If you have little time and are interested in knowing more about this art, there is nothing better than visiting the magnificent collection at the Museu Nacional do Azulejo in Lisbon. Find out how an azulejo is made, and see the first examples that arrived in Portugal in the sixteenth century, the large panels with a variety of patterns, the commemorative panels and the more modern works.

Imagine azulejos vine-shaped or with frogs squatting on water lilies. This is what you will find further north, at the Ceramics Museum in Caldas da Rainha. See the fantastic pieces produced in Portugal, in particular the original Art Nouveau works of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.

Use your trip to discover Portuguese ceramics. Still further north, in the World Heritage city of Guimarães, the Museu Alberto Sampaio contains a remarkable collection of valuable azulejo panels with vegetable motifs.

If you have the chosen the south for your holidays, visit the museum of Évora, where the seventeenth-century panels with their naïve images of patron saints, or the altar-coverings with exotic animals and plants, may be an interesting discovery. If you have now become a fan of the azulejo, don’t miss the National palace in Sintra, where you are sure to be fascinated by a true art gallery of azulejos.