The Casa dos Bicos is a former renaissance palace built by the son of the second viceroy of India, Brás de Albuquerque. The building is constructed over a stretch of a former city wall (cerca moura/cerca velha), and further down, a roman city wall and fish preserve facilities were found. All these archeological findings are exhibited in the ground floor, under management of the Museu da Cidade and free to visit. The upper floors house the Saramago Foundation, which promote Saramago's work (Nobel Prize of Literature), literature and human rights. Besides office space, an exhibition on the author's life is available for 3€. Alternatively, one can visit the bookstore on the 3rd floor for free. The renaissance building features an unusual diamond point covered façade, probably of italian influence. At this time this was the most visible, river facing façade, but not the main entrance to the building, which was done through a courtyard from the northern side. The building was highly damaged during Lisbon's earthquake of 1775, on which the top 2 floors were lost. In the 90s, the building was renewed in a post-modern fashion. The archeological and historic memory found on the site was made apparent and juxtaposed to a new, contemporary layer of a complex spatial structure that turns and unfolds around these findings, celebrating depth, complexity, and juxtaposition. The upper two floors were rebuilt, reinterpreted from paintings and drawings from before the earthquake. Here and there the archeological remnants from previous eras may be found hidden in the foldings of time and of the building. The daring and unconventional refurbishment raised much controversy at the time, but Lisboners have made peace with it since. There is a threefold reason to visit this building: it tells of the urban history of the city, it showcases Saramago's work and life (besides other activities by the foundation) and it is a unique Lisbon post-modern space. Regular guided visits are organized by the Museu da Cidade to the ground floor.

The history of the landmark, spanning almost 600 years, can be looked up in every Lisbon guidebook or easily found online. To cap it all, Casa dos Bicos is one of the very few buildings that survived the terrible 1775 earthquake. It is, however, not the only one, but most assuredly one of the prettiest and the most unusual for Lisbon (would look less out of place in Florence or Venice, for the building was designed having Italian architectural style in mind). As you will learn, the present building wasn't completely preserved, for its 2 upper floors did get damage during the earthquake and some serious restauration work was done later on, at different periods in the building's history. Be it as it may, the magnificent edifice is also a major attraction for the literature lovers, for it is the home of the José Saramago Foundation, the most famous of the modern Portuguese writers, and the recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature. The 1st floor of the building houses the permanent exhibition "José Saramago. The seed and the fruits" and there is a bookstore and a shop on the 3rd floor. The opening hours are: From Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm Daylight Saving Time: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 7 pm The cost of admission is as follows: Normal ticket - 3,00 €; Family ticket - 8,00 €; Student ticket (student card presentation required) - € 2.00 Children younger than 12 are admitted for free. Now, the outside area is a sort of memorial for the brilliant writer, who doesn't have a grave; his ashes are buried under the old olive tree right outside Casa dos Bicos. Please note the huge elephant footprint; it is a tribute to one of the most famous Saramago's books, The Elephant's Journey. Casa dos Bicos is located on the western boundary of Alfama, right next to Lisbon's downtown (Baixa) and is within 12 minutes' walk from Rossio Square.

Exquisite landmark of Alfama district, the elevation of this tenement building is done in Reinessance style. Feast for eyes. I wish the battery in my camera hadn't gone dead, I would be able to upload more pics now.

Interesting building housing a museum to famous writer José Saramago.

The ground floor, which is free to enter, is completely dedicated to an archaeological site, which is a must see in this corner of Lisbon. The upper floors are a paid area dedicated to a Portuguese writer and perhaps of lesser interest to most tourists. Take care to note the slight exterior differences between the newer top two floors and the older bottom two floors.

I'm giving this one more star than I want to in recognition of my ignorance of Jose Saramogo and his lifes work. That said. The facade of the building is different and interesting and is worth walking by if you are in the neighborhood. Also if you enjoy Roman ruins and the history of making fish mash, head on in and walk through the first floor of the building. It's free and very well done with the glass floor, informational displays and a few nicely displayed pottery shards. However it is extremely limited to essentially two Roman stone tanks where fish remains where put into, left to ferment and then made into a sauce that was then marketed around Europe. Very nice, very limited. All good so far. But then you are invited to pay 3 euros to "experience" the upper floors. Why not? Up the stairs you go, but the first thing that hit me was that I was no longer in the same building that I saw from the outside. Instead I was in a modern and architecturally awkward building. Like walking upstairs at a boutique hotel. Once at the public floor space I thought I walked into a gift shop. Nicely displayed were hundreds of Jose Saramago books. My wife has read his books, but was no more interested than I in looking at more of them. We quickly perused the floor and found nothing else of interest. Back to the hotel stairs up another floor to find essentially the same again. This floor though had a small space with chairs set up which I assume are used for book lectures. Again we walked the floor for any sort of interesting or useful information. Found none. We left feeling like we had both paid 3 euros for the opportunity to enter a book store selling one authors works. Okay I get it. Someone somewhere is studying Jose Saramago at a university level. If that is you then your 3 euros may or may not be well spent. If it isn't I would strongly recommend taking a picture outside and calling it a day.

