Museu Nacional dos Coches
Being there
Housed in the former riding school of the palace, don't miss the world's largest collection of horse-drawn coaches and other royal vehicles. One of Lisbon's many unusual museums. In the "Museum street", Belem.
The story
The National Coach Museum (Museu Nacional dos Coches) is located in Lisbon, Portugal. First established in 1905 as the Royal Coaches Museum (Coaches Reaes Museum), the museum houses historic horse-drawn coaches and carriages that belonged to the royal houses of Portugal from the 16th to the 19th century. The collection is housed across two buildings: the 1787 Royal Riding School of the Belém Palace in Afonso de Albuquerque Square, and a 2015 modern building opposite on Avenida da Índia. The collection comprises around 9,000 objects including ceremonial and gala vehicles and equestrian accessories.
It has been the most visited national museum in Portugal, with 382,593 visitors in 2016. The new building, which houses the majority of the collections, is a project by Paulo Mendes da Rocha in partnership with the Ricardo Bak Gordon studio and engineer Rui Furtado. Since 1 February 2025, Dr Rita Dargent has served as the director of the National Coach Museum.
