Truth be told, despite claiming to have the best collection of coaches in Europe, I wasn’t actually planning to visit the Museu Nacional dos Coches. After having spent the better part of the day paying tribute to the Navigators by visiting the splendor of Belem’s more famous sites, a coach museum simply didn’t sound exciting enough to bother. However, another downpour combined with the fact that I lost the ability to use my umbrella some time earlier in the gusts next to the River Tagus left me with the option to wait in the rain for the tram or to visit this small museum. I never regretted entering this museum.
The museum has a collection of coaches dating from the 16th to 19th century. The original collection was coaches from the Portuguese Royal family but later more vehicles were added. The coaches are arranged in such a way that the development of technology that made the coaches both safer and more comfortable can clearly be seen. As the suspension systems improved they became less inclined to topple over. Sufficient English information is available to follow the technological developments and history without becoming too overwhelming for the lay.
The most impressive are the three coaches used by the Marquis de Fontes’ embassy to Pope Clement XI. These coaches were built in Rome in 1716. According to the museum these three coaches "are perfect samples of the carrozza Romana de aparato, where the open bodies are combined with imposing sculptural compositions on the rear and front panels". Less technically they can be described as being in the "if you have it flaunt it" style with the specific purpose to impress. It brought the crowds out whenever the Ambassador took the road and that was the whole idea. These gilded coaches decorated with several life-sized statues and the wonders of the Portuguese voyages of discoveries had to impress upon the people and above all the Pope how rich and important a world power Portugal was. The glowing reports on the beauty of the coaches reached Lisbon and the king had the coaches transported to Portugal in order to see them in person.
A second hall contains further simpler royal carriages but comes as a bit of an anticlimax after seeing the more extravagant coaches. It has carriages, chaises, cabriolets, litters, sedan chairs and even children’s buggies. The second floor has a collection of harnesses, costumes and portraits and can safely be missed unless you are particularly interested in those aspects.
Entrance to the museum is free on Sundays and National Holidays if you enter earlier than 14:00.