The "Leal Senado" Building - regarded as the most outstanding example of Portuguese architecture in the territory - is located in the heart of Macau, just opposite the UNESCO World Heritage - listed Senado Square, and serves as a municipal chamber today.

A gallery occupies the ground floor and has hosted numerous exhibitions since opening in 1985, including the major Collective Exhibition of Macau Artists every December. The first floor public library has amassed a valuable literary collection spanning the 17th Century to the 1950s, including the "A Abelha da China" newspaper, which, established in 1822, was the first Macau paper and the first foreign language paper to appear in China.