Matinale – Cycle “Les plus beaux musées du monde et leur chefs d’oeuvres” – Lisbonne : Musée Calouste Gulbenkian et Monastère des Hiéronymites

The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, located north of Lisbon, owes its name to one of the greatest art collectors of the 20th century: Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian. If the museum is one of the most beautiful private art collections in the world, it is because of a refined selection of works, but also linked to the vast horizon of their provenances: ancient art with the Egyptian and Greco-Roman galleries, the treasures of Islamic art acquired during his travels, the Far East with Asia and Japan. A second part is also devoted to European splendors through the decorative arts and great paintings by Monet, Renoir and Turner. The building was shaped in his image: "a perpetual homage to the memory of Calouste Gulbenkian, with lines that reflect the essential characteristics of his character: spiritual concentration, creative energy and simplicity of life." Surrounded by two gardens, the Museum allows the viewer to enjoy the arts and nature that the world offers.

Closer to the Tagus in the old district of Bélem is the very famous Jerónimos Monastery. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the monumental building was originally designed to celebrate the return of Vasco de Gama, one of the first great navigators of the Indies who had prayed before setting off on his voyage to this very place. The monastery now houses the tomb of Vasco and that of Fernando Pessoa and remains a must-see during your stay in Lisbon.