Money Museum

I recently visited the Museu do Dinheiro in Lisbon and had a very interesting and enjoyable experience. The museum is modern, well organized and very informative. One of the first things you can do is touch a real gold bar, which I found especially cool and memorable. It immediately makes the visit interactive and fun. The exhibitions explain the history of money in Portugal in a clear and engaging way, from early forms of payment to modern currency. I learned a lot about how the financial system developed over time. A real highlight for me was seeing a preserved section of the medieval city wall from the time of Dinis I of Portugal. Being able to see part of this historic structure in the basement of the museum makes the visit even more special. Another big advantage is that the entrance is completely free. At the counter, you receive a ticket that allows you to access different interactive stations and activities throughout the museum. There are many hands on elements, which makes it especially great for families and children. Overall, I highly recommend the museum. It is educational, interactive and accessible to everyone, and the fact that it is free makes it even better 😁

An incredible museum, with many ancient coins and gold, banknotes, a 12 kg gold bar that you can actually touch it and that today, 26 December 2025, it is worth almost €1,500,000, ancient artefacts, several interactive exhibitions etc... And all of this is free, because entry to the museum is complimentary. I’m not giving it five stars only because, to start the visit it was a bit confusing and I didn’t really know where to start, I had to go to a separate area to pick up a map and a ticket that lets you interact with some of the exhibits, and only then could I start the visit. If there were signs or a clear route to follow, everything would be much easier and smoother.

This is a wonderful Museum of Money situated inside the Bank of Portugal. The architecture is amazing as it was a cathedral turned into a bank. The museum showcases many tech related displays and many interactive presentations related to money/coins. A very interesting way to see how money developed and changed over man's history. Definitely worth a visit, especially it is free.

Great exhibits, very informative and interactive. It gets busy if it's a rainy day. Nice lady at the gift shop, who was very helpful with our gift selections. Visited twice while in Lisbon. Worth it!

Very nice interactive museum with a lot of quiz and games. And it is free. The building itself is awesome.

Very interesting, small(ish) museum. Excellent, well organized and well curated collection of money from around the world, ancient and modern, with extensive Portuguese coins, paper money, bearer notes, and letters of credit. Lydian and Chinese items are very special.

Cool information, I love money museums. The order of things was weird. If you wanted to read everything, you had to walk in a full oval and then make half of another lap to go to the next place. I didn't get to hold the gold bar, unfortunately, it wasn't available while I was there.

Visiting the Currency Museum in Lisbon was a truly unique experience. One of the highlights for me was the opportunity to hold a 12-kilogram gold bar in my own hands — I was genuinely surprised by how heavy it felt compared to its size. The museum beautifully traces the entire evolution of money, from the barter system to modern paper currency. I found it fascinating to learn about the various techniques and machinery used to mint coins and print banknotes, and to see how money evolved from simple trade objects to coins and, eventually, to the notes we use today. It’s both educational and engaging — a must-visit for anyone curious about history and economics.

It took me three years to go to the Museu do Dinheiro because, while it's free and right downtown, I've been to a lot of similar museums that were super boring. Lots of coins and bills in glass cases. I finally went because I had someone visiting and it was raining. I figured we'd go here and to the other free archaeology site downtown and still have time to get a coffee. Nope. The space is big: three levels of exhibits about money, plus the basement archeological finds. All of the exhibits are in English and Portuguese. If you're a history nerd and actually interact with the exhibits, you can easily spend three plus hours there like we did. If you're not a nerd, you can touch a gold bar, get a (picture of a) coin with your face on it, and use the bathrooms for free before going to drink at the quiosque outside. The interactive exhibits were kind of confusing, but trying to figure them out was part of the fun. My friend and I are both trying to learn Portuguese history, so it was particularly cool to see artifacts and piece things together. While there are coins and bills in glass cases, they worked really hard to explain why each item is interesting and present it in an engaging way.

Was walking in Alfama and stumbled across this FREE museum. On entry, you do need to go through a metal detector and bags and all items through X-ray like at the airport because I think this is a working bank? Not really sure why, but makes you feel safe. Go to get a ticket because the displays with change based on language. This museum really focuses on 1974 and the change in banking in Portugal due to the revolution. There are some interact displays for kids and why you need a ticket because you put the ticket in the machine to get it to interact in your language. This museum gets 5 stars because it is FREE, super clean, has great working very cold AC, clean bathrooms, WIFI, free drinking water machine near the bathrooms with super cold water, comfortable seats at entry to sit and relax and refresh, and great views of Alfama from 2nd floor. Bathroom: super clean

We spent a little less than an hour in the museum and went mainly to see King Denis's wall. There is a cool, 3D exhibit of the space and you can watch the history of money by following an exhibit of coins through the ages. We didn't get through the entire museum so missed some of the good items mentioned in other reviews. What we saw was certainly cool.

Free entrance wed-sunday. They got interactive exhibits. Great for kids 10+ and adults who like to have fun. There are 15 different parts of the meseum, takes about an hour, and hour and half to visit them all.

It's free and that's a good start. Then it's full of interesting history, the history of money. Focused on the story of Portuguese currencies through the ages, the museum was founded by the Bank of Portugal who continue to maintain it. The building is the former Church of São Julião so it's just a stunning setting. The vault door is pretty darned cool! Then a well-curated progression of currency exhibits that includes a 7th century BC coin, Chinese "Knife Money" from the 4th century BC, Brazilian gold coins, a Japanese Oban coin from 1862 and more. There is a history of the Euro and a huge collection of currency worldwide (I didn't see any US Dollars though). Many exhibits are interactive and set low enough that kids can participate. In the basement is King Dinis' Wall, an archaeological project that uncovered the city wall from 1294. Neat. Super interesting and well worth your time. [Review 19035 overall - 230 in Portugal - 4 of 2023.]

Free museum through wed-sun, with the information about the evolution of money in Portugal and the world.

A free money museum in an old beautiful bank that was once a church. It opened in 2016 & I found the 509 year old wall in the basement the most impressive. Amazing all of the artifacts excavated from this site in the 1200's and before.

Visited on September 4, 2019. The "money museum" is set in a gorgeous building. There are interactive stations with quizzes, touching a real gold bar in a very cool looking vault/safe, the ability to put your face on a banknote and coin among other activities (all free of charge!). There's also some ruins in the basement. One can easily spend 2-3 hours here & it was one of the best attractions in Lisbon.