Museum Aljube Resistência e Liberdade

A must see. A very well curated and documented history of the resistance to and persecution by the fascist regime that dominated much of 20th century Portugal. Important history that can inform our times as authoritarian regimes try and get power in the US and other countries throughout the world. The conviction, determination and resourcefulness of the men and women that actively participated in resisting the fascist government is a brave example for us all.

This was a fantastic little museum. We took about 90 minutes to read everything. It was laid out well, and brought this little known period of history to life (for a 40 year old British person). Tough in places, but a poignant reminder of how easily we could again lose hard-won freedoms as we witness the rise of right-wing politics in our time.

I have visited the museum the last Saturday of May 2025 and I have only said good things about. I chose a guided visit. The guide, Elisabete Araújo know all the historic details and she is an excellent communicator who explains with passion every bend of the Museum. All the building it is very interesting especially the reproduction of the Pide dungeons, the witnesses of the repression and tortures and the April 25th room that is very moving. The Museum has a wide and interesting offer of books. people in reception is very kind and well informed about the books they sell. I am from Barcelona and I was very satisfied with the visit. Thank you very much.

I visited this museum on a Sunday, there wasn't a lot of traffic in the museum so it was a very nice and calm atmosphere where I could explore most of the rooms alone, speaking of which the museum is really impressive and more expansive than I initially thought

This was one of the best museums I have visited anywhere in the world! The information and displays are well-curated, the layout is well-planned, and the photographic and video artifacts are compelling. Outstanding experience that visitors and locals should take time to see.

This was such a moving experience. Well worth the ticket price. We stayed for far longer than we expected. I never knew how bad it was for people under the fascist regime - and really, it wasn’t very long ago.

My wife and I visited this museum on our last day in Lisbon without really knowing what to expect, and we were deeply impressed. Neither of us knew much about the history of the Salazar dictatorship and its downfall in the Carnation Revolution, and we learned so much from touring the extremely well done exhibits here. As a visitor, you walk through a chronological timeline starting with events leading up to the fall of the Portuguese monarchy, the brief period of democracy in its aftermath, the rise of Salazar’s fascist regime and the decades-long resistance that eventually led to the regime’s overthrow in 1974. It was every bit as moving as our visit to the Anne Frank House, and the bravery of the resistance was inspiring. Most but not all of the individual exhibits have English captions, but even if we couldn’t read everything we were still very moved by what we saw.

The story of Portugal’s repressive past is very well told. There’s not much in the way of exhibits because this is essentially the telling of a story of how the human spirit was crushed by fascism and how its resilience ultimately triumphed. It is compelling, and moving. Not very engaging for kids and families but an interesting and important museum to ensure we do not forget the very recent past (because as George Santayana reminded us ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”