The museums, monuments and palaces under the management of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal (MMP) since January received 5,157,360 visitors in 2023, it was announced today.
According to data released by the public company, this figure adds up to more than 3.6 million visits received at the 26 facilities that until December 31, 2023 were under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) and more than 1.5 million visitors to the other 12 cultural spaces previously under the responsibility of the regional directorates.
The 2023 statistics “show that the 38 national museums, monuments and palaces now managed by MMP saw an increase in visitors of around 10% compared to the previous year, which represents around 444,000 more visits over the course of the year,” the statement said.
Overall, the 38 cultural facilities now managed by the company had received 4,713,006 million visitors in 2022.
Museums, monuments and palaces have been gradually recovering from the loss of visitors due to the covid-19 pandemic, which imposed severe access restrictions and closures, causing a loss of visitors and revenue of around 70%.
According to the data gathered by MMP for 2023, visitors with paid admission accounted for 76% of total admissions, with foreign tourists making up 57.6% of the total.
Among the most visited cultural facilities in 2023, the Jerónimos Monastery, in Lisbon, leads the way with 965,526 entries, followed by the Sagres Fortress, with 427,817 visitors, and Guimarães Castle, with 387,570.
In fourth place is the Paço dos Duques, in Guimarães, which had 387,222 visitors, and in fifth place is the Batalha Monastery, with 366,872 visitors. In sixth place is the Belém Tower in Lisbon, which received 356,769 visitors in 2023.
Of the monuments inscribed as World Heritage Sites, the Convent of Christ in Tomar stands out, with 311,879 visitors, while the Monastery of Alcobaça received 200,531 visitors.
The National Palace of Mafra, inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2019, received 164,972 visits, while the National Palace of Ajuda, in Lisbon, registered 118,123 visitors, and the National Pantheon, in Lisbon, recorded 180,705 entries.
In terms of museums, the data shows that the most visited continues to be the National Tile Museum, in Lisbon, which received 276,209 visitors in 2023, followed by the National Coach Museum, with 226,634 entries.
In third and fourth place are the National Museum of Ancient Art, in Lisbon, which had 107,223 visitors, and the National Museum of Conímbriga, with 97,097 visitors.
The Alberto Sampaio Museum, in Guimarães, registered 85,543, the Soares dos Reis National Museum, in Porto, 67,797, while the Chiado National Museum of Contemporary Art, in Lisbon, had 58,904 visitors.
The MMP also recalls that between 2022 and 2023, several museums and monuments had to close to the public due to rehabilitation work, including the National Archaeology Museum, the National Museum of Resistance and Freedom, and the National Music Museum.
In 2022, the statistics released at the time by the DGPC on the 26 facilities under its supervision indicated a recovery of two million visitors, amounting to a total of 3,339,416 entries.
However, the turnout had still fallen short of the four to five million reached before the pandemic, between 2017 and 2019.
