Located in the charming Largo do Carmo, in the Chiado district, the Museu Arqueológico do Carmo (MAC) occupies the impressive ruins of the gothic church of the Convento do Carmo, destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. Founded in 1864 by the Associação dos Arqueólogos Portugueses, it was the first Portuguese museum dedicated to archaeology and monumental art.

The museum houses a rich and varied collection, ranging from Prehistory to the 20th century. Among the most important pieces are Roman sarcophagi (including the famous sarcophagus of King Fernando I), epigraphs, Mozarabic steles, azulejos panels, noble coats of arms, reliefs, fountains, and gothic-baroque sculptures. The collection also includes two pre-Columbian mummies, prehistoric artifacts from various excavations, and architectural objects recovered from churches suppressed during the Liberal Wars.