment, known for the picturesque azulejos that decorate its façade, where the word ‘parafusos’ (screws) is formed by realistic drawings of various types and shapes of nuts, washers and screws. The Art Deco-inspired composition, composed of blue and carmine azulejos on an amber background, and framed by dark green half round moulding, was produced by the Companhia da Fábrica Cerâmica Lusitânia, in the 1920s. This iconic façade, once a left to decay, was the subject to a restoration intervention by the Azulejo Services of Lisbon’s DSPC (Divisão de Salvaguarda do Património Cultural - Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Division).

Rua da Boavista, 84, 1200-067 Lisboa

How to get there:

Tram: 12E, 15E, 28E
Bus: 760, 732
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line
GPS: 38.709009755505356, -9.150774845800843

On Rua de São Domingos à Lapa, azulejos play an important role in ornamenting the buildings’ façades. Different azulejos with various floral elements, Hispano-Arabic motifs and stamps make this street a must-see for those who appreciate the art and tradition of azulejo.

Rua da Boavista, 84, 1200-067 Lisboa

How to get there:

Train: CAIS DO SODRÉ - CASCAIS
Tram: 15E, 18E
Bus: 760, 728, 732, 714
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.70775176361611, -9.161525575248705

An old street considered to be one of the most picturesque and beautiful streets in the city of Lisbon. Among the various façades lined with azulejos, the Palacete do Visconde de Sacavém is undoubtedly a highlight. Built at the end of the 19th century as a noble residence, its neo-Manueline windows are covered in azulejos and embossed ceramic pieces. The origin of the azulejos used seems to be certain, coming from the Fábrica de Campolide.

Rua do Sacramento à Lapa, Lisboa

How to get there:

Train: CAIS DO SODRÉ - CASCAIS
Tram: 15E, 18E
Bus: 760, 732, 728
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.70780396241259, -9.163954045800924

Built in 1908, this building is one of the most emblematic examples of the introduction of Art Nouveau in Portuguese architecture at the beginning of the 20th century. It holds the particularity of having been one of the pioneering buildings where the Art Nouveau azulejo began to cover not part of the façade but its entirety, a work signed by Alfredo Pinto and dated 1911. While the ground floor is covered with bevelled, monochromatic, glazed green ceramic bricks, on the upper floor, a typical and polychromatic Art Nouveau floral decoration can be seen, with green and yellow being the predominant colours.

Avenida Almirante Reis, 74,1150-020 Lisboa

How to get there:

Tram: 28E
Bus: 708, 734, 17B
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.7278767639799, -9.134616275247486

The bas-relief ceramic panel ‘Sol Ardente da Mexicana’ (1961), by Querubim Lapa, became a brand image of Pasteleria Mexican, located on Avenida Guerra Junqueiro and recognized as a monument of public interest. The Mexicana was inaugurated in 1946 and fully remodelled between 1961 and 1962, as part of a project by modernist architect Jorge Ribeiro Ferreira Chaves. Due to its spatial design and integrated decorative elements, this patisserie remains a remarkable testimony to the expressionist trends of Portugal's modernist architectural movement.

Av. Guerra Junqueiro 30 C, 1000-167 Lisbon

Website: https://mexicana.pt/
Email: geral@mexicana.pt
Telephone: +351 218 486 117

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday, from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm; Saturday from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm

How to get there:

Bus: 708, 732, 760, 767
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line, Red Line
GPS: 38.73986496870897,  -9.136369741514784

This panel called ‘O Mar’ (The Sea) was designed by painter Maria Keil for a movement which existed from the 1950s onwards and aimed to bring azulejos and public art closer together. The composition is prominently featured on Avenida Infante Santo, along with five other azulejo interventions, and represents the sea, featuring shells, whelks, boats and the figure of a fisherman, which takes centre stage. The panel perfectly interconnects with adjacent staircase, therefore constituting ‘a reference work in the modern reintegration of the azulejo in urban environments’. It is a Viúva Lamego production and dates from 1959. However, the panel we now see is a replica made in 2005, since the original suffered severe damage and was removed to be kept in the reserves of the Museu da Cidade.

