Neonia, an Interactive Experience in the Heart of Porto

About Neonia

Neonia is a project created by three Portuguese people, Vera Mata, Aquiles Barros and Marta Carvalho Araújo, all with professional backgrounds in science and engineering. Although they had known each other for several years, it was in 2021 that they decided to pool their knowledge and go ahead with creating a museum in Porto. The aim was to bring to the city a concept different from what we are used to, inspired by experiences that already existed in other countries. That was how they began developing the project which, three years later, in April 2024, would open its doors to the public.

The origins of Neonia lie, in large part, in an experience Vera Mata had as a teenager, when she visited an immersive museum in France and was fascinated by what she found. This type of museum tries to involve visitors in a more active way, using different settings and technologies to create the feeling that we are part of whatever is being explored. After that visit, Vera went on to discover other similar spaces in different countries, until she felt the desire to bring this concept to Portugal. It was also from this that the concept of an "anti-museum" was born, not because it is against traditional museums, but because it wanted to break away from the usual format and encourage greater participation from visitors, making them part of the experience itself.

At Neonia, the idea was to recreate some of Porto's best-known places, mixing elements of the city's history with more futuristic settings and a good dose of imagination. Around the museum, we come across references to Porto's culture and traditions, some of them presented in quite an unexpected way. The Bolhão Market, the Palácio de Cristal Gardens and the River Douro are some of the places that inspired the museum's different spaces, although the recreations are far from faithful to reality. In addition, each room has its own activities, so we never quite know what is waiting for us next.

Our Experience

We visited Neonia last Saturday, at around 5.00pm, and the first thing that struck us was the museum's entrance itself. Although it is on one of the busiest streets in downtown Porto, Rua de Ceuta, the façade is very eye-catching and easily draws the attention of anyone passing by. As soon as we walked in, a member of staff validated our tickets and handed us a key so that we could leave our backpack in one of the lockers at the entrance. After leaving our things, we were finally ready to start the visit!

When we entered the first room, another member of staff greeted us and explained some of the museum's rules and how the QR codes we would find during the visit worked. They also gave us some tips about the different activities and what we could do in each space, which turned out to be very useful. In fact, one of the things we liked most about Neonia was precisely how friendly and helpful the staff are. There is always someone nearby to help, explain how the activities work and give those tips that make all the difference. There were even moments when, without them, we probably wouldn't have noticed some of the things we could try or how to do them. I would even say they are an essential part of the museum and contribute a lot to visitors' enjoyment.

Throughout the visit, we passed through rooms inspired by different places and moments in Porto's history, some with quite curious recreations. What we also really enjoyed was not just looking at the scenery, since there was always something to do, from small games to challenges that made us think. I don't want to give away too many spoilers about what you'll find in each room, partly because it seems to me much more fun to discover these things for yourselves during the visit. But I'll leave you with one small spoiler. We even got to give each other electric shocks and singe the hairs on our elbows! Don't worry, we left in one piece!

Another thing we noticed was that the museum was relatively empty. Although we went on a Saturday afternoon, we came across little more than half a dozen people the whole time we were there. I don't know whether the ticket price has anything to do with it, but the truth is that €24.00 per adult is an amount that, at first glance, would also make me think twice before buying. Now that I know Neonia, I think the price is justified by the number of activities and the time you can spend there. But I completely understand that, for someone who doesn't yet know the museum, it might seem a little high, especially for a family visit. Luckily, there are family packs for 3 or 4 people, which can help make the visit more affordable.

We spent just over two hours at Neonia and didn't even notice the time go by! Before we knew it, we were in the last room and, honestly, we would have stayed a little longer, but we had other plans afterwards. We left really happy with the experience and, above all, proud to have a museum like this in Porto. I don't mean to belittle what we have in Portugal, quite the opposite, but I confess I left thinking that, when we want to, we are also very capable of doing things really well. And Neonia is an excellent example of that!

If you are thinking of visiting Porto or are simply looking for something different to do in the city, I recommend a visit to Neonia! In my opinion, it's one of those places where kids and grown-ups alike can have fun and, at least in our case, it really exceeded our expectations. We went without knowing quite what to expect and came away wanting to recommend the experience to everyone! 🩷