National Coach Museum

Dedicated to historic European carriages, this museum, which relocated in 2015 to a modern, whitewashed building by Pritzker Prize–winning Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, is unique in the world. When it opened in 1905, it was the first ever museum to dedicate itself to the theme. Other institutions have since opened, but the carriages on display at this museum (those that hosted queens, kings, and popes) are some of the most prized. If the contemporary space is too stark (it’s mostly white-walled galleries), the previous site of the museum, 18th-century Horse Riding Arena of the Belém Palace across street, remains open for temporary exhibits; its atmospheric frescoed ceilings and azulejos perhaps a more suitable setting for these majestic coaches.