Museu da Marioneta

About the museum

The Museu da Marioneta was created in 1987 by the Companhia de Marionetas de São Lourenço and opened in 2001. It is housed in the former Convento das Bernardas, a convent of Cistercian nuns founded in 1653 on the initiative of King John IV. The building was seriously damaged in the 1755 earthquake and was rebuilt and reoccupied from 1786. After the religious orders were abolished in 1834, it served as a school, a cinema-theatre and, above all, as housing; in 1997 some 700 people lived there.

That year Lisbon City Council bought the property and began restoring it, to turn the cloistered space into a place for culture. The former chapter rooms, the library and other rooms are now the exhibition areas; the former cells of the upper cloister were adapted into social housing. The former church serves as a performance and temporary exhibition space.

The collection brings together more than 3,000 pieces from various parts of the world, of which more than 500 are on show: shadow, glove, string, rod and mixed-manipulation puppets. The Portuguese puppetry of the 1970s and 1980s stands out. The permanent circuit was renewed at the beginning of 2025.

Highlights

• Shadow, glove, string, rod and mixed-manipulation puppets from around the world
• Santo Aleixo puppets (bonecos) and Portuguese puppets of the 1970s and 1980s
• Sogobó puppets from Mali, on deposit
• Room devoted to the puppet in animated film
• Chapel and cloister of the former Convento das Bernardas

Permanent exhibition

• Exposição de longa duração – More than 500 puppets from various parts of the world and from Portugal, with emphasis on Portuguese puppetry of the 1970s and 1980s and a room on the puppet in animated film.

Founded

1987

Operated by

EGEAC – Lisboa Cultura

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Residents of the municipality of Lisbon: free admission on Sundays and public holidays until 14:00.

Free admission also for young people aged 13 to 18 and persons over 65 resident in Lisbon, unemployed residents of the municipality of Lisbon, members of APOM and ICOM, and professionals on duty (teachers, researchers, tourism professionals, journalists), upon proof.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum organises visits, workshops and performances for families, and there are educational activities in the Laboratório das Artes.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Small shop with puppets, artist-made puppets, brochures, catalogues and museum merchandise.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Up to 200 guests.

The chapel/auditorium (192 m², 60 seats or 100 standing) costs €500 per full day or €300 per half day; the cloister (412 m², 100 seats or 200 standing) costs €800 per full day or €500 per half day, plus VAT, with a 50% discount for initiatives of socio-cultural interest. Requests to museu@museudamarioneta.pt and cedencias@egeac.pt.

Plan your visit