Tejo Power Station — Attraction in Lisbon

Worth it to check it out if you have time. The Tejo Power Station, now part of the Museum of Electricity, is one of the most fascinating and underrated spots in Lisbon. Housed in a beautifully preserved early 20th-century power plant right by the river in Belém, it offers a unique mix of industrial history, science education, and striking architecture.

From the outside, the building stands out with its red brick façade and towering chimneys—it feels like a cathedral of energy. Inside, it’s even more impressive. You get to walk through massive old machinery: enormous boilers, generators, turbines, and control panels that once powered the city. Everything has been carefully maintained, and walking among these mechanical giants feels like stepping back in time.

What I really appreciated was how accessible and interactive the museum is. It explains the process of energy production in a way that’s clear and engaging, with hands-on displays and activities for all ages. It’s educational without ever being dull.

The fact that it’s connected to MAAT makes it easy to explore both sites in one visit. Together, they perfectly blend Lisbon’s industrial past with its creative and...

First things first, I come from the UK, live near London, I've been to the fabulous MAGNA science/power museum near Sheffield (and the Kew Museum of Water & Steam) and have a couple of kids to entertain. If you share some, or all of these items it's likely you'll be slightly disappointed with Tejo / MAAT. If, however, you're an architecture lover with nobody to please but yourself, with a thing for clean industrial aesthetics, and want some nice photo opportunities you will absolutely love it. Interactivity is somewhat of an afterthought, though there is a section right at the end with some neat (but basic) things to play with. Also slightly disappointing is the lack of anything lightning-like (full points to MAGNA there), though there is at least a comforting residual industrial oil smell in the (impressive) main boiler room. Three stars seems a little harsh but it reflects my and my wifes combined sense of ennui having been spat out of the end of the self-guided tour. When we went there (Aug 2024) was a large section being prepared for a new exhibition that we didn't have access to so it may be an absolute home run in the...

Loved my time at the MAAT! The museum is made up of 3 big sections. The first one is housed in an old power plant (Tejo Power Station), the gardens (which I didn't explore much), and the new white building. The museum tends to focus on quality, not quantity. In total, they had 3-4 exhibits but they were large.

One of the visiting exhibits is called Plug-in by Joana Vasconcelos. She had 2 large format installations. The first was a true-to-size tree made up of fabric with the roots extending along the exhibit floors. There were tiny LED lights on the branches, between the leaves. You can compare with the people in the background for size. It was incredible. The other was a large octopus in the new building.

The Tejo Power Station building also had a permanent exhibit showcasing how the power plant used to operate, plus an exhibit on climate change, as well as the Paris Agreement, etc. It was very informative. They basically have all this large equipment and some of it even still works! (Check out the boiler room)

If you have a few days in Lisbon, highly recommend giving...