The permanent exhibition at the National Azulejo Museum is organised chronologically.

The first section is dedicated to the peninsular productions used in Portugal from the second half of the 15th century to cover floors: alfardons with lozenges and bricks with rajolas, imported from Manises in Valencia.

From the beginning of the 16th century there are examples of patterns for wall cladding, produced in Seville and Toledo using the Hispano-Moorish techniques of corda-seca and aresta. One of the highlights is a composition simulating a door which evokes the decorations that still exist in Coimbra's Old Cathedral.

The second section of the museum's permanent exhibition is dedicated to the first majolica productions, showing examples of the commission made by the Duke of Bragança, Teodósio I, in Antwerp in 1558 for the palace of Vila Viçosa.

Portuguese production began in Lisbon in the second half of the 16th century, and here you can see some examples made for Quinta da Bacalhoa, Azeitão, from 1565.

At the end of this section, the highlight is the Altarpiece of our Lady of Life, a masterpiece from the first Portuguese production, classified as a National Treasure, painted around 1580 and attributed to João de Góis.