1027 Best Sights in Spain

Just south of the park, this weaponry museum has prehistoric hatchets, 20th-century pistols, and a sand-table reproduction of the 1813 battle between the Duke of Wellington's troops and the French.

Sure, the best thing about this museum is probably the stunning Moderniste building it's housed in, but the collections—comprising 19th-century paintings and glass, French and German china dolls, Viennese bronze statues, and more—are a welcome reprieve from all the churrigueresque convents and churches. The museum café is a delightful spot for a coffee break.  

Housed in a refurbished prison on Vigo's main shopping drag, this museum doesn't have a permanent collection but hosts intriguing temporary exhibitions and solo shows of featured artists.

Housed in the historical 18th-century Casa de las Tejerinas palace, this art museum, which opened in 2018 and is known as MAD, showcases contemporary Andalusian and Spanish artists. Focusing on work produced this century, it has 50 pieces from artists including Málaga-born Dadi Dreucol and Chema Lumbreras, Santiago Idáñez from Seville, and Judas Arrieta from the Basque Country. Also worthy of note are the central patio and ornate facade.

The town's Church Museum contains a replica of the banner carried by the Norman conqueror Juan de Bethancourt when he seized Fuerteventura in the 15th century. Most of the artwork was salvaged from the nearby convent, now in ruins. The museum is generally open weekday mornings but has no official hours.

Among the fascinating items of mainly 19th- and 20th-century Spanish folklore in this museum, located in the Mudejar pavilion opposite the Museo Arqueológico, is an impressive Díaz Velázquez collection of lace and embroidery—one of the finest in Europe. There's a reconstruction of a typical late-19th-century Sevillian house on the first floor, while in the basement, you can see ceramics, pottery, furniture, and household items from bygone ages.

Housed in a converted convent on the edge of the old town, this fine-arts museum has French, Spanish, and Italian paintings from the 16th through 20th centuries and a curious collection of etchings by Goya.

Spain's number-three fine arts museum, bested only by Madrid's Prado and Seville's Museo de Bellas Artes, features works from every Spanish school and movement from the 12th through the 20th centuries. The collection of Flemish, French, Italian, and Spanish paintings includes works by El Greco, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Diego Velázquez, José Ribera, Paul Gauguin, and Antoni Tàpies. One large and excellent section traces developments in 20th-century Spanish and Basque art alongside works by better-known European contemporaries, such as Fernand Léger and Francis Bacon. Look for Zuloaga's famous portrait of La Condesa Mathieu de Moailles and Joaquín Sorolla's portrait of Basque philosopher Miguel de Unamuno. Expect to spend at least three hours here.

Paintings by Ribera, Picasso, and the Basque painter Zuloaga adorn the walls of this exuberant baroque building, whose collection spans the 18th to the 20th centuries.

On the east side of the Plaza de Mina is Cádiz's provincial museum. Notable pieces include works by Murillo and Alonso Cano, as well as the Four Evangelists and a set of saints by Zurbarán. The archaeological section contains two extraordinary marble Phoenician sarcophagi from the time of this ancient city's birth.

The intricate, over-the-top 18th-century doorway to this museum, formerly a hospice, is one of the finest pieces of baroque civil architecture in Spain, so it's a wonder that what lies beyond it flies under the radar of most tourists. Painted fans, period clothing, gleaming china and porcelain, and an exhibit on the Dos de Mayo Uprising are the main attractions, and there are usually a few paintings on loan from the Prado as well.

This museum occupies parts of the former royal palace of the kings of Aragón and holds paintings by Aragonese primitives, including La Virgen del Rosario by Miguel Jiménez, and several works by the 16th-century Maestro de Sigena. The eight chambers, set around an octagonal patio, include the Sala de la Campana (Hall of the Bell), where beheadings of errant nobles took place.

This museum is divided into two sections within the rooms of a 1547 mansion: archaeological finds and fine art. The Bronze Age and Roman era are particularly well represented; highlights here include the Dama de los Robles statue and the first-century marble room. The patio showcases the facade of the erstwhile Church of San Miguel. The fine-arts section has a room full of Goya lithographs.

This interesting museum behind Santa María has exhibits on Carmona's history with particular emphasis on Roman finds. There's plenty for children, and the interactive exhibits are labeled in English and Spanish.

The town's pride and joy is Efebo, a beautiful bronze statue of a boy that dates back to Roman times. Standing almost 5 feet high, it's on display along with other ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art and artifacts in this impressive museum.

