Museums and Palaces

The movie enthusiasts will find an interesting cinema cult place in Melgaço, the only one of its type in the country. It’s the Museu do Cinema Jean Loup Passek, where you’ll be able to admire dozens of objects related to the history of cinema.

Located on the historical centre of Melgaço, specifically at the fiscal brigade former building, this venue gathers a large amount of assets donated by Jean-Loup Passek, from whom it was named after. Passek managed the cinema department at the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris and was the director of the La Rochelle Cinema Festival. Passek’s passion towards cinema and Melgaço is what allows us to enjoy this original collection nowadays, which took five years to recollect. 

From room to room, you’ll be able to admire thousands of posters and photos, machines from the time of silent films, modern equipments and many, many movies. Besides a permanent exhibition area, the space still offers a small auditorium and smaller rooms for temporary exhibitions. Take a closer look the “Before Cinema” exhibition, where you’ll be delighted with very rare and original objects, such as magic lanterns, phenakistoscopes or praxinoscopes.

Learn the history of cinema through times and the evolution of the so called "dream machine". Because cinema really makes us dream.