The Municipal Museum holds the most comprehensive collection of archaeological and ethnographic material relating to the pre-Columbian cultures of Manabí — particularly the Manteño-Huancavilca civilisation, which inhabited the coast before Spanish contact. Ceramics, stone sculptures, gold pieces and tools from coastal excavations are displayed alongside exhibits on the colonial period and Portoviejo's founding in 1535.
The museum is small enough to cover in under an hour and well-curated by Ecuadorian municipal standards. Context boards are in Spanish, but the objects speak clearly enough without translation.