National Museum of Archaeology
A photogrammetry-cast replica of the Cave of Altamira fills the forecourt — you see the famous paintings before you reach the ticket desk.
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Founded by Isabella II in 1867, the collection runs from Iberian prehistory through the early modern age. Greek material — weighted toward Magna Graecia rather than mainland Greece — sits alongside Egyptian and Near East pieces, all inside a neoclassical building Francisco Jareño designed and built between 1866 and 1892.
What to look for
- The Cave of Altamira replica in the forecourt, made in the 1960s by casting photogrammetry moulds of the original cave
- First-floor Protohistory halls covering Pre-Roman Iberian peoples active across the 1st millennium BC
- Greek collections, with the bulk drawn from Magna Graecia (the Greek colonial world) rather than the Greek mainland
On Calle de Serrano beside Plaza de Colón; the entrance is shared with the National Library of Spain in the same building.
National Museum of Archaeology is one of 31 sights worth the detour in Madrid, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Madrid pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Madrid
- BernabéuThe only stadium on earth to host both a UEFA Champions League final and a Copa Libertadores final — and the first in Europe to crown both a World Cup and a Euro.
- Museo del PradoThe Spanish royal collection — 7,600 paintings accumulated over centuries — opened to the public in November 1819 and never looked back.
- Metropolitano StadiumThe pitch that staged the 2019 Champions League final will host another in 2027 — and is shortlisted for the 2030 World Cup.
- Royal Palace of MadridThe original Alcázar burned to the ground on Christmas Eve 1734 — what the Bourbons built in its place is the largest palace in Western Europe.
- Museo Reina SofíaGuernica — Picasso's 1937 painting of wartime devastation — hangs here at full scale, in person.
- Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy)A duke's private library meeting in 1711 grew into the institution that still rules what counts as correct Spanish — for Spain and 22 other Spanish-speaking nations.