Official Review

Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.

attraction · Lisbon

Eighteen Euros for One Man's Astonishing Shopping

Review of Calouste Gulbenkian Museum

★★★★★ 5/5
by RuinMyTrip Editorial · Aug 15, 2026

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The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum charges 18.00 euros for an all-inclusive ticket, 16.00 euros for the museum and CAM together, and 12.00 euros for CAM alone. It opens 10:00 to 18:00, until 21:00 on Saturdays, and is closed on Tuesdays. Gulbenkian was an Armenian oil magnate who took five per cent of Iraqi petroleum in kind and spent it on whatever he liked for fifty years. The result is one of the best private collections ever assembled: Egyptian sculpture, Persian carpets, Chinese porcelain, Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet, and a room of Rene Lalique jewellery that is worth the ticket on its own. The garden around it is one of the great modernist landscapes in Europe, free to enter, and full of Lisbon residents doing nothing in particular.

What was great

A collection with no weak rooms, in a building that is a masterpiece of 1960s museum design. The Lalique room. A free garden that is a genuine public space. Saturday opening to 21:00.

What nearly ruined the trip

Eighteen euros is high for Lisbon, and the ticket tiers are confusing: the museum, the modern art centre and the combinations all cost different amounts. Closed Tuesdays. It is a metro ride from the tourist centre, which puts people off.

Value for money

★★★★☆ Good value

Safety

★★★★★ Felt safe
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