Museo Arqueologico Nacional

The museum was founded in 1867 and reopened in 2014 after a six-year rebuild that reorganised it chronologically from prehistory to the nineteenth century. Its best-known object is the Lady of Elche, a painted limestone bust of a woman with elaborate wheel-shaped headdresses found in Alicante in 1897, Iberian work of around the fourth century BC and one of the defining images of pre-Roman Spain. Beside it are the Guarrazar treasure of Visigothic votive crowns in gold and gems, the Lady of Baza, extensive Roman mosaics and sculpture, and Islamic material from al-Andalus. In the garden outside, a full-scale replica of the Altamira cave ceiling with its bison can be entered.

What you actually see

• The Lady of Elche - an Iberian limestone bust of the fourth century BC.
• The Guarrazar crowns - Visigothic votive gold from the seventh century.
• The Altamira replica - a full-scale copy of the painted cave ceiling.
• The al-Andalus rooms - Islamic ivories, ceramics and architecture.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes on Mondays and offers free entry from mid-afternoon on weekdays and on Sunday mornings, which are consequently busy. The collection is large enough to justify a half day.

Honest expectations

The chronological route is long and few visitors finish it in one go. Labelling is thorough in Spanish with shorter English text. The Altamira replica is in the garden and separate from the main circuit, and it is easy to miss.

Nearby

The Salamanca district and Plaza de Colon are alongside; the Prado is a twenty-minute walk south.