Av. Infante Santo 70, 1350-180 Lisboa

How to get there:

Tram: 15E, 18E, 28E
Bus: 709, 760, 738, 732, 720, 728
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.71048643231639,  -9.165056586905214

The monumental azulejo cladding on Avenida Calouste Gulbenkian, designed by João Abel Manta as a decorative carpet for the extensive support wall which can be seen on this Lisbon artery. The creative work dates back to 1970, but the azulejo series were only applied in 1982, in a political and artistic context that was already different from the one in which it had been idealised. The option was to create a broad set of rhythmic games obtained by using different tones of various colours and a variety of intentionally abstract geometric patterns that give passers-by the perception of a vertical movement, which progresses from warmer colours (highest area of the Avenue) to colder colours (when walking towards the Aqueduct), but which also integrates areas with more saturated colouration and others with more diluted tones.

Avenida Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa

How to get there:

Train: MIRA SINTRA-MELEÇAS - ROSSIO
Bus: 711, 758
Metro: Blue Line
GPS: 38.72981482028478, -9.166954997486833

This viaduct is adorned with magnificent azulejo panels that bring the structure to life, transforming it into an open-air gallery that celebrates animal beauty. These panels, by Augusto Cid and his daughter Monica Cid, were installed in 2000 and became part of the parking lot located under the viaduct. The images represent a group of wild animals, including impalas, monkeys, tigers, bears, elephants, hippos, giraffes and deer, perfectly integrated with the nearby Lisbon Zoo.

Viaduto de Sete Rios, 1500-561 Lisbon

How to get there:

Train: SINTRA - LISBOA - AZAMBUJA, MIRA SINTRA-MELEÇAS - ROSSIO, FERTAGUS ROMA-AREEIRO - SETÚBAL
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line
GPS: 38.74157260626511, -9.168300747049527

Lisbon’s Jardim Botto Machado is a garden located next to the Feira da Ladra, in Campo de Santa Clara, and was the place chosen to receive the azulejo mural hand-painted by Portuguese-French artist André Saraiva. With a total area of 1011.1 sqm and 188 metres in length, the extensive mural was covered with colourful, contrasting and uncompromising elements, which define its irreverent graphic style. The panel was manufactured by the Viúva Lamego Ceramic Factory, using traditional techniques and production methods, and was also hand-painted by the artist in the space, resulting in a unique piece composed of 52738 azulejos.

Campo de Santa Clara, Lisboa

How to get there:

Tram: 28E, 12E
Bus: 734, 737
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line
GPS: 38.715694993578495, -9.124882877623783

In the context of Expo 98, the Lisbon Metro invited eleven artists of recognized international merit, from five continents, to carry out an intervention in this station. Ten of those artists contributed with azulejo pieces, including Portuguese artist Joaquim Rodrigo, with a panel called ‘Praia do Vau’. It should be noted that this work was his last, and he left specific instructions requesting that Querubim Lapa be responsible for transposing it onto the azulejos and integrating it into the station.

Av. Dom João II, 1990-233 Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Tram: 15E
Bus: 708, 728, 760
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line, Red Line
GPS: 38.76716240866744, -9.09908799147202

The project for the Cais do Sodré Metro station was developed by architect Nuno Teotónio Pereira and the artistic intervention was carried out by António Dacosta, a surrealist and abstract painter who, before passing away, left a few sketches that were later integrated into the station, in line with the interpretation of painter Pedro Morais. Large azulejo panels depicting a hurried rabbit, evoking one of the characters in Lewis Carroll's universal literary classic ‘Alice in Wonderland’, can be seen on the station's pier, while a curved surface lined with blue azulejos, where sheets of water occasionally run, is visible under the stairs that lead to the outside.

Praça Duque da Terceira, 1200-161 Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Tram: 15E
Bus: 732, 760
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.706176502485945,  -9.145032698604298

Recently reopened after being rehabilitated, 90 years after its inauguration, this station on the bank of the river Tagus displays distinctive azulejo panels in its main atrium, with the coats of arms of the cities the boats set off to. The azulejos that originally lined the 1st and 2nd class waiting rooms have now been restored. Although some azulejos were missing, the first class waiting room is now complete and can be enjoyed by everyone visiting the cafeteria. The azulejos are one of the emblematic elements of this building designed by Cotinelli Telmo and inaugurated in 1932.

