Museums in Porto

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Ninety museums are open in Porto and they are not one kind of place. Two of the three most visited are a tower you climb and a merchants' palace, and the collections proper sit behind them.

Together they hold 120,855 reviews, 42 are rated 4.5 or better, and 42 stand within a kilometre of the centre. That density is the useful part: three in a morning is a normal pace on foot.

Each one has its own page with the opening hours, the rating and what it rests on, what is nearby, and a data sheet with its sources.

The best museums in Porto are a short list once the review counts are read. 29 of the 90 have 500 reviews or more and eighteen have at least a thousand; 42 are rated 4.5 or better. The most reviewed are the Torre dos Clérigos and the Palácio da Bolsa, which have their own pages; the largest of the museums proper is the FC Porto Museum at the Dragão stadium, 2.7 km out, with 7,839 reviews at 4.7. Among the houses with 500 reviews or more the best rated are 3D Fun Art Museum Porto (4.8 from 1,249), Wondersense Museum (4.8 from 703), FC Porto Museum (4.7 from 7,839), Igreja de Santa Clara (4.7 from 1,813), Neonia Porto (4.7 from 1,765). Serralves, the city's museum of contemporary art, has its own page too.

Of the 90, 44 are listed simply as museums, seven as local history museums, four as art museums and five are churches visited for their art. 24 close on Monday, the day most itineraries get wrong; 23 publish no hours at all, so check the page before the walk. 53 have a wheelchair-accessible entrance.

Every place, checked

Every one of the museums in Porto

90 museums, the most reviewed first. Filter by distance, kind and rating.

Filters

How far from the centre

Under 1 km421 to 3 km33Over 3 km15

How far from the centreAnyUnder 1 km (42)1 to 3 km (33)Over 3 km (15)

What kind

Art and design11History and heritage26Churches and sacred art4Science and transport4Sport, wine and trades2Other43

What kindAnyArt and design (11)History and heritage (26)Churches and sacred art (4)Science and transport (4)Sport, wine and trades (2)Other (43)

Rating

4.5 and up424.0 and up823.5 and up85

RatingAny4.5 and up (42)4.0 and up (82)3.5 and up (85)

90museums

Sort byMost reviewedBest ratedNearest to the centre

Torre dos Clérigos

★ 4.622,334·0.5 km

Palácio da Bolsa

★ 4.514,395·1.0 km

Clérigos Church

★ 4.613,560·0.5 km

Fundação Serralves

★ 4.69,723·4.2 km

FC Porto Museum

★ 4.77,839·2.7 km

World of Discoveries

★ 4.47,361·1.1 km

Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art

★ 4.47,111·4.2 km

Museum of Transport and Communication

★ 4.43,857·1.1 km

Soares dos Reis National Museum

★ 4.43,614·0.9 km

Porto Tram Museum

★ 4.43,541·1.9 km

Portuguese Centre of Photography

★ 4.41,997·0.7 km

Igreja de Santa Clara

★ 4.71,813·0.8 km

Show 12 more

On the map

The twenty most reviewed, numbered as in the list. Six stand within a kilometre of the centre and five more than three kilometres out, the furthest at 6 km (3.7 miles) in the west of the city.

Point at a name to find its pin, and open a pin for that museum's own page.

The most reviewed

Torre dos Clérigos carries 22,334 reviews at 4.6 out of 5, half as many again as anything else here. What that counts is how many people climbed it and said so, which is footfall rather than quality.

Palácio da Bolsa follows with 14,395 and Clérigos Church with 13,560, both a short walk from the tower. Fundação Serralves is the first entry that asks for a journey, 4.2 km (2.6 miles) out with 9,723 reviews behind its 4.6.

Best rated with at least 500 reviews

3D Fun Art Museum Porto and Wondersense both score 4.8, from 1,249 and 703 reviews. Both are illusion rooms built for photographs, and places that promise one simple thing tend to score well.

The named collections sit a step below with far more evidence: FC Porto's museum at 4.7 from 7,839, Igreja de Santa Clara at 4.7 from 1,813, Serralves at 4.6 from 9,723. A 4.4 backed by thousands describes a steadier visit than a 4.8 backed by hundreds.

Three figures help with the choice. 42 museums stand within a kilometre of the centre, 33 between one and three kilometres and fifteen further out, Serralves and the FC Porto Museum among them. The 90 together carry 120,855 reviews. And below 500 reviews the leaders change: Presidencial Fado (4.9 from 215) and Vintage Cameras Porto - Museum and Shop (4.9 from 214), both within 200 m of the centre, are the best rated of the small houses.