The Roman Theatre of Lisbon: the theatre of Olisipo hidden beneath the Sé

Climbing up from Alfama towards the Sé cathedral, at Rua de São Mamede 3A, there's a door that most visitors walk past without noticing. Behind it, set against the hill that leads up to the Castelo de São Jorge, stands the Roman Theatre of Lisbon: the stone tiers of a building that two thousand years ago overlooked the city's port. Back then Lisbon was called Felicitas Iulia Olisipo and was an important port of Roman Lusitania. Anyone arriving up the Tagus would see this theatre almost at once, built in the Augustan era, in the 1st century, as a concrete sign of the Empire's presence.

The rediscovery

The site resurfaced almost by chance. Excavations began in 1964, the work of two scholars of Lisbon's history, and for decades the remains stayed an archaeological dig wedged in among the neighbourhood's houses. The museum proper opened in 2001, closed between 2013 and 2015 to bring new structures to light, and reopened in 2015 under its current name, Museu de Lisboa – Teatro Romano. It's one of the five sites making up the Museu de Lisboa, and the least visited of them all: those who come to Lisbon rush to the Sé or the castle and almost no one steps in here.

What there is to see

What there really is to see. In the open-air archaeological area you can make out the base of the proscaenium, the wall that framed the stage, and part of the orchestra, the semicircular space reserved for the city's elite. It isn't a monumental colosseum: it's an authentic, legible fragment, where you can grasp how the building fitted into the slope. The permanent exhibition occupies two buildings from different periods facing the street. The one to the south is 17th-century, altered in the industrial age when a floor was added and a suitcase factory operated inside; the one to the north dates from the late 19th century. Inside are gathered the finds unearthed in the excavations, and not only Roman ones: there are traces of the Iron Age and the medieval period, because this hill has been inhabited and rebuilt in layers for centuries.

The pleasure of a visit here is the pace. It's a small museum, easily toured in a little under an hour, often with few other people around. There are panels and models reconstructing the theatre's original appearance, useful because of the roughly four thousand spectators who once filled it, only a portion survives today. The terrace and viewpoints overlooking the archaeological dig give a good sense of the whole.

Getting there

Getting there. You're right in the historic centre: the museum is a few steps from the Sé cathedral, on the climb leading up to the castle. The historic tram 28 stops right in front of the Sé; from there it's a two-minute walk along the side streets. Alternatively, you can walk up from Alfama or from Terreiro do Paço. The stated hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 5.30pm; closed on Mondays and on the main holidays (1 January, 1 May, 25 December). Admission is cheap and free for holders of the Lisboa Card. It's best to come in the shoulder seasons, when Alfama is easier to breathe in: in spring or early autumn the neighbourhood is pleasant and the theatre remains one of the few corners of the centre you can enter without a queue. Check hours and prices on the Museu de Lisboa website before setting off.

Related guides: Portugal: little-known destinations beyond Lisbon and Porto · Lisbon too crowded? Authentic Portuguese destinations beyond the capital.

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