Museums and Galleries

Museu dos Terceiros

Set within a complex of two churches; the 15th century church of Santo António dos Frades and Igreja dos Terceiros - just to the south of the town centre, is the Museu dos Terceiros or Museum of the Third Order. This is in part a museum of sacred art but it the churches themselves also from much of the interest.

Both church interiors are predominantly 17th and 18th century and in keeping with the period the interiors are fine examples of Baroque design. Altarpieces, pulpits and pelmet are of Rococo design and there is some beautifully painted wood panelling in the sacristy. Along...

Casa de José Régio

The modernist poet and writer José Régio was born and died in Vila do Conde, despite spending most of his life elsewhere in Portugal. Much of his works focused on the conflict between man and God, and between the individual and society. He was also known for being a thorn in the side of Salazar's dictatorship and the Estado Novo.

Régio also had a magpie-like appetite for collecting art of all kinds and it is this that forms the basis of this house/museum. Much of the collection is religious art; paintings, statues and ex-votos (offerings), but the author also had a passion for...

Centro Cultural de Lagos

The Centro Cultural de Lagos (CCL) is a venue for a diverse range of cultural activities, particularly performing arts and visual arts. Events range from jazz and classical music through to stand up comedy and photography exhibitions.

There are two distinct main spaces within the CCL, the largest of which is the auditorium with its Italian stage and seating for around 300 spectators. There is also a 500 m2 temporary exhibition area of spread over three rooms.

Exhibitions feature a varied program covering topics including architecture, archeology and history. There are also...

Albufeira Archaeological Museum

Located in Albufeira's old town, just behind the beach, is this archeological museum. The Museu Municipal de Arqueologia de Albufeira is housed in, what was until the late 1980s, the town hall. Despite its diminutive appearance the museum is surprisingly spacious inside.

Much of the collection was excavated from the local area by Father José Manuel Semedo de Azevedo, a keen amateur archeologist. Objects were collected from nearby sites such as the castle in Paderne, Roman villa in Retorta, the necropolis of Morgado da Lameira and the old parish church. These include such highlights...

Lamego Museum

Lamego's regional museum sits within the walls of the 18th century episcopal palace (bishop's palace) and contains some of the finest examples of religious art to be found anywhere in Portugal. Much of the collection was built up over the centuries by the Bishops of Lamego but since the episcopal palace became the museum there have been many new additions.

Among the highlights on exhibit are a number of religious paintings by Vasco Fernandes, or Grão Vasco as he was commonly known. The 16th century paintings were commissioned to form part of the altarpiece in the...

Casa de Lucia

Between 13th May and 13th October 1917, three local shepherd children living near Fátima are said to have witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The Sanctuary in Fatima is now a leading pilgrimage site for Catholics from around the world and attracts between 4 and 5 million visitors each year. The eldest of these three children, Lucia dos Santos, lived as a Carmelite nun until 2005, devoting her life to prayer and sacrifice.

The house where Lucia was born and lived at the time of the apparitions is located in the...

Museu de Cerro da Vila

The Cerro de Vila museum is located near the Quarteira suburb of Vilamoura, on the Algarve coastline. Some pretty interesting Roman archaeological excavations are to be found here, with most of the ruins located within the museum complex.

The site had been occupied by humans since the Bronze Age, but the Romans were the first to establish a large-scale, permanent settlement here in the year 27BC. Two large Roman villas were located at the site; today fragments of the walls can be seen alongside sections of mosaic. The ruins of the bath-...

Portimão Museum

Portimao’s award-winning museum opened in 2008 and is a good place to come to learn more of what life would have been like for those who lived in the locality throughout the ages. The site was once a fish canning factory, and the main focus is on the industrial processes once carried out here. The 1000 square metre main exhibition is divided into three distinct areas:

Origin and Destiny of a Community

This section follows the lives of those living in the Portimao and Alvor regions from Neolithic times right up until the present day. There are...

Slave Market Site - Lagos

Lagos Slave Market - Mercado de Escravos — Lagos Slave Market

This unassuming building in Praca do Infante Dom Henrique has a tragic history. This building, (Mercado de Escravos) is widely believed to have been the first slave market in Europe.

In 1444 Prince Henry the Navigator set up a trading post in Arguin Bay, an island off the coast of Mauritania in West Africa. From here, that same year, slaves were shipped over to be sold in Lagos. The original building that stood here was built in that same year. Contemporary accounts tell of the abject misery and...

Lagos Museum

Founded in 1932 and named after its founder, the Museu Dr. Jose Formosinho, to give it its full name, is Lagos's main museum. This is without doubt the best museum in the Algarve and whatever it is you're interested in, you'll probably find it here.

As you wander through the museum's many rooms you'll see displays connected to the local history, Portuguese coinage, military hardware from the Age of Discoveries, artworks and more. The archaeological finds here include a collection of Moorish pottery and an eclectic mix of findings going back to Neolithic times. A town...