Audio Guides for Museums and Tourism

Voice over and narration for museums, cultural spaces and tourist routes

What visitors hear during a museum visit matters as much as what they see. A well-recorded narration, in the right language, with the right tone for the space, makes the difference and stays with them. At Voices & Media Solutions we have been producing voice-over and narration for audio guides in multiple languages for over 23 years, for museums, exhibitions, palaces and fortresses, tourist routes and cultural spaces in Portugal and abroad.
In addition to voice content, we also work with script translation and adaptation, accessibility for audiences with specific needs, and the supporting technology: mobile apps, webApps and physical audio guide and radio guide equipment.

Voice over in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese and many other languages, with native speakers.

Narrators selected for the profile and tone of each space.

Fast delivery: we can produce audio content for exhibitions with tight deadlines.

Accessibility: audio description, Portuguese sign language, international sign and children's content.

App, webApp and physical equipment: content and technology from a single supplier, if preferred.

ISO 9001 certified company.

Museums and cultural spaces we have worked with

Over more than two decades we have worked on projects with some of the most visited cultural spaces in Portugal and abroad:

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: multilingual narration for one of the most visited museums in the country.
Nobel Peace Centre (Oslo): content for one of the most visited cultural spaces in Norway.
Museu do Trabalho Michel Giacometti (Setúbal): narration with a strong Portuguese cultural identity, plus 4 other languages.
Fortaleza de Sagres: voice-over for one of the most iconic monuments in the country, with visitors from around the world.
Bata Shoe Museum (Toronto): content production for an international museum with a collection and audience of various nationalities.

Narration in the visitor's language

The experience is better when visitors hear the narration in their own language, with a native speaker. The most requested languages for audio guides in Portugal are:

Portuguese: European and Brazilian.
English: British and American, the most requested in museums with international visitors.
Spanish: Castilian and Latin American.
French, German and Italian.
Mandarin Chinese: increasingly requested in European museums.
Other languages: Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Russian and many others, always with native speakers.

How the service is organised

Our work for museums and tourism is divided into four areas that can be commissioned together or separately:

Audio Content	Voice over of the scripts for the points of interest in the exhibition, in multiple languages. Translation and script adaptation included if required.
Accessibility Content	Adaptation of original content for audio description, Portuguese sign language (video), international sign (video) and children's content, with scripts prepared by specialists.
Equipment and Applications	Radio guides, audio guides, multimedia, apps and web applications.
Video Adaptation	Dubbing or subtitling of videos that are part of the exhibition.

Complementary services within the same project

For audio guide projects that need other services, Voices & Media Solutions also provides:

Multilingual voice over: narration in all required languages, from a single point of contact.
Script translation and adaptation: cultural and linguistic adaptation of texts so the message makes sense in the target language.
AI voice: for projects with large volumes of content or frequent updates, AI voice with a personalised voice may be an option.

Have an audio guide project for a museum, tourist route or cultural space? Get in touch.

In how many languages do you produce voice over for audio guides?

In more than 70 languages, with native speakers. The most requested are Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Italian and Japanese. If you need a less common language, let us know and we will check availability.

How long does it take to produce content for an audio guide?

It depends on the volume, the number of points of interest and the number of languages. For urgent projects, we can deliver the first content within 48 hours. For larger projects involving translations and multiple languages, the timeline is defined in the briefing. We have experience meeting exhibition opening deadlines.

Can you work from existing scripts?

Yes. We can record from scripts that are already written, adapt them if needed for the narration format, or create the texts from scratch based on the content you send us. Adapting a script for an audio guide is worthwhile: the text needs to work well when heard, not just when read.

Do you also work with apps and equipment?

Yes. In addition to voice content, we work with apps for iOS and Android, webApps by QR code, and physical audio guide and radio guide equipment. You can commission just the content or the complete package.

Do you produce accessibility content?

Yes. Audio description for visitors with visual impairments, Portuguese sign language and international sign for visitors with hearing impairments, and adapted content for children.

Clients