Oceanographic Museum
Housed in the fort of Santa Maria da Arrábida, the museum has a room devoted to the collection of the Setúbal naturalist, Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento, dating back to the beginning of the last century.
You can also visit the Sala dos Aquários, with saltwater aquariums containing fauna and flora from the coast of Arrábida and the sala de Exposições where you will find exhibitions on different themes relating to the coastline, the Serra da Arrábida and the River Sado. The museum also has a video room and a video library.
The fortress that now houses the museum was built in 1670 on the orders of the then regent D. Pedro, at the request of the monks from the Convento da Arrábida. In 1978, it was given to the Arrábida Natural Park, which rebuilt it and installed the Oceanographic Museum there in 1991.
It has a clearly 17th-century design, with four parapets on the seaward side, and its architecture offers us some quite remarkable features, such as the engraved stones and coat of arms above the entrance. The fortress also has a most beautiful “lioz” limestone statue of the Virgin Mary, which also displays 17th-century features.