Inaugurated in 2015, the new National Coach Museum was designed by Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Pritzker Prize in 2006, in partnership with Portuguese architect Ricardo Bak Gordon. More than a museum, the project is an urban infrastructure, offering public space to the city of Lisbon. 

The National Coach Museum boasts an exceptional collection of gala and touring vehicles from the 16th to the 19th centuries. These vehicles were mostly used by the Portuguese Royal Household. Additionally, the collection includes vehicles from Church assets and private collections. It is a unique and fascinating collection that offers a glimpse into the past. The exhibit provides a comprehensive display of the technical and artistic evolution of animal-drawn transportation used by European courts up to the emergence of motor vehicles.

Seventy vehicles are on display, the oldest dating from the 16th century and the most recent a 19th-century mounted courrier. Among the items on display is the Coach of the Oceans, one of our “national treasures”, which was part, in 1716, of the embassy sent by D. João V to Pope Clement XI.
In addition to the collection of hipppomobile vehicles, the Museum features also carts used as vehicles and gala processions and others related to the art of chivalry and equestrian games, as well as a collection of portraits of the Portuguese royal family.

The new Coach Museum building consists of a main pavilion with a suspended nave and an adjoining building, with an overhead connection ensuring movement between the two buildings. The spatial arrangement of these buildings creates a kind of portico that forms an internal square, a free access area for public enjoyment also.