Museu da Sociedade Martins Sarmento

In the cloister of the former Convento de São Domingos, in the centre of Guimarães, the Museu da Sociedade Martins Sarmento holds archaeology, art and ethnography gathered over more than a century. It is one of the oldest museums in the north of Portugal.

A museum founded by an archaeologist

The museum belongs to the Sociedade Martins Sarmento, created in 1885 by the archaeologist Francisco Martins Sarmento, best known for his excavations at the Iron Age hillfort of Citânia de Briteiros. Its collections have grown into a broad portrait of the region’s past, from prehistoric finds to religious art and nineteenth-century painting.

What to see

• Archaeology, including finds from the Citânia de Briteiros.
• Sculpture, painting and religious art.
• Numismatics, epigraphy and ethnography.
• The Gothic cloister of the former convent, which houses the museum.

Visiting the museum

The museum is at Rua Paio Galvão, Guimarães, in the historic centre. Opening hours are published by the society, so check the official website before your visit.

Visitor information: csarmento.uminho.pt.

Image credit: Museu da Sociedade Martins Sarmento, Guimarães, by Manuelvbotelho, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.