Portugal
15 Best Museums in Portugal
If museums are your reason to travel, this is Portugal sorted for you.
Order reflects review volume from real travelers in Portugal. Refreshed monthly.
Castelo de São Jorge
Museum · LisbonPerched atop one of Lisbon's highest hills, Castelo de São Jorge is a medieval fortress that dominates the city's skyline.
Read our full guide →Carmo Archaeological Museum
Museum · LisbonThe Carmo Archaeological Museum occupies the roofless nave of the Carmo Convent, a Gothic church partially destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
Read our full guide →Palácio Nacional da Ajuda
Museum · LisbonFree entryThe Palácio Nacional da Ajuda is a grand neoclassical palace located in the Ajuda district of Lisbon, overlooking the Tagus River.
Read our full guide →Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Museum · LisbonFree entryThe Gulbenkian is Lisbon's finest museum, the private collection of oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, one of the great art collections assembled by a single person, displayed in a calm modernist…
Read our full guide →National Museum of the Azulejo
Museum · LisbonThe National Museum of the Azulejo is located in the former Madre de Deus Convent, a 16th-century building with a beautiful Manueline cloister.
Read our full guide →National Museum of Ancient Art
Museum · LisbonHoused in a 17th-century palace, the National Museum of Ancient Art showcases an extensive collection of paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
Read our full guide →Museu Nacional De Arte Antiga
Museum · LisbonFree entryThe Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga is Lisbon's premier art museum, located in a former 17th-century palace overlooking the Tagus River.
Read our full guide →Museu da Lourinha
Museum · LourinhaMuseu da Lourinha is a compact museum dedicated to the natural history of the Lourinha region, with a strong emphasis on paleontology.
Read our full guide →Rua dos Correeiros Archaeological Nucleus
Museum · LisbonThe Rua dos Correeiros Archaeological Nucleus is a fascinating museum tucked beneath a Millennium BCP bank branch in Lisbon’s Baixa district.
Read our full guide →Planetario de Marinha
Museum · LisbonThe Planetario de Marinha, also known as the Navy Planetarium, is a captivating museum in the historic Belém district of Lisbon.
Read our full guide →Museu D. Diogo de Sousa - Museum of Archeology
Museum · BragaFree entryMuseu D. Diogo de Sousa is Braga's premier archaeological museum, named after the 16th-century archbishop who modernized the city.
Read our full guide →Comur - Conserveira de Portugal
Museum · LisbonFree entryComur - Conserveira de Portugal is a unique museum and shop that celebrates Portugal’s long tradition of preserving fish in cans.
Read our full guide →Museu PIO XII
Museum · BragaMuseu PIO XII, located in Braga's historic center at Largo de Santiago, is a museum dedicated to religious art and archaeology.
Read our full guide →District Offices And Lifestyle
Museum · PortoDistrict Offices And Lifestyle is a museum located at Rua Augusto Rosa, 57, in the heart of Porto, Portugal.
Read our full guide →Olaria Pequena
Museum · PorchesFree entryOlaria Pequena is a delightful museum nestled in the heart of Porches, a village in the Algarve region of Portugal known for its long-standing pottery traditions.
Read our full guide →
Good to know
What is the best-known of the museums in Portugal?
Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon is the most reviewed, with 101,278 traveler reviews and a 4.5 rating. That makes it the safe choice if you are only fitting in one.
Which of Portugal's museums is worth going out of your way for?
Planetario de Marinha in Lisbon rates highest at 5.0 out of 5 across 109 reviews. Smaller crowds than the headline entry usually explain the gap.
Which city in Portugal has the most museums?
Lisbon, with 10 on this list, ahead of Braga on 2. The list spans 5 cities in total, capped at three per city so one big city cannot crowd out the rest of the country.
Are any of these museums free to visit?
Yes, 6: Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Museu Nacional De Arte Antiga and others. That is based on each place's own visiting information, not an assumption about the category.
How is this list of museums ranked?
By how many travelers reviewed each place, filtered to those rated well enough to be worth your time, drawn from 803 tracked places in Portugal. No one pays to appear on it, and the order is refreshed monthly as new reviews land.
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