Skip Navigation
Património Cultural
Newsletter PT | EN

Grão Vasco National Museum

Located in Viseu, the museum includes a collection of works of art of different types and periods. The museum’s main collection features a remarkable set of retable paintings from the city’s Cathedral, local churches and other museums, attributed to Vasco Fernandes (c. 1475-1542), known as Grão Vasco, and his collaborators and contemporaries. Also on display are exhibits of liturgical practices (paintings, sculpture, gold and silverware, ivory) dating from Romanesque to the Baroque period from the cathedral and local churches; archaeological specimens, an important collection of 19th and 20th century Portuguese paintings, Portuguese faience, oriental porcelain and furniture.

Construction of the Palace known as Paço dos Três Escalões, which began on 6 July 1593 on the site of the bishop’s palace, was due to the need to raise a seminar or a college for training the clergy.  Even though the author is unknown, the palace is said to have been built by someone of Castilian origin, who would have also drawn the Cathedral’s façade, later to be commissioned from a Salamanca architect.  

The imposing granite building, the last story of which was added in the 18th century, boasts a unique relationship between sobriety and monumentality. This is particularly evident on its North façade on which the scenographic effect reflects the city of Viseu. The intervention project the building went through between 2001 and 2003, by architect Eduardo Souto Moura, freed its interior from a number of disfeatured elements, while also adjusting it to the demands of a new museum programme. 

Contents edited by DDCI.

Contacts and
Localization

Governing body:
DGPC
Director:
Odete Paiva - diretora@mngv.dgpc.pt
Address:
Paço dos Três Escalões, Adro da Sé - 3500-195 Viseu
GPS:
Lat: 40.66017370932212 Long: -7.910805347290761
Phone(s):
+351 232 422 049
E-mail:
mngv@mngv.dgpc.pt
Site:
http://www.museunacionalgraovasco.gov.pt/

Urban Bus: Autocarros urbanos: 20 ou 22, ao Rossio. Funicular (Adro da Sé – Cava de Viriato).

Tuesday - Sunday 10h00-13h00 / 14h00 - 18h00 (30 minuetes before closing)

Closing days: monday, 1st January, Easter sunday, 1st May, 21th September, and 25th December.

The entrance is free in National Museums and Monuments at sundays and holidays until 1 p.m. for residents in Portugal. 

Admission

Standard Ticket: - 4,00 €

DGPC online tickets - buy here

Conditions of entry to DGPC Museums and Monuments– click here

Condições de ingressos nos Museus, Monumentos e Palácios Nacionais sob tutela da DGPC- consulte aqui

Exemptions:

The entrance is free in National Museums and Monuments at sundays and holidays for residents in Portugal.

Children aged 12 and under*
Unemployed EU citizens*
Visitors with reduced mobility (60% disability with documents to prove it) accompanied by one attendant.
ICOM, ICOMOS and APOM members
Researchers /conservators/restorers, museum and/or heritage professionals during the course of their work*
Cultural associations (exclusively for groups of friends of museums, monuments, palaces, castles and archaeological sites)*
Volunteers working for the DGPC with one accompanying person*
European Heritage Days (Sunday)
International Day of Monuments and Sites - 18 April (exclusively for DGPC Monuments)
International Museum Day - 18 May (exclusively for DGPC museums and palaces)
Late-night Museums and Thursday Nights (access restricted to activities organised by the DGPC)
Tourism professionals upon presentation of a proof of registration with the RNAAT
Journalists during the course of their work* with prior notice
DGPC employees* with 3 accompanying persons
Teachers and students of any level of education, including universities for senior citizens, during study visits duly proven, and upon prior reservation confirmed by the relevant Dependent Service*
Groups of accredited Portuguese welfare institutions or social work departments of municipalities or other public interest institutions. Prior approval is required from the DGPC executive board.

* Proof of entitlement required.

Discounts:

Visitors aged 65 or older* - 50%
Student’s card (not for study visits) - 50%
Youth Card - 50%
Family ticket (1/2 adults + 2 children) 50%
Protocols with third party institutions - 20%
Purchase of over 250 tickets per visit with a minimum 48h notice – 7.5%
Purchase of over 500 tickets per visit with a minimum 48h notice - 10%
Purchase of over 1000 tickets per visit with a minimum 48h notice - 15%

General Rules
Advance reservation required for groups exceeding 50 persons.
Concessions for bulk tickets will not apply to Combined Tickets.
All concessions applicable to individual tickets will apply to Combined Tickets and guided tours, except for guided tours after closing time.
Advance purchase vouchers are valid up to one year.
Concessions cannot be combined with any other offers.
Smoking or eating is not allowed during visits.

* Proof of entitlement required.

Cultural Agenda

Shop

Last change: 11 January 2021

Rede Portuguesa de Museus

A Rede Portuguesa de Museus (RPM) é um sistema organizado de museus, baseado na adesão voluntária, configurado de forma progressiva e que visa a descentralização, a mediação, a qualificação e a cooperação entre museus.

A Rede Portuguesa de Museus é composta pelos 156 museus que atualmente a integram. A riqueza do seu universo reside na diversidade de tutelas, de coleções, de espaços e instalações, de atividades educativas e culturais, de modelos de relação com as comunidades e de sistemas de gestão.

+ DGPC Museums and Monumentos