Municipal Museum of Faro, Faro, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Municipal Museum of Faro (Museu Municipal de Faro) is the city's main museum of history and art, housed in the former Monastery of the Assumption of Mary on Largo Dom Afonso III in the old town of Faro, Portugal. It holds Roman sculpture and inscriptions from ancient Ossonoba, along with religious paintings from Algarve churches. The building is a classified national monument, so the setting is as much of an attraction as the collection.

The story behind it

The museum is one of the oldest in the Algarve. Its first rooms were in Faro's Town Hall building, and it was said to be the second museum created in the region. In 1971 it moved to its current home, the Monastery of the Assumption of Mary, a religious house dating from the early 16th century that is now protected as a national monument.

The collection reflects the long history of the city. Faro was the Roman town of Ossonba, and the museum keeps a group of Ossonoba epigraphs, the carved inscriptions that record the lives and dedications of its people. The best-known pieces are imperial busts, including those of Hadrian and Agrippina. In November 2005 the museum received the APOM Prize of Museology from the Portuguese Association of Museology, which named it best Portuguese museum that year.

What to look for

• The imperial busts of Hadrian and Agrippina, which are among the most important objects in the Roman collection.
• The Ossonoba inscriptions, which give a direct, written link to Faro's Roman past.
• The paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries, mostly religious works that once belonged to Algarve churches and chapels.
• The architecture of the former monastery itself, where the layout of the old religious building is still part of the visit.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about an hour to see the collection at an easy pace, a little longer if you like reading inscriptions.
• You go inside to see the museum, so check current opening hours and entry details before you plan your day.
• It sits in the old town, a short walk from the Arco da Vila and the cathedral, so it combines easily with a stroll through the historic centre.
• The stone streets of the old town are pleasant in the morning or late afternoon, when it is cooler and quieter.

See it on a quest

Play Romantic Faro: Whisper of Love to see the museum as one stop on a longer walk through the area. You reach each place on foot, the app tells you about it when you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It suits couples or anyone who likes a romantic angle on the old streets. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like, with no guide and no set departure time.