The Fado Museum regales visitors with a themed exhibition that charts the history of this unique Portuguese musical expression, from its origins in the 19th century up to the present. A multilingual audio guide accompanies a tour of the museum that takes in recordings and biographical information of all the major fado singers and composers. There are also illustrated panels explaining the technical and historical development of the Portuguese guitar, and an interesting insight into fado houses – the restaurants and bars that host staged and impromptu concerts. The museum also acts as a documentation centre where academics and researchers can browse the vast archive of publications, posters, records, scores and repertoires of the genre's personalities.