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It is difficult to find the entrance, the elevator is not working due to COVID restrictions. Inside it is very dark and the navigation through the building is very unclear. But this was made by a true architect of name and fame, so who dares to complain?? The exhibition was OK, but it lacks a lot of explanation, especially for children. It is not very welcoming, again very dark in all rooms. Some things are interactive: touch the screen, but hey, we're in COVID-regulations so you do not want to touch a screen. Or does the screen not work, because we of COVID-regulations? Anyway, too bad! So this is a nice spot to go, the view is magnificent, the building is very concrete and very dark, but book a tour with a guide, that is much nicer!…
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Date of experience: September 2020
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
This museum is a good companion piece to excursions to see the Paleolithic lithographs. The audioguide is not too helpful: some segments wouldn't load, and the individual segments varied from informative to very superficial. Visually though, mostly a helpful overview of the creation of the lithographs, comparison of styles, and some good replicas showing better detail than the "real" images. Particularly helpful were the magnifying glasses for viewing smaller engravings and being able to see fine detail. A lot of the information was in English - much appreciated. It could be a bit more detailed for a real enthusiast, but provides a fairly good introduction. Note that the guides on the excursions reiterate a lot of the info given in the museum such as dates, carving techniques and details on Paleolithic life but this museum effectively provides that material.…
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Date of experience: February 2020
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
I went there for the second time in 10 years. There were some improvements as to the exhibits but all in all much remain unchanged and rightly so: it is one of the best little museums I've ever seen. It deals with the world famous finds of Paleolithic rock art found in the nearby valley and does so in a didactic and comprehensive way. Congratulations to the management!…
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Date of experience: February 2020
Helpful
The museum, like the Coa Vllay, is in a far flung corner of Portugal. We visited on a sunny but windy day in January. It overlooks the confluence of the Duoro and the Coa Rivers and provides an amazing view of the valleys. This is the very latest information on Rock Art in Portugal and as a heritage professional I was delighted to be able to buy a detailed book in the shop. The art itself is in the valley, where it needs to be seen in its context, so I started with a morning visit to Canada do Inferno site - wonderful, costs extra but worth every penny with a great guide. The museum is really good at adding the bigger picture alongside some real detail. There are some small plaques of carved original material on show and the replicas are very good. Lots of AV and info for enthusiasts. A highlight for me was the reconstructed paleolithic camp. A brilliant AV where the rock art animals run across the replica rock face. Nice little shop and a great cafe which is essential when you are a long way from anywhere.…
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Date of experience: January 2020
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
What a disappointment it was to tour the magnificent building only to find that it contained very little substance and very poor curation. The audio guide was either patronizing or low level cultural theory that was inappropriate for a novice. I was excited to learn about the site, the context, the methods of study, and I came away with very little. As a lover of museums this strikes me as the one of the worst examples of a lovely structure with little content. Whoever curated this should be ashamed of themselves. …
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Date of experience: November 2019
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Response from António F, Public Relations Manager at Museu da Fundacao do Coa
Responded 24 Nov 2019
We are sorry that you didn't enjoy the visit to the Museum as much as most visitors do. Audioguides and contents were designed to reach wide audiences, in several languages. We also have available 3 guided tours of the Museum per day, as to the rock art sites in the Coa valley. The vist to the sites is essential to better understand the complexities of the Côa Valley rock art. Previous booking is highly advisable. Maybe your next time in the region you will be able to visit the sites but also the Museum as we are about to change some of the exhibited contents, trying to engage visitors in a more intuitive fashion.
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