Museu da Farmácia

Showcasing one of the most surprising and remarkable exhibitions in the city, the Museu da Farmácia (Pharmacy Museum) chronicles Portuguese pharmaceutical history and the wider theme of global pharmacy and health. The result is multi-faceted display of rare and precious artefacts that chart the evolution of pharmacy over 5000 years. Exhibited over two floors, the collection includes the entire interior of the late 19th-century Farmácia Liberal, which once stood on Lisbon's Avenida da Liberdade. Other outstanding exhibits include an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus – the oldest example in Portugal – and an extraordinary 17th-century hollow book concealing draws in which to hide poison. Elsewhere, visitors can ponder the pharmacist emergency kit used by Ernest Shackleton and a penicillin culture preserved in a tablet and inscribed on the reverse by the antibiotic's discoverer, Alexander Fleming.