Portugal national railway museum - Entroncamento (Museu Nacional Ferroviário)

The Portuguese National Railway Museum, you might think it would be in Lisbon or Porto—places where you’d typically find major museums like those in Madrid, Brussels, or Utrecht. But no, it’s located in Entroncamento, a small, unremarkable provincial town with fewer than 20,000 residents and not much else to see besides this museum.

So, why is the museum here? Entroncamento got its name, which means "junction," because it’s where the north-south and east-west railway lines intersected when the railways were built. A settlement grew around this junction, and it became a key location for train maintenance and railway management. By the 1930s, half the town’s population worked for the railway. But today, it’s just a quiet town with a moderately important station, and when the high-speed line from Lisbon to Madrid is completed, it will bypass this area altogether.

Now, you might wonder if the museum is worth visiting. That’s a tough question. The museum is clearly well-intentioned and spread out over a large area with many different exhibits, but the context and coherence of the displays are often unclear. Many of the trains are quite old, rusty, and dusty. On the bright side, the staff is excellent—they offer detailed tours and helpful tips. And you can’t beat the price: with a train ticket, you get 50% off the already modest €6 entry fee, so you can visit for just €3.

To reach the main exhibition from the entrance, you have to cross an unguarded railway crossing where trains still pass by. Fortunately, a security guard helps you cross. Once inside, you’ll find some unique steam locomotives, and the highlight is a hall filled with special carriages and locomotives, including royal and presidential trains. The great thing is that you can peek inside or even enter many of these trains, though none of them have working lights, so it’s often too dark to see much, and entering the trains can feel a bit eerie.

Is this museum worth the detour? Yes, but not just for the museum itself. The real treat is the train ride to get there. You can take an old, slightly worn-out train from Spain, and then switch to a beautiful 1955 Dutch-built train that has been slightly modernized. The journey takes you through stunning landscapes dotted with old stations, some of which could use a bit of restoration. In a few years, this trip might be a thing of the past when the high-speed train bypasses the area, so take the ride while you still can.

In summary, the museum itself earns a solid 7.5, but the overall experience, including the train journey, is a 9/10.