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We'd like to invite you to join us on our Sunny Portugal! tour in May 2016. To whet your appetite for the trip, scroll through the blogs below to learn all about tour events, local customs, food & drink and more. For the complete itinerary, click here. (coming soon!)

The Top 10 Places You Should Not Miss for the Best Tile Art in Lisbon

Make sure you have your camera handy when you travel through Portugal because you'll be snapping photos all over the place once you see all the beautiful azulejos (tile) decorations.

These colorful, patterned ceramics are used to decorate the exteriors and interiors of everywhere from humble homes to palaces, churches and metro stations.  They add color to an already vibrant city and discovering them around every corner as you wander the maze of streets will be one of our many tour highlights.

When you visit Lisbon check out these top 10 most popular azulejos sites.

You might also want to visit the National Tile Museum in Lisbon, Portugal located at Rua Madre de Deus, 4

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While the rest of Europe painted on canvas, many artists in Portugal preferred to paint on tile. The richness of the cultural iconography on tile is on a par with that found on canvas, illustrating the same themes (often religious) but also inspired by Chinese and Indian art and Flemish painting.

Ceramic tile decoration is believed to have originated in Persia, adopted throughout the Moorish world, moving up to southern Spain and much of Iberia. But it was in Portugal that the art of tile decoration really evolved.

Tilework is the national art and nowhere else in the world did it achieve such an outstanding quality and variety of uses. From vibrant patterns to historical images, tiles ("azulejos") cover most of Portugal's streets, from humble houses to palaces and fountains. In Lisbon you may admire a huge variety of panels by walking around the city.  You'll inevitably stop to see beautiful azulejos in a variety of styles, from the baroque to Art Nouveau, many covering façades dating from the 18th and 19th centuries and now often damaged or incomplete.
More contemporary designs cover most of the city's metro stations which make up a true gallery of contemporary tilework. Some of the best examples are in Oriente Station which includes works by local and foreign artists.
 

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