Welcome to Portimão,

As the Mayor and the representative of our great city, I would like to welcome you to Portimão. The biggest city of the western part of the Algarve. Portimão is a major tourist destination set on the broad estuary of the Arade river.

Portimão has a long fishing tradition that developed particularly between the 19th and 20th centuries with the advent of the canning industry and tourism. Most of the buildings that you see on the streets and squares of the historic centre of Portimão are from this period, as well as the building of the Portimão Museum. This building was an old cannery, it was superbly refurbished and received the Museum of the Year award from the Council of Europe in 2010. It pays homage to the people and the city that have for centuries, lived exclusively of and for the sea.

Portimão is also known for its excellent sandy beaches with plenty of warmth, calm waters and all of this together, creates a very alluring holiday destination.

Portimão will host, in may of 2024, the European Museum of the Year (EMYA) an award ceremony and the European Museum Innovation Conference, two very important events for the city and for the country.

This is a unique moment to see the diversity and quality of the competing museums gathered in one place. This year we are celebrating the 100º elevation of Portimão to city status, theme that we have a lot to talk about, specially about our history because those who do not know their origins, have no future.

Since July 2018, another partnership agreement was established between this city and the EMF, in order to allow the installation of the secretariat of this Forum in the Museum of Portimão and its historical archive in the Documentation Centre.

The Museum of Portimão has also become, since that year, the “Home of the EMYA” and since 2019,the selected jury during the annual  meeting, will select and choose the award-winning museums, an event that will take place again, this year between 17 and 19 November.

Whole history of this European Award and the documentation of the hundreds of candidate, nominated and awarded museums, throughout its 45 years of existence (1977-2022) that, from Liverpool, Berlin and Milan, came to Portimão where they are being organized and prepared for later public access.

Also a result of this partnership, the “Museu Portimão” Prize was created, a new category through which the most welcoming and inclusive museum in Europe is distinguished annually.

We feel very honored to have been offered the responsibility to host the prestigious EMYA2024 Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony.

Portimão is a wonderful city, and this decision means that we can now prepare to welcome the world’s best musueums to a fascinating place.

Come visit us and find out why Portimão is good place to visit!