Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa

Initially a convent, this pombaline style building was constructed after being ordered by King D. Afonso II, in the 13th century. It was restructured in 1528, becoming also an hospital and a hostel. During the 18th century, after being on fire two time, the building was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. It was supposed to be rebuilt as a new church, but due to the extinction of the religious orders in 1834, the works were never concluded. In 1836, the Biblioteca Nacional moved to the building where it stayed until 1965. In the same year, both the Academia de Belas Artes and the Galeria Nacional de Pintura - currently known as the Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado, occupied the first floor of the building. After the Biblioteca Nacional was transferred to Campo Grande in 1965, the Escola Superior de Belas Artes (currently the Faculdade de Belas Artes de Lisboa) occupied the vacant premises.

Museu Nacional dos Coches

The National Coach Museum contains one of the largest collections of this kind of transport in the world and is the most visited museum in Portugal. It has been housed for more then a century in the Picadeiro Real, the royal horse riding arena, part of the neoclassical 18th century Palácio de Belém.
In 2008 the Brazilian architect and Pritzker Prize winner, Paulo Mendes da Rocha was commissioned to design a new building for the museum, and partnered up with portuguese architect Ricardo Bak Gordon for the project. Near the Tagus riverfront in Belém, it is a beautiful concrete and steel structure, that functions suspended from the ground. It creates a new urban public square that can be crossed by passers-by. Not yet open to the public, the new Museum is almost finished and is predicted to open in the second half of 2014. The coach collection can still be visited in the old museum, near this new building. The new museum inaugurated in May 2015. Part of the collection can still be visited in the old museum across the street from the new one.

Palácio do Príncipe Real

The Palácio do Príncipe Real building, located at Príncipe Real garden, was built in the first half of the 19th Century, and belonged to a noble family – hence the “palácio” (palace) designation. The garden occupies a terrain where a palace was supposed to be constructed for the son of the Marquês de Alegrete in the 17th century, but ended up becoming the Bairro Alto litter. The terrain was then sold to Companhia de Jesus that built the Colégio das Missões in the premises, later destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. In 1830, after several different usages (Sé Patriarcal, hit by a fire and the Real Erário, stopped due to high costs), the place was left a dump, when the City Council had it clean to give place to a 1,2 hectare square and a romantic garden of british inspiration, designated as Praça do Príncipe Real in 1859, in homage to Queen D. Maria II’s elder son.
In 1861, Companhia das Águas finished the construction of the Reservatório de Água da Patriarcal, an octagonal shaped, 9-meter high water reservoir underneath the square, made of 31 pillars and a capacity of 880 cubic meter, now part of the Museu da Água of EPAL.
The garden expands around an octagonal water fountain, surrounded by various tree species, of which a giant cedar from Buçaco, the square’s ex-libris. It has a 20-meter diameter and is classified as public interest. Several sculptures and statues can be found, including Lagoa Henriques´ sculpture in homage of Antero de Quental and republican journalist França Borges’ bust, that officially gives name to the garden since 1915.

Picadeiro Real do Museu Nacional dos Coches

The building is integrated with the Palácio Nacional de Belém, considered a National Monument, it was ordered to build in 1787 by future King D. João VI. This neoclassical style building was projected by italian architect Giacomo Azzolini, and was initially a two-story saloon, where equestrian games were held in the Royal Family and the Court’s honor. In 1904, it became a museum, being inaugurated by Queen D. Amélia de Orléans e Bragança the year after, as the Museu dos Coches Reais. In 1911, the name was changed to Museu Nacional dos Coches, considered one of the best royal coaches museum in the world, it held a collection of vehicles from the 17th to the 19th century. In 1944, a new exhibition room was built after architect Raul Lino´s project.
In 2015, part of the coach collection moved to the new Museu Nacional dos Coches – a new building designed by the Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha –, and although the Picadeiro started holding different exhibitions, it is still possible to visit the remaining collection.

Teatro Nacional de São Carlos

Inaugurated on June 30th 1793, it was a replacement for the Teatro Ópera do Tejo, destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. It was built in only 6 months, according to the project of architect José da Costa e Silva, with neoclassical and rococo elements. It is inspired by the great Italian theaters San Carlo of Naples (interior) and La Scala of Milan (front and interior). The theater was designed as a aristocratic place, of official representation, and is highly hierarchized with 5 different kinds of cabins and a royal tribune. The room was richly decorated by Italian Giovanni Appianni and the ceiling was painted by Manuel da Costa and Cirilo Wolkmar Machado. Directed for operas and symphonic music, it opened with the opera La Ballerina amante by Domenico Cimarosa.
Resident artists include the Coro do Teatro Nacional São Carlos, created in 1943, and the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, formed in 1993. The theater divides its musical program in three places: the Main Room hosts top lyrical productions and symphonic concerts, but also ballet shows; the Noble Room, with access to the front balcony, hosts recitals, opera lectures and other more intimate presentations; and the Foyer, a privileged space for chamber music concerts and free recitals, with an informal ambience.

Torreão Poente da Cordoaria Nacional

The Cordoaria Nacional was ordered to build by Marquês de Pombal in 1771 and was constructed during the second half of the 18th century, after the project of architect Reinaldo Manuel dos Santos. It became home to the "Real Fábrica da Cordoaria da Junqueira", a factory for naval equipment, such as cables, ropes, flags and other components.
Located between Rua da Junqueira and Avenida da Índia, the building stands out for its straight lines and decorative simplicity, and is divided in 3 volumes: a taller, central one that sets the symmetry and two straight arms, that develop parallel to the Rio Tejo, with a turret at the top of each end (east and west). It occupies a space where the Belém beach was located, contiguous to the old Forte de S. João. It is an example of industrial architecture of the 1700’s, and considered as a National Monument since 1996. The building, propriety of Ministry of Defense, is home to the Marine Central Library - Historical Archive and hosts several cultural events along the year. The east turret (Torreão Nascente) is part of a municipal gallery and the west turret (Torreão Poente) has been closed to the public, but worked as a tailor house for the Navy.