Portugal has a vast collection of museums. Here, we focus on museums that have prehistoric collections or which are focused on prehistory.
You can use the map at the right to search for specific museums (highlighted map markers indicate museums that are described on this website), or browse through the entries below. More posts are added as sites get visited.
(NOTE: the national museum of archaeology has been closed for renovations and won’t reopen until 2025. When it does, we’ll be sure to visit and include it here.)
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Casa dos Nichos
This ancient building holds even more ancient contents inside. It’s the archaeological museum of Viana do Castelo, with information about the prehistory of the area from the Stone Age to the Roman era. Viana do Castelo’s archaeological museum (Núcleo de Arqueologia) has a small but impressive exhibit telling the story of the area’s ancient past,
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Museum of the Southwest Script
Portuguese: Museu da Escrita Sudoeste de Almodôvar (MESA) The characters tease you: they look familiar, and they obviously convey a message. What is it? It’s impossible to say. Someday we may decipher all the symbols, but for now they remain enigmatic, leaving us to wonder at the people who lived here before the Romans. This
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Museum of Vila do Bispo
In Portuguese: Museu de Vila do Bispo, also known as: Celeiro da História (“The Granary of History”) Come into this restored granary, and walk through the history of the region. From dinosaurs to the modern day, a carefully and artistically designed space guides you through the huge spaces of the old warehouses, teaching you and