The 38 museums, monuments and palaces managed by the Portuguese public company Museus e Monumentos de Portugal (MMP) recorded nearly four million visits in the twelve months to the end of May 2026, with more than 1.7 million of those entries made free of charge.
MMP figures shared with the Lusa news agency show that 1,697,223 free admissions were logged between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026. Of those, 306,654, or about 18 percent, were used by foreign visitors. Total paid and free admissions over the same period reached 3,951,639.
Cost to the public purse
Several free-admission schemes have been in force since 2024. Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Margarida Balseiro Lopes told a parliamentary hearing on 21 July that those schemes had carried a cost, with an associated loss of revenue of 10 million euros.
The government has since announced a review of the Acesso 52 programme, a measure launched in August 2024 by then-Culture Minister Dalila Rodrigues that extended free access beyond Sundays. Balseiro Lopes noted the programme had been used by only 4 percent of the population.
Where free visits were most concentrated
MMP said the Convent of Christ in Tomar and the National Palace of Ajuda in Lisbon were the sites where Acesso 52 had the greatest impact on free admissions. Free visits under the programme accounted for 70.7 percent of all free entries at the Convent of Christ and 69.4 percent at the Ajuda palace.