Alfama, the old part of the city, you can feel the history at every step. A beautiful part of the city, a lot of wonderful houses like "Saramago" and a lot of small restaurants where you can listen to beautiful fado live. Guest musicians play or waiters, chefs... amazing feeling.

It's a small venue, so the exhibits are not that big. Here you will find several facts about Saramago's life, his books in serveral language and also his burrial place in front of the house. It's especially recommended for his avid readers

The architecture is interesting, I haven't been inside. From outside looks ok.

Wunderschönes und interessantes Museum im Herzen Lissabons. Es ist eine Mischung aus geologischen und literarischen Museum. Der Hauptbestandteil ist literarischer Natur. Es widmet sich dem Portugisischem Autor und Literatur Nobelpreisträger José Saramago. Man kann auch hier seine Werke in mehreren Sprachen übersetzt kaufen. Sehr empfehlenswert

Museum of Nobel prize author José de Sousa Saramago's life & work, set in a restored 1500s house.

Fantastic place to discover José Saramago's life, the stairs are very beautiful and there is a shop on one of the floors where you can find books. All the guides and leaflets are in Portuguese, English and Spanish, the lady and the gentleman at the entrance are very kind. The building has got some ancient roman walls. Definitely worth a visit

here you can learn about Saramago’s life and work, check out the 4th floor to see some pictures and a short movie about his trips

Everything was on Portuguese, this makes it hard for me to follow the museum. Also, there were no signs about prices and prosedures.

Beautiful museum, worth a visit especially if you're a Saramago lover

Ground floor archaeological site with Roman foundation and fish past making ruin. Free access most interesting. Tells you the Reno story of the building how it was rescued from earthquake and its onsite archaeological digs. Façade is unique. Their toilet access design is interesting as well. 2 floor is a paid exhibit a famous writer.

I'm convinced that the best way to celebrate an author is to read his works, not a museum. Nothing more than a glorified bookstore. The building is architecturally interesting from the outside but the interior was nonsensically renovated.

Front desk lady was a bit rude about me needing change for a large note. The videos were a bit long without any seating or estimated time on the plaque. Wanted to see some more info about his children’s books and the piece of theatre that was done. Otherwise I was very pleased to see my great grandfather’s cousin’s work celebrated. I very much enjoyed the Roman architecture on the first floor.

Skippable, unless you have never seen any ruins or are a big fan of Jose Saramago. The ruins were well preserved and easy to look at but there wasn't much to see. The floor with Jose Saramago stuff was also on the smaller side.

I recently visited the Fundação José Saramago in Lisbon, and I must say that my experience was utterly disappointing due to the unhelpful and rude behavior of the front staff. It felt as though they went out of their way to be uncooperative, and their sarcastic and ironic responses only added to the unpleasant encounter. One of the main purposes of having front staff is to provide assistance and information to visitors, but unfortunately, the staff at the Fundação José Saramago seemed completely disinterested in fulfilling this role. When we approached them with questions about the ticket prices or how the visitation worked, they responded with indifference and dismissive attitudes, refusing to provide any substantial answers. It was as if our inquiries were an inconvenience to them. Their lack of professionalism not only hindered our ability to fully enjoy our visit but also reflected poorly on the legacy of José Saramago himself. Saramago, a Nobel laureate and renowned author, dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge and literature. His works often delved into profound themes of humanity and empathy. It is disheartening to see that the front staff at his foundation failed to embody these values. The poor treatment we received from the front staff created an unwelcoming atmosphere that detracted from the overall visitor experience. It left us feeling unworthy and disrespected, as if our presence was an inconvenience to them. As a result, we were unable to fully engage with the exhibits and appreciate the depth of Saramago's literary contributions. Moreover, the behavior exhibited by the front staff raised concerns of xenophobia or a general disinterest in their job. It is crucial for any institution, particularly one dedicated to preserving the legacy of a literary icon like José Saramago, to promote inclusivity and a welcoming environment for all visitors. By failing to do so, the Fundação José Saramago tarnishes its own reputation and undermines the very essence of Saramago's beliefs. In conclusion, the unhelpful, rude, ironic, and sarcastic front staff at the Fundação José Saramago in Lisbon severely damages the visitor's experience and undermines the legacy of José Saramago himself. It is disheartening to witness such behavior in an institution that should embody the values of empathy and knowledge championed by Saramago. I hope that the management takes prompt action to rectify this issue and ensure that future visitors can fully appreciate the literary brilliance of José Saramago without the hindrance of unprofessional and unwelcoming staff.

I am a History nut, and so for me, this is always a great place to visit. The lady is friendly and helpful, and I just kinda walk around and admire the roman walls and wonder at the workings of the salted fish factories and the hustle and bustle that goes with that. Stay a while

Nice museum with old original walls from before the earthquake in Portugal. The house itself also has a very special facade.

Lovely little museum dedicated to a great portuguese author and only 3 euros. Also the ground floor is free and includes some cool roman artefacts and history

marvellous place for saramago stans

Mostly this review is because of the charming street we were walking in! Love this place