Museu dos Biscainhos

The Museu dos Biscainhos occupies a baroque palace in the centre of Braga, built in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the Biscainhos family. Its rooms, furnished as they were in the eighteenth century, and its formal garden offer a rare picture of aristocratic life in northern Portugal.

A baroque palace

The palace became a national museum in 1978, and the visit follows the original layout of the house: stables, kitchens and service areas give way to the formal rooms, decorated with azulejo, painted ceilings and carved woodwork. The garden, with its box hedges and fountain, is one of the finest in Braga.

What to see

• The formal rooms, with furniture, textiles and decorative arts.
• Portuguese and oriental ceramics and porcelain.
• Azulejo panels and painted ceilings.
• The baroque garden and the palace’s service areas.

Visiting the museum

The museum is at Rua dos Biscainhos, Braga, close to the city centre. Opening hours are published on the official page, so check before your visit.

Visitor information: museusemonumentos.pt.

Image credit: Museu dos Biscainhos, Braga, by Joseolgon, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Het municipal market, near by, is the city’s table.