Av. Infante Dom Henrique / Terreiro do Paço
1100-016 Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Tram: 15E
Bus: 711, 732, 759
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.70689393796317, -9.134084826035286

The project for the Praça de Espanha Metro station, which opened to the public in 1959, was developed by architect Keil do Amaral, and the azulejo lining was created by the painter Maria Keil. Starting with simple yellow azulejos or just a square outlined with a grey line on a yellow background (sometimes this appears inverted, yellow line on a grey background), the painter sought to create a three-dimensional illusion by using a module consisting of one or two azulejos inspired by the ‘diamond tip’ design and a careful choice of colours: white and yellow (light) on the one hand, and green and grey (shadow) on the other.

Praça de Espanha, Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Bus: 52B, 713, 732, 742, 746
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line, Red Line
GPS: 38.73766835654809, -9.158451004694683

The project for the Alto dos Moinhos Metro station, which was opened to the public in 1988, was developed by architect Ezequiel Nicolau and the artistic intervention was carried out by Júlio Pomar. Using graffiti as a form of artistic expression, Júlio Pomar paid homage to four important figures in Portuguese literature: Camões, Bocage, Pessoa and Almada. The work from a year’s worth of drawing led to ‘animating’ this station’s walls and an exhibition organised by the Centro de Arte Moderna of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in 1984, entitled ‘One year of drawing, 4 poets in the Lisbon Metro'.

Rua Dr.  João de Freitas Branco (under the viaduct of Av. Lusíada), 2650-287 Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Train: MIRA SINTRA - MELEÇAS - ROSSIO
Bus: 711, 754. 758
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line
GPS: 38.74957360446128,  -9.179946004693969

Inaugurated in 1988, this station’s artistic intervention was carried out by Vieira da Silva. The panel titled ‘Le Métro’, a tile transposition, by Manuel Cargaleiro, of Vieira da Silva’s gouache painting, dated 1940, initially called ‘Abrigo Anti-Aéreo’ (Anti-Aircraft Shelter), is the central element of the intervention. Structured on a quadrangular mesh background, similar to an azulejo panel, it represents a cluster of people who took refuge in the Paris metro to escape the bombings during World War II. The station’s remaining artistic creations essentially derive from this central panel.

Rua Cipriano Dourado (Viaduto do Campo Grande), 1600-428 Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Bus: 736, 732, 701, 708, 717
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line, Yellow Line
GPS: 38.760201705704816, -9.157843033529067

Inaugurated in 1988, this station’s artistic intervention was carried out by Vieira da Silva. The panel titled ‘Le Métro’, a tile transposition, by Manuel Cargaleiro, of Vieira da Silva’s gouache painting, dated 1940, initially called ‘Abrigo Anti-Aéreo’ (Anti-Aircraft Shelter), is the central element of the intervention. Structured on a quadrangular mesh background, similar to an azulejo panel, it represents a cluster of people who took refuge in the Paris metro to escape the bombings during World War II. The station’s remaining artistic creations essentially derive from this central panel.

Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1600-214 Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Bus: 732
Metro: Green Line, Blue Line, Yellow Line, Red Line
GPS: 38.75170650471089,  -9.159024533529605

In 1982, when the station was expanded, artist Rogério Ribeiro was invited to create the claddings, having chosen a direction for the design resulting from the use of the basic pattern that frames and works as a background for Maria Keil's Art Nouveau bars in the South atrium. From the base module, which consists of a circle marked in white on a background with two shades of blue, Rogério Ribeiro composed a totally different and innovative construction. Maria Keil and Rogério Ribeiro find themselves once again working on the same project, although with different interventions.

Av. Almirante Reis (crossing with Rua de Angola), 1150 Lisboa

Website: www.metrolisboa.pt/viver/arte-nas-estacoes/

Opening hours:

Every day, from 6:30 am to 1:00 am.

How to get there:

Tram: 28E
Bus: 708, 734, 17B
Metro: Green Line
GPS: 38.72631451020516, -9.134917075247598