Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Portugal Lisbon Hospital de Bonecas

Hospital de Bonecas

Catering to broken dolls for almost 200 years, this repair shop is now a charnel house of doll parts.

Lisbon, Portugal

Added By
Carley Bucknell
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
Hospital de Bonecas   cmbucknell / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  buffycaine99 / Atlas Obscura User
  buffycaine99 / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Sitting behind a pair of innocuous glass doors in Lisbon, Portugal is a miraculous doll repair shop that has managed to remain in the same spot, bringing beloved playthings back to life for almost two centuries. 

According to the story on their website, it all started with a woman named Miss Carlota, who would sit on her stoop and craft cloth dolls for the local children. Eventually, the children would bring them their own dolls to be repaired, and Carlota would act like a doll doctor, and patch them up. Eventually her services became so popular that they were able to actually open a doll hospital at 7 Praça Figueira. That was in 1830, and the shop has been going strong for the 180+ years since. 

Not only is this one of the oldest doll hospitals in the world, but you quickly realize that this is a home to the hundreds of dolls and the family which created it. Down the decades, any doll that was not claimed was added to their now extensive "museum." In reality it is a wild and wooly collection of separated doll parts from over a century of styles of dolls. There are racks of heads and arms, cases of eyes, and racks of half-finished "patients." 

For only 3.50 euros you see the many drawers of limbs, eyes, beds of ill patients, and rooms full of visitors. From old to new, the extensive collection of dolls will leave you nostalgic and astonished in equal measure.

Related Tags

Dolls Hospitals

Know Before You Go

Easily walked to from the central shopping district. Located on the Praça da Figueira square easily accessed by busses 12E,15E, 208,714,736,737,760 or short walk from the metro, Rossio.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon

Explore Portugal through food, from the cities to the seaside.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

cmbucknell

Edited By

zlombardo, Osage, kittyglitter, Max Cortesi...

  • zlombardo
  • Osage
  • kittyglitter
  • Max Cortesi
  • buffycaine99

Published

April 7, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.lisbonlux.com/lisbon-shops/hospital-de-bonecas.html
  • http://150anos.dn.pt/2014/09/05/hospital-de-bonecas-o-local-que-restaura-sonhos-e-fantasias/
Hospital de Bonecas
7 Praça Figueira
Lisbon, 1100-240
Portugal
38.714079, -9.137623
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

A Ginjinha

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Church of St. Dominic

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Livraria Simão

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lisbon

Lisbon

Portugal

Places 37
Stories 1

Nearby Places

A Ginjinha

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Church of St. Dominic

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Livraria Simão

Lisbon, Portugal

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lisbon

Lisbon

Portugal

Places 37
Stories 1

Related Stories and Lists

16 Hidden Gems to Visit in Portugal

List

By Atlas Obscura

19 Places to Find the World's Creepiest Toys

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Related Places

  • A collection in Sydney’s Original Doll Hospital

    Bexley, Australia

    Sydney's Original Doll Hospital

    Over two million dolls have been healed during this hospital's century in business.

  • Taunton, Massachusetts

    Taunton State Hospital

    This historic psychiatric hospital is haunted by its chilling past.

  • Neuhausen, Germany

    Nussknackermuseum Neuhausen

    Home to the world's largest collection of nutcrackers.

  • The giant kachina.

    Cave Creek, Arizona

    World's Largest Kachina Doll

    This 39-foot-tall version of a Hopi figure stands in Arizona.

  • Argyll and Bute Hospital

    Lochgilphead, Scotland

    Argyll and Bute Hospital

    This ruins of an abandoned Victorian-era mental health facility.

  • The Isolation Hospital.

    Ghajnsielem, Malta

    Isolation Hospital

    This abandoned building, which is the second-largest structure on the Maltese island of Comino, has a complicated past.

  • Medieval hospital

    Sesimbra, Portugal

    Chapel of Espírito Santo dos Mareantes

    Ghostly ship drawings grace the walls of this medieval hospital.

  • The two-story museum has over 3000 haunted objects.

    Omaha, Nebraska

    The Museum of Shadows

    Haunted dolls, macabre artifacts, and more make up the collection of the “most haunted museum in the world.”

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.