Free admission to national museums and monuments: rules for residents

Anyone living in Portugal may visit for free, on 52 days a year, the national museums, monuments and palaces managed by Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, E.P.E. (MMP). The scheme is known as “Acesso 52” and has been in force since 1 August 2024. It is supplemented by other permanent free-entry schemes for children, unemployed people, people with disabilities and other groups. This page summarises the rules as they appear in the published order and on the official websites, consulted on 5 November 2026.

The scheme was announced for review in 2026. Before planning a visit, confirm the conditions at the ticket office or on the official website of the museum or monument.

The order: Despacho n.º 13793/2024

The rules are set out in Despacho n.º 13793/2024, issued by the Secretary of State for Culture. It was signed on 14 November 2024 and published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 226, on 21 November 2024. The order approves the MMP’s ticket price table. MMP is the public company created by Decree-Law n.º 79/2023, which manages most of the national museums and several monuments and national palaces, such as Ajuda and Mafra. It is not a portaria or a decree-law: it is an approval order, with the table attached as an annex.

The order has two effective dates. Free access on 52 days a year took effect on 1 August 2024; therefore, only 22 days were available in 2024. The new standard prices apply from 1 January 2025. Before this scheme, free entry for residents was limited to Sundays and public holidays.

In the consultation of 5 November 2026, the visitor page of the Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis still referred to this order as the basis for exemptions and discounts. No subsequent amendment was found in the research carried out.

Who is entitled to Acesso 52

The order grants free access to “all citizens resident in national territory, on 52 days a year, at the visitor’s choice”. The criterion is residence, not nationality. The Government’s information of 6 August 2024 explains that it covers Portuguese citizens and foreigners with a taxpayer number (NIF) and residence in Portugal.

In practice, according to the same official information:

• the 52 days may be weekdays, weekends or public holidays, as chosen;
• at the ticket office, visitors present an identification document and their NIF. The Ministry of Culture’s note of 1 August 2024 refers to the Citizen Card (Cartão de Cidadão);
• on a chosen day, it is possible to visit the same site, or another, as many times as wished, showing the documents at each entrance. That day counts as one of the 52.

Museum websites use slightly different wording. That of the Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis refers to “national citizens or residents in national territory”, upon presentation of the Citizen Card and NIF. That of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos refers to “Portuguese citizens and residents in Portugal”. The reference is the text of the order, but it is worth confirming with the ticket office.

Other free entries, with no day limit

The annex to the order also provides free access, with no limit on the number of visits, for:

• children under 12, accompanied by an adult;
• unemployed visitors resident in the European Union;
• visitors with a disability and one companion. The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos page indicates a proven disability of 60 % or more;
• former combatants and widows or widowers of former combatants, with the cards provided for under the Former Combatants’ Statute (Law n.º 46/2020);
• teachers and students of any level of education, including senior universities and accredited vocational training, when they are demonstrably on a study visit;
• groups with proven economic hardship;
• researchers and professionals in museology, heritage, conservation and restoration, while in the exercise of their duties;
• members of ICOM, ICOMOS and APOM, workers of bodies of the Ministry of Culture, and professionals registered in the Register of Professionals in the Cultural Field;
• members of MMP museum friends’ groups and employees of patrons, where provided for in a protocol, as well as MMP employees, volunteers and interns, and employees of Património Cultural, I.P., accompanied by one companion;
• accredited tourism and media professionals while in the exercise of their duties.

All these free entries require accreditation at the ticket office, with the corresponding official document, valid and up to date. Group visits by researchers, for study, and by disadvantaged groups require authorisation and advance booking with the management of the museum or monument.

Students therefore do not generally have free entry: outside study visits, young people benefit from a discount. The order provides for 50 % off the standard ticket for young people aged 13 to 24, for visitors aged 65 and over, and for families with at least one adult and one minor.

Which sites are covered

The order’s table lists the museums, monuments and palaces of MMP. In August 2024, the Government spoke of 37 venues, all in mainland Portugal. These include:

• Lisbon: Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Torre de Belém, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Museu Nacional dos Coches, Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Panteão Nacional, Museu Nacional de Etnologia, Museu do Chiado, Museu Nacional do Traje, Museu Nacional do Teatro e da Dança, Museu de Arte Popular and Casa-Museu Dr. Anastácio Gonçalves;
• Centre and West: Mosteiro da Batalha, Mosteiro de Alcobaça, Convento de Cristo, Palácio Nacional de Mafra and Museu Nacional da Música, Museu Nacional de Conímbriga, Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro, Museu Nacional Grão Vasco, Museu Nacional Resistência e Liberdade, Museu José Malhoa, Museu da Cerâmica and Museu Dr. Joaquim Manso;
• North: Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Casa-Museu Fernando de Castro, Paço dos Duques de Bragança and Castelo de Guimarães, Museu de Alberto Sampaio, Museu dos Biscainhos, Museu de Arqueologia D. Diogo de Sousa, Museu de Lamego (closed for works since 24 May 2025), Museu do Abade de Baçal and Museu da Terra de Miranda;
• Alentejo and Algarve: Museu Nacional Frei Manuel do Cenáculo, Museu Rainha D. Leonor and Fortaleza de Sagres.

Temporary exhibitions have their own price table. Some spaces, such as the terraces of Mafra, the cryptoporticus circuit in Coimbra or the sacristy of Alcobaça, have special tickets. In such cases, check on site whether Acesso 52 applies.

What is not included

This scheme applies only to the venues in the MMP table. The following are not in the order:

• the monuments managed by Parques de Sintra, such as the Pena National Palace, the Sintra National Palace, the Queluz National Palace, the Monserrate Palace, the Castelo dos Mouros and the Convento dos Capuchos. The company publishes its own price list. In the consultation of 5 November 2026, the opening hours and prices page of Parques de Sintra indicated free entry for children under 6 at several monuments, but did not mention free entry for residents;
• the monuments and sites directly managed by Património Cultural, I.P., such as the Mosteiro de Tibães or the Villa Romana de Milreu, which do not appear in the table. The institute has its own ticket office. In the consultation of 5 November 2026 it was not possible to confirm from official sources whether a scheme equivalent to Acesso 52 applies, so confirm at the monument itself;
• the regional museums of the Azores and Madeira, municipal museums, and museums run by foundations, charitable brotherhoods (misericórdias) or dioceses, each with its own rules.

A scheme under review

In December 2024, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Portugal. It considers it discriminatory that the benefit depends on residence in Portugal and excludes visitors from other Member States. In a parliamentary hearing on 21 July 2026, the Minister of Culture, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, stated that the scheme will not be abolished but must be revised. According to the figures then cited, 892,637 free visits by residents were recorded in 2025, around 18 % of MMP admissions. The same report noted that 18 of the 37 venues were then closed or had restricted access due to works under the Recovery and Resilience Plan: also confirm that the site is open. No date was announced for the changes.

For this reason, treat this page as a dated snapshot. Before a visit, confirm the rules on the Museus e Monumentos de Portugal website or on the page of the museum or monument. Free-entry days on 18 April and during the Heritage Days, where they exist, depend on decisions made each year: see International Day for Monuments and Sites and European Heritage Days.