MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES
1. Museu da Misericórdia do Porto
This museum (see Museu de Misericórdia do Porto) is dedicated to the work of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, a 16th-century charitable foundation. A particular highlight is the enormous Renaissance masterpiece, Fons Vitae, attributed to Flemmish artist Colijn de Coter.
Museu da Misericórdia do Porto
2. Centro Português de Fotografia
Vintage cameras and photographic equipment are displayed on the upper floor of this former place of incarceration. Prison cells now serve as a gallery which shows period black-and-white prints from the earliest days of photography as well as pieces by 21st-century image makers from all parts of the former Portuguese empire (see Centro Português de Fotografia).
3. Museu do Carro Electrico
Porto proudly presents the history of its electric trams – the first such public transport in Portugal and Spain – at this interesting museum (see Museu do Carro Electrico), with a collection of vintage vehicles that includes the city’s earliest tram. The Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos de Porto (Porto Public Transport Company) still operates its heritage vehicles on routes 1, 18 and 22 in the city centre, which are well worth a ride.
4. Museu do Vinho do Porto
Despite its name, this museum is not just about port wine (see Museu do Vinho do Porto). Instead, it focuses on the influence of wines from many other countries on the heritage, culture and economy of Porto throughout history. Exhibits provide an eye-opening introduction to the vintages of the Douro valley vineyards along with the many different styles of wine made in and around the city. Founded in 2004, it occupies a former port storehouse right on the banks of the Douro.
5. World of Discoveries
Squarely pitched at families with younger children, this museum (see World of Discoveries) tells of the voyages of legendary navigators such as Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, and Ferdinand Magellan, and their sponsor Prince Henry the Navigator. A reimagined 15th-century shipyard is a revelation, re-creating life on board the tiny, fragile vessels.
Diorama of early Portuguese explorers at the World of Discoveries
6. Museu dos Transportes e Comunicações
The vast halls of Porto’s old customs house, once replete with the cargo of up to 40 ships, are now a shrine to items of transport, trade and 20th-century tech (see Museu dos Transportes e Comunicações). Interactive displays and hands-on exhibits, of which a giant megaphone is a firm favourite, explore Porto’s past.
7. Museu Romântico
Royalty enjoyed the lavish hospitality of plutocrat port-shipper Antonio Ferreira Pinto Basto at this grand mansion in the first half of the 19th century (see Museu Romântico). After a renovation in 2018, it reopened to give visitors an entertaining insight into the life of Porto’s bourgeoisie.
8. Casa do Infante
It is thought that Portugal’s most famous prince was born here in 1394. Henry the Navigator went on to preside over a wave of exploration and imperial expansion that turned Portugal from a backwater into a world-spanning thalassocracy. The building (see Casa do Infante), however, reveals an even earlier history, with exhibits dating from the Roman era.
9. Museu de Serralves
The clean-cut lines and geometric shapes of the Modernist Museu de Serralves contrasts starkly with the voluptuous greenery and meandering paths of the landscaped gardens that surround it. Within is a spectacular collection of modern art spanning 70 years and including work by many artists from Portugal and the broader Portuguese-speaking world.
10. Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
O Desterrado (The Outcast), the best known of many works by sculptor António Soares dos Reis (1847-89), is the anchor of this fine collection (see Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis), set up in 1833 to rescue artworks from religious foundations dissolved during the anticlerical decades of the early 19th century. Church silverware and gold plates vie for attention with beautiful ceramics and lacquerware from China and Japan – mementos from the days of empire.
Cross, Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
