As our first destination at the start of a two-week trip to Portugal, this tour of the history museum gave us an invaluable feel for the country's history. Lots of kings, seafaring, riches from the spice, sugar and cocoa trades. Turns out Portugal is the source for all sorts of words you wouldn't expect: e.g. port and starboard for sailors? The Portuguese when sailing south along the African coast called the left side the port side, because the land (and ports) was always to their left; stars and sky were to the right, hence starboard. Bit there are so many .ore our guide pointed out! A lovely, low-key start to a wonderful trip!

This is a world class museum, housed in a grand historic building. The displays are informative and interesting to all ages, using multi-media in a creative way. The museum themes appeal to all ages, especially the Landscapes of Portugal room, covering the fauna and flora of the country.

It is not a must but to do on a long stay: very rich museum, several small exhibitions to peck. The rooms on the Portuguese landscapes are very nice, the passage through the chemistry room and the amphi is worth a look. We spent 1h30 but we could have spent twice as much. The botanical garden is also nice, as well take the 20€ family pass to museum + garden (2 adults and 2 children under 17 years)

The museum is well done but … I made the mistake of spending a lot of time in the ground floor, which was just so/so. Then I went upstairs and the displays there were excellent. I had a bit of overload at that point so I missed a bit of the top floor.