For historygeeks and beyond, access to Portugal’s cultural heritage is about to become easier. What does this mean? Now, museums and monuments, not to mention palaces, will now have entrances free any day of the week.
The new measure was recently announced by the Minister of Culture, Dalila Rodrigues, in Viseu, as part of International Museum Day. In all, there are 38 establishments covered, from the north to the south of the country.
Before we look at some of the cultural venues covered, it’s important to understand that this measure comes with certain restrictions. Let’s find out what they are After that, it’s time to take a look at some of the museums, monuments and palaces included.
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How will it work in practice?
Calm down, although it’s incredible, this measure still doesn’t allow you unlimited entry to Portuguese museums and monuments. Even so, it’s a great help in boosting access to and consumption of culture.
In order to take advantage of this measure, you must first bear in mind that it is only valid for national citizens. In addition, there is a limit of 52 free accesses per individual, which will be renewed annually.
Validation will be done via a mobile application, where not only the count but also the registration at the cultural venues covered will be done.
Museums and monuments in Porto
In the city of Porto, you can benefit from this measure in two different places:
- Soares dos Reis National Museum, one of the most interesting museums in the city
- Fernando de Castro House-Museum, a ‘secret place’ worth visiting
Other places covered
From the north to the south of Portugal, there are 38 museums, monuments, palaces and churches which you can visit for free through this new measure.
Although we won’t go through the whole list, we will highlight some of the most emblematic museums and monuments near Porto:
- Guimarães Castle
- Palace of the Dukes, Guimarães
- Alberto Sampaio Museum, Guimarães
- D. Diogo Sousa Archaeology Museum Diogo de Sousa, Braga
- Miranda Land Museum, Miranda do Douro
- Lamego Museum
- National Museum of Conímbriga, Condeixa-a-Velha
- Convent of Christ, Tomar
- Alcobaça Monastery
- Batalha Monastery
- National Museum of Resistance and Freedom, Peniche
- Belém Tower, Lisbon
- National Pantheon, Lisbon
- Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, among many others.