Condes de Castro Guimarães Museum
Due to the Koala Festival 2026, the Condes de Castro Guimarães Museum will be closed on May 30th and 31st.
In the Santa Marta cove stands a beautiful example of revivalist and eclectic summer architecture, reminiscent of a fantastic and marvelous ideal, where figures from Portuguese history and culture once lived. Known as the Tower of São Sebastião, this palace was built in 1897 by Jorge O’Neill, based on a design by the painter and architect Francisco Vilaça. It owes its name to the nearby existence of a 16th-century chapel dedicated to this saint.
Jorge O’Neill was descended from an old Irish lineage, hence the room where a ceiling decorated entirely with shamrocks can be seen (the Shamrock Room). The three-leaf clover, or "Shamrock," is one of the heraldic symbols of Ireland, associated with Saint Patrick, who used this leaf to explain the Holy Trinity.
In 1910, the palace was purchased by the Counts of Castro Guimarães, who later bequeathed the building and garden to create the first Museum and Library of Cascais. Manuel de Castro Guimarães was a collector and passionate about music. In 1912, he installed an organ with 1170 pipes in what is now the Music Room. When altering the ceiling structure for acoustic reasons, he took the opportunity to decorate it with his family's coat of arms. The Counts are buried at the edge of the former garden, part of the current Marechal Carmona Park, as it was their wish to rest in the property they donated for eternity. The Counts of Castro Guimarães Museum-Library opened to the public on July 12, 1931.
In 1932, Fernando Pessoa applied for the position of Curator of the Museum, but was not admitted due to a lack of adequate qualifications. At the time, the writer had not yet published any work and was not as famous as he is today. Cascais was a place of inspiration for Pessoa and a necessity he himself expressed: "I need to go to Cascais more and more."
The Museum presents collections of paintings, sculptures, goldsmithing, furniture, and porcelain, among others, from China, India, and Brazil, as well as Europe. These objects are distributed along the visitor's route, according to their function and the palace's history. Among the smaller collections, one discovers Egyptian beetles, two-hundred-year-old clocks that still work, European and Oriental fans, and a core of Russian icons. The Count's greatest treasure is the Chronicle of King Afonso Henriques, written by Duarte Galvão in the 16th century. This codex can be consulted as an e-book at the Museum or on the Cascais Cultura website.
The Museum offers visits and a world of activities geared towards children and adults. One of its attractions is climbing the tower, where it is possible to ascend to the external balcony and have a 360º view of Cascais, weather permitting.
Closed on Mondays | Easter Sunday | May 1st | Christmas Day | New Year's Day
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