According to data released by the public company, this number includes over 3.6 million visits to the 26 facilities that until 31 December 2023 were under the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) and over 1.5 million visitors to the other 12 cultural spaces previously under the jurisdiction of the regional directorates.

The 2023 statistics "show that, in the 38 national museums, monuments and palaces now managed by MMP, there was an increase in visitors of around 10% compared to the previous year, which represents around 444 thousand more visits throughout the year", it indicates, in the statement.

Overall, the 38 cultural facilities now managed by the company had received 4,713,006 million visitors in 2022.

Museums, monuments and palaces have been gradually recovering the losses in visitors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which imposed severe restrictions on access and closures, causing losses in visitors and revenue of around 70%.

According to the data collected by MMP for 2023, visitors with paid admission accounted for 76% of the total entries, of which foreign tourists stand out, making up 57.6% of the total.

Among the most visited cultural facilities in 2023, the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon leads with 965,526 entries, followed by the Sagres Fortress, with 427,817 visitors, and the Guimarães Castle, with 387,570.

In fourth place is the Paço dos Duques, in Guimarães, which had 387,222 visitors, and in fifth place is the Batalha Monastery, with 366,872 visitors. In sixth place is the Belém Tower, in Lisbon, which received 356,769 visits in 2023.

Among the monuments registered as World Heritage Sites, the Convent of Christ, in Tomar, stands out, with 311,879 entries, and the Alcobaça Monastery received 200,531 visitors.

The Mafra National Palace, listed as a World Heritage Site in 2019, received 164,972 visitors, while the Ajuda National Palace in Lisbon registered 118,123 visitors, and the National Pantheon in Lisbon registered 180,705 entries.


Museums

In terms of museums, the data shows that the most visited continues to be the National Tile Museum in Lisbon, which in 2023 received 276,209 visitors, followed by the National Coach Museum, with 226,634 entries.

In third and fourth places are the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon, which totalled 107,223 entries, and the National Museum of Conímbriga, with 97,097 visits.

The Alberto Sampaio Museum in Guimarães registered 85,543 visitors, the Soares dos Reis National Museum in Porto registered 67,797, while the Chiado National Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon registered 58,904 visitors. The MMP also recalls that between 2022 and 2023, several museums and monuments had to close to the public due to renovation works, including the National Museum of Archaeology, the National Museum of Resistance and Freedom, and the National Museum of Music.


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