Machado de Castro National Museum

The Machado de Castro National Museum, in Coimbra

The Machado de Castro National Museum is one of the most important artistic institutions of Portugal, installed in the former episcopal palace of Coimbra. The Coimbra audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this major museum, rich in collections of sacred art and built on Roman vestiges.

The great museum of the former episcopal palace

The Machado de Castro National Museum is one of the most important artistic institutions of all Portugal. Installed since 1913 in the former episcopal palace of Coimbra, the museum deploys vast collections of antique pieces and sacred art, recovered from the monasteries, the convents and the churches after the confiscation of the ecclesiastical goods. Among its must-see treasures, you discover a collection of sculptures unique in Portugal, as well as the treasure of the Queen-Saint, and numerous works of goldsmithery, painting and ceramics. But the museum holds another major surprise: under the building is hidden a Roman cryptoporticus, an immense underground gallery that supported the forum of the ancient Roman town of Aeminium, the ancestor of Coimbra. Combining sacred art, archaeology and history, the Machado de Castro National Museum is an essential stop of Coimbra.

What to see

You admire one of the most important artistic institutions of Portugal, in the former episcopal palace, its vast collections of sacred art recovered from the monasteries and the churches, its collection of sculptures unique in the country, the treasure of the Queen-Saint, and the underground Roman cryptoporticus of the ancient Aeminium. The Machado de Castro Museum is an essential stop of Coimbra. It is a major stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Machado de Castro National Museum lies in the old upper town of Coimbra, near the Sé Velha, reachable on foot. The visit follows its own hours and conditions, which vary with the season. It is best to check the arrangements before coming.

What can you see at the Machado de Castro National Museum of Coimbra?

Vast collections of sacred art recovered from the monasteries and the churches, a collection of sculptures unique in Portugal, the treasure of the Queen-Saint, and the underground Roman cryptoporticus that supported the forum of the ancient town of Aeminium, under the former episcopal palace.

Where is the Machado de Castro National Museum of Coimbra?

In the old upper town of Coimbra, near the Sé Velha, in Portugal.