Casa Museu Fernando de Castro

Those passing by this house on the street in Rua Costa Cabral will not suspect that it hides one of Porto’s best hidden gems.

Nothing has been left to chance in the Fernando de Castro House Museum,  and the density of the decoration is breathtaking. During the first half of the 20th century, Fernando de Castro gathered a vast collection of paintings, sculptures, books, and objects, in addition to immense gilded or painted carvings with which he created surprising environments. The result is a universe apart, where the creativity of the collector (who was also a caricaturist and poet) makes us feel like we are in the Palace of Versailles.

However, little is known about the creator of this “palace.” After Fernando de Castro’s death, the house and its contents were given to the Soares dos Reis Museum.

This house is usually closed to the public, and very few people have visited it in the last 80 years. You can visit the museum currently only by booking a tour. You will be guided through 11 rooms, becoming more and more familiar with the creator of the house, getting to know a little more about the Portuguese painters who lived in the city and who have so marked the culture of Porto.