Data released by the DGPC indicate that the 25 protected museums, monuments and palaces received a total of 1,295,528 visitors last year, compared to 4,817,927 visitors in 2019, a drop that reveals the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.

Museums, monuments and palaces - like all other cultural spaces - were closed between 14 March and 17 May, 2020, following the lockdown ordered by the Government to halt the spread of coronavirus. Last year, according to DGPC statistics, there were 5,101 daily visitors on average to these cultural sites compared to 15,745 daily visitors in 2019.

History and Conservation - Jerónimos Monastery and Church

As for the overall number of visitors in 2020, per unit, the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon was the most visited, with 234,007 (there were 1,096,283 in 2019), followed by the Mafra National Palace with 129,995 entries (360,845 in 2019), the Torre de Belém, also in the capital, with 128,785 (427,235 in 2019), the Convent of Christ in Tomar, with 113,783 visitors (365,379 in 2019), and the Monastery of Batalha with 100,427 (416,793 in 2019).

The National Coach Museum in Lisbon, which usually leads the most visited museums, received a total of 26,869 visits, a sharp drop compared to the same period of the previous year, with 317,201 entries, due to the closure of the Royal Riding House, a former museum space that housed the collection, closed since December 2019 for works.