City: Central Portugal
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Things to do in Central Portugal, Portugal: The Best History Museums
1. Museu PO.RO.S
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 49 reviews
Reviewed By smileysusan1971 - London, United Kingdom
This is by far THE BEST museum I have visited in Portugal. Even if you are not into history, you cannot but enjoy this museum and learn from it. It is a modern interactive museum, with technologies to keep you entertained, as well as Roman replicas that your can touch and feel. Well worth a visit. Not to be missed.
2. Casa Museu Sao Rafael
3. Igreja de Sao Roque
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,078 reviews
Reviewed By eddg2019
Taken together, the Church and Museum of Saint Roque are among Lisbon’s most important artistic, cultural, and historic repositories. In addition to the main altar, the church is noteworthy for its side chapels, particularly that of St. John the Baptist with its central mosaic panel that looks like a painting on canvas, the gilt wood Chapel of Our Lady of Doctrine, and the tile work of the Chapel of São Roque. The painted ceiling is the only one extent from the Mannerist period. The adjoining museum houses one of the most important collections of sacred art, which includes paintings, sculpture, metalwork, reliquaries, altar frontals, and the treasure of the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist.
4. Fundacao Amalia Rodrigues Casa Museu
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 143 reviews
Reviewed By Daphnenero
Capture the voice of Portugal in this former home now made into a loving museum. While Amalia Rodrigues sings in the background you get to experience a personal side of this great singer who recreated Fado with her elegant jewelry and dresses. Our guide Isabelle was enthusiastic and a wealth of information. We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the house with her guidance and commentary. We learned so much and found out there is the lovely addition of Fado on Tues and Fri. Earlier in the evening by reservation. We met the famous Chico, her 29 yr old parrot out in the garden. There is a cute cafe with drinks and goodies available as well as beautiful artifacts for sale. We had a wonderful morning and look forward to a return to hear the live Fado.
5. Carlos Reis Municipal Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 8 reviews
6. Museu Monografico de Conimbriga
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 558 reviews
Reviewed By GeoSKW - Santa Fe, United States
On our trip, we visited Roman ruins in four countries and this site is both unique and has an interesting history. The site is only 17% excavated according to the knowledgeable gentleman at the ticket desk. We were very impressed by the museum. In comparison with other museums we visited at Roman ruins, this museum stands out for its excellent exhibits and artifacts of daily life... tools, surgical instruments, glass, jewelry, etc. We highly recommend visiting this museum. There is also a very good restaurant at the site.
7. Carmo Archaeological Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,806 reviews
The Carmo Archaeological Museum is situated in the ruins of the old Church of Santa Maria do Carmo, founded in 1389 by D. Nuno Alvares Pereira. This church was known as one of the most beautiful Gothic temples in Lisbon until the earthquake of 1755, which caused serious damage to the building and destroyed almost all of its religious-artistic contents. Its re-construction began in an experimental Gothic style in 1756 and stopped in 1834, when the religious orders were abolished in Portugal. In 1863, royal architect, Joaquim Possidonio da Silva, founded the Portuguese Civil Architects Association. About one year later, in 1864, the Carmo Archaeological Museum was installed there for the storage and display of important sculptures from old ruined buildings. Curing the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. the museum houses a collection which dates from Pre-History to the present day and shows the way people have thought and felt in different areas of culture throughout the ages.
Reviewed By 958LauraH - El Dorado Hills, United States
This ancient gothic church is roofless, and open to the sky. It is however, quite beautiful. We visited on a sunny day which was perfect for photos. There is also a small but interesting museum attached to it.
8. Museu de Marinha
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,201 reviews
The world-famous Maritime Museum in Belem has a children’s section as well as ship models. Portugal was a world leader in maritime exploration (Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, etc.)
Reviewed By NigelDCapeTown - Cape Town, South Africa
Housed in part of the Monastery of Geronimo, this museum is really very much worth a visit. It gives a graphic depiction of the great marine history of Portugal and ends with a wonderful display of royal barges, which must be one of the largest in the world. Really epic.
9. Museu Do Aljube
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 251 reviews
Reviewed By Karen31416 - New York City, United States
This was a fascinating museum, which I highly recommend for anyone wishing to learn more about recent Portugese history. Inexpensive.
10. Museu Nacional Ferroviario
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 158 reviews
O MNF é um espaço vivo, povoado por pecas extraordinárias que contam a historia do caminho de ferro em Portugal. Aqui, a aventura do conhecimento começá no património cultural, passa pela reflexão sobre o papel histórico, simbólico e tecnológico do transporte ferroviário, procurando envolver o visitante numa experiência de partilha e experimentação que tem tanto de educativa. Esperamos por si!
Reviewed By JamesAmaze - Cookham, United Kingdom
This museum is so well planned, starting with a 2 minute screen display of the increases in speed of trains over 2 centuries. The layout of exhibits is ordered and easy to understand. Descriptions in most cases are in English, as well, of course, in Portuguese. There is lots to see and touch. The exhibition then goes outside to a fantastic collection of steam locomotives grouped around an original and still working turntable. There are about 10 locos, massive units from the mid C19 to the mid C20. There's the chance to view the Royal Train, and walk inside the Presidential Carriage. I spent 3 hours there, smiling all the time. All the guides are friendly and speak English, and a special thank you to Tomas, who is almost as good as the world's best tour guide, James A, at Chelsea Football Club. A great museum to visit.
