Portugal celebrates International Museum Day with free neighborhood tours

Portugal's National Museum of Cars is offering people a free "Royal Tour of the Belem neighborhood" in a horse-drawn cart this Wednesday to celebrate International Museum Day.

Visitors have the chance to discover the launch pad for Portuguese ships which set off to discover the world in the 15th and 16th centuries.

A number of museums, palaces and monuments are open to the public for free to mark International Museum Day, which is celebrated worldwide on May 18. There will also be a night of Museums in Portugal taking place on May 21, with all museums open for free in the evening.

According to the International Council of Museums, the objective is to celebrate how important museums are for society. Every year there is a new theme, and this year it is "Museums and Cultural Landscapes."

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa visited the exhibition "Lusitania Romana" at the National Museum of Archaeology on Wednesday.

Around 44 districts across the country joined in the celebrations, with around 79 museums, monuments and palaces participating and holding exhibitions, workshops and concerts.

In Portugal, most museum visitors in Portugal are young people, with education or professional qualifications. Visitors are also mostly women and foreigners, according to the first Study of Audiences of National Museums revealed at the Ajuda Palace in Lisbon on Wednesday. Endit