Museo de La Real Aduana de Portobelo
Museo de La Real Aduana de Portobelo
Museo de La Real Aduana de Portobelo
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
40 reviews
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8
Very good
17
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3
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0
Luv2TravelFarNWide
Atenas, Costa Rica1,384 contributions
Apr 2018 • Couples
This museum is currently undergoing a major renovation, so there were only 2 rooms open. One room offered a variety of historical guns, swords, and other weapons - many were elaborately decorated. The other room had several display cases ranging from gorgeous costumes to miniature displays of the forts as they would have looked before being abandoned. The museum also offers a short video (in either Spanish or English) and can be played upon request. Didn't learn much from watching it that we didn't already know by this point in our trip.
Written April 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
morenergy
Freeport, Canada205 contributions
Feb 2017 • Couples
Also Ensure you go to the Old Forts there are 2 one coming into Town and the Other adjacent to this Building .Very interesting place to visit. There is tremendous history in Portobelo. This is where the gold and silver were housed traveling to and from the Camino Real. Check out the history online before you visit, so you will really get a feel of the magnitude that was housed here and the historical significance of Portobelo.And How the Pirates Pillage and Robbed them !!
Written February 25, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Scott W
South Miami, FL385 contributions
Dec 2015 • Family
This is close to the church where the black Christ is. A small museum with a minimal admission charge that has an excellent film (both English and Spanish) of the history of the city, the various fortifications as well as interesting things to do close by. There are a few showcases with artifacts and some period weapons on display as well as a Christ gown.
Written December 28, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arfilis
Edisto Island, SC190 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
When we arrived to our hotel in Portobelo the proprietress recommended going tot he museum to learn more about the area. This museum is small and a little run down, however it does give an interesting overview of the events that shaped the area. It also provides some insight into the local culture. It does not take that long to go through.
Written December 14, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RalphvdHoek
Groningen19 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
Decided to spend our last day in Panama visiting Portobelo since it has historical significance. Wish we did something else, the museum was alright though the building is in bad shape. The rest of the town however is awful. Open sewers, trash everywhere, dead dog that looked like it starved, vultures and a bad smell. Couple of inhabitants we met along our walk were just urinating in the middle of the street. The ruins of the forts are not taken care of and slowly deteriorating. After 90 minutes we just felt sad to be there and took the first bus out of town.
Written August 29, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Panama V
Panama City, Panama101 contributions
Jun 2014 • Family
Like I have mentioned in my Panama Vibes website many times, Panama has a lot of historical attractions but governments pass and none seem to put enough interest in preserving our history and patrimonial riches.
The Customs House built by the Spaniards to ship the riches they stole from the south american indigenous people to Spain all came through this building.
The building is next to a couple of historical defense forts built by Spaniards. The forts are in terrible state of decay and the customs house would have fallen apart if it wasn't for the big renovation made around 1998 with funds from the Spanish government to renovate the building (preserve it) and make a nice little museum with a small movie room.
As it was to expect from Panamanian lazyness and government abandonment, nothing has been done to preserve that investment made in the 90's. The bulding though still standing and better than before the restoration, is again in very poor state, not even varnish for the wood! you can breathe the humidity in the museum.
I can't help to think that some day this historical forts and buildings might fall apart due to the lack of action and lack of interest from local authorities (and authorities of Portobelo also do NOTHING at all).
Visit it before it vanishes, It may have survived centuries after the Spanish conquest but if it continues like this I doubt it will survive Panamanian apathy.
Personally I have developed in my mind a whole new plan to reinvent Portobelo but well, that is not of the interest of any government and I am not millionaire to put it in action.
The Customs House built by the Spaniards to ship the riches they stole from the south american indigenous people to Spain all came through this building.
The building is next to a couple of historical defense forts built by Spaniards. The forts are in terrible state of decay and the customs house would have fallen apart if it wasn't for the big renovation made around 1998 with funds from the Spanish government to renovate the building (preserve it) and make a nice little museum with a small movie room.
As it was to expect from Panamanian lazyness and government abandonment, nothing has been done to preserve that investment made in the 90's. The bulding though still standing and better than before the restoration, is again in very poor state, not even varnish for the wood! you can breathe the humidity in the museum.
I can't help to think that some day this historical forts and buildings might fall apart due to the lack of action and lack of interest from local authorities (and authorities of Portobelo also do NOTHING at all).
Visit it before it vanishes, It may have survived centuries after the Spanish conquest but if it continues like this I doubt it will survive Panamanian apathy.
Personally I have developed in my mind a whole new plan to reinvent Portobelo but well, that is not of the interest of any government and I am not millionaire to put it in action.
Written May 11, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew M
7,589 contributions
Jun 2023
The old Customs Building was built in 1638 as a counting house for the treasures plundered by the Spanish from the Americas. More than two hundred soldiers protected this building. Today the building serves as a local museum. I took a few photos of the exterior of the building, which included a couple story boards and a canon.
Between 1739-1742, Edward Vernon attacked Portobelo and destroyed the three forts. The customs building remained intact during these attacks. A couple years later, in 1744, William Kinghills attacked the now defenseless town, and destroyed the customs building and many homes. The restored building today is a reminder of the importance of this small town and it's past glory. f you have time, the museum should be visited, as it will provide additional information on the history of the town.
Between 1739-1742, Edward Vernon attacked Portobelo and destroyed the three forts. The customs building remained intact during these attacks. A couple years later, in 1744, William Kinghills attacked the now defenseless town, and destroyed the customs building and many homes. The restored building today is a reminder of the importance of this small town and it's past glory. f you have time, the museum should be visited, as it will provide additional information on the history of the town.
Written July 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dave
Canada481 contributions
Jan 2020
It was very interesting to check out the museum and the old fort. It would be nice if it were fully restored, but still it's very interesting to learn about the history of the area.
Written January 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Schipblack
Playa Coronado, Panama166 contributions
Jul 2018 • Friends
One of the first, or is the first levy house. The video is not to be missed and is an excellent UNESCO film. Interesting artifacts in the same room. Cross over the archway to the museum which is small. Neat to see the canon balls that the pirates lobbed at each other. I am happy that some preservation is starting to happen here.
Written July 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
solsenz
Beaverton268 contributions
Apr 2018 • Couples
What a great place! cannons from the 1600s. Pirates! Captain Morgan! You can picture the fights between the Spanish and others. A great historical place that is truly amazing. The museum has hints of the past and to walk around a place that was trying to protect itself with cannons is amazing. What a spot!
Written May 6, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aproximadamente por q no se exactamete las Medidas, de frente unos 30- 40 mtrs y profundidad unos 10 mts y es de dos niveles tiene un pequeño museo dentro.
Written February 5, 2017
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