Portugal has a vast collection of museums, including many fascinating local museums. (I was never a “museum person” but I find myself fascinated and delighted every time I visit a small local museum!) On this website, I focus on museums that have prehistoric collections or which are focused on prehistory.
Use the map below to browse or search among the various museums. Highlighted map markers indicate sites that are described on this website. More posts are added as sites get visited. (If you know of a museum that should be added to the map, please let me know!)
Below the map is a list of all the museums on our website …so far!
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Interpretation Center of Megalithism
Portuguese name: Núcleo Interpretativo do Megalitismo Update November 2025: This interpretive centre is CLOSED at the moment. The guard at reception was not able to tell me when it might be reopened. Walk inside the beautiful Remedios Convent and follow the signs past the menirs on display, and you enter a small but fascinating museum…
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Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Elvas
Portuguese name: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnografia de Elvas António Tómas Pires As you explore this historic building, you can look at historic displays while walking through one. The walls show one part of history, and the displays reveal many others. Videos show the work done in the bakeries in the building during recent years,…
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Côa Museum
As you walk down the cement canyon, the walls close in on you and the blue sky dwindles. Darkness encloses you and it seems like you are traveling into the bowels of the earth and back in time. Within, you are surrounded by art and artefacts of life as it was tens of thousands of…
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Interactive Megalithic Museum
Name in Portuguese: Museu Interativo do Megalitismo de Mora Step inside the old railway station, and the learning experience begins. A museum focused on antiquity is housed in a building that has been architecturally updated to the 21st century. High technology is used to immerse the visitor into the life and experiences of prehistoric peoples.…
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Silves Municipal Archaeology Museum
The building itself of this fascinating museum includes its own National Monument, the cistern well in the centre of the building. Surrounding it, a collection traces the history of this ancient city and region, from prehistoric to modern times. When you enter the museum, you start in the prehistoric section. This first section is full…