Museu do Brinquedo Português

The Minho


In a gorgeous red mansion right after the Roman bridge in Arcozelo is this museum dedicated to Portuguese toys. The focus is on toys made from the late 19th century through to 1986. Displays in different rooms include raw materials and manufacturing techniques, and toys arranged by decade, from brightly painted wooden beach buckets to papier-mâché dolls and tinplate cannons.

There's also a play room and a toy workshop accessed through the garden.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Minho attractions

1. Parque Temático do Arnado

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West of the river, this small, intriguing green space with rose bushes and lemon-filled trellises next to a public swimming pool is notable for its annual…

2. Ponte Medieval

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The city’s pièce de résistance, this elegant 31-arched bridge across the Rio Lima is now limited to foot traffic. Most of it dates from the 14th century,…

3. Torre de São Paulo

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Along with the Torre da Cadeia Velha, this tower constitutes the only standing remains of Ponte de Lima's medieval walls. Note the somewhat bizarre…

4. Torre da Cadeia Velha

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Two crenellated towers (part of the fortifications made in the 14th century) face the river at the end of Rua Cardeal Saraiva. The Torre da Cadeia Velha…

5. Town Walls

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Fragments of the town walls survive behind and between the Torre da Cadeia Velha and the Torre de São Paulo (part of the fortifications made in the 14th…

6. Igreja Matriz

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Behind Torre de São Paulo is the rather staid, mostly 15th-century igreja matriz (parish church), sporting a pretty Romanesque doorway.

7. Museu dos Terceiros

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Downriver from Ponte de Lima's famous bridge, the 18th-century Igreja de São Francisco dos Terceiros houses a variety of ecclesiastical and folk treasures…

8. Capela de Santo Ovídio

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For panoramic views up and down the Lima valley, climb 6km into the hills northwest of Ponte de Lima to this tiny, bizarre chapel dedicated to Santo…