Museu de Lisboa - Pimenta Palace

The 18th-century Pimenta Palace houses this city-run museum charting Lisbon's history. Some displays are skimpy, but they cover the ground as best they can, starting with the Stone Age and working through Roman times to the Visigoths and Moors and into modern times. The highlights, though, are a scale model of Lisbon before the 1755 Earthquake, the fabulous kitchens and the formal garden with its peacocks. One area harbours a display of giant ceramic works by Bordalo Pinheiro. Also in the garden, the modern Pavilhão Branco is an important contemporary art space.