Near the Puerta de la Coria and occupying a former Franciscan convent built in the 15th century, this museum's exhibits on Spain's conquest of Latin America are similar to those in the Casa Museo de Pizarro but with an emphasis on military achievements. If you can get past the colonial propaganda, the museum is worth visiting if only for a look inside the old convent's two-tier central cloister.

Primitive ceramics and mummies are this museum's highlights. The ancient Guanches mummified their dead by rubbing the bodies with pine resin and salt and leaving them in the sun to dry for two weeks. Placards are in Spanish, but there's a downloadable app with English descriptions.

Next door to the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, this small but pleasant museum has a 19th-century mural depicting the establishment of the Constitution of 1812. Its real showpiece, however, is a 1779 ivory-and-mahogany model of Cádiz, with all of the city's streets and buildings in minute detail, looking much as they do now.

This museum displays artifacts from the region from prehistoric to contemporary times, including sculptures, engravings, paintings, and furniture, but the crown jewel of the collection is the Cristo Carrizo (Carrizo Crucifix), a small 11th-century Romanesque ivory carving distinguished by its lifelike expression and powerful presence. Notice the figure's carefully coiffed hair and beard and the loincloth arranged in sumptuous Byzantine detail.

The Aduana (Customs House), built in Neoclassical style and completed in 1829, houses the city's large archaeological and art collections. See the former on the third floor where the 2,000 treasures on display include a Corinthian helmet from 600 BC, Roman sculptures and mosaics, and Moorish ceramics. The second floor has 200 artworks by Málaga artists, including a choice few by Picasso. There are free classical music concerts in the stunning central patio one Sunday a month.

In a 16th-century building once used as a hospital for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, this museum has a collection of regional archaeological artifacts and historical costumes. Placards are Spanish-only.

Housed in two 18th-century mansions connected by a stone bridge, this museum includes exquisite Celtic jewelry, silver from all over the world, and several large model ships. The original kitchen, with a stone fireplace, is intact; below, descend steep wooden stairs to the reconstructed captain's chamber on the battleship Numancia, which limped back to Spain after the Dos de Mayo battle with Peru in 1866. Complete the loop by going upstairs in the first building, where there are Spanish, Italian, and Flemish paintings.

In a 16th-century Renaissance hospital with a stunning Classical-plateresque facade, this museum is open all day without a break (unlike many of Toledo's other sights). Works of art have replaced the hospital beds, and among the displays is El Greco's Assumption of 1613, the artist's last known work. A small archaeology museum is set in the hospital's delightful cloister.

This museum contains a treasure trove of works by Zaragoza's emblematic painter, Goya, including his portraits of Fernando VII and his best graphic works: Desastres de la Guerra, Caprichos, and La Tauromaquia.

This private museum in the heart of Santa Cruz was opened in 2007 by the legendary flamenco dancer Cristina Hoyos and includes audiovisual and multimedia displays briefly explaining the history, culture, and soul of Spanish flamenco. There are also regular classes and shows.

Remains of the Roman forum and elaborate sewage system can be seen here. Two more Roman sites, the thermal baths at Calle de San Juan y San Pedro and the river port at Plaza San Bruno, are also open to the public. English-language audio guides are available.

In a restored 16th-century palace in the casco antiguo, this museum shows some of the best in contemporary Spanish prints. Some of Spain's most famous 20th-century artists, including Picasso, Miró, and Tàpies, are on display. Temporary exhibitions are also mounted here.

This house that once belonged to Peter the Cruel's treasurer, Samuel Levi, is said to have later been El Greco's home, though historians now believe he actually lived across the street. Nevertheless, the interior of the El Greco Museum is decorated to resemble a typical house of the artist's time. The house is now incorporated into a revamped El Greco museum with several of the artist's paintings, including a panorama of Toledo with the Hospital of Tavera in the foreground, and works by several of El Greco's students (including his son) and other 16th- and 17th-century artists. Medieval caves have been excavated at the site, and there's a beautiful garden in which to take refuge from Toledo's often-scorching summer heat.

This museum is housed in the old olive mill owned and operated by Don José Alcalá Santaella until 1959. The machinery on display dates to the middle of the 19th century, when the mill was capable of processing up to three tons of olives a day. The museum aims to demonstrate the way of life of workers in this important industry. You can taste and buy olive oil at the shop.

The craft and history of fishermen and the fishing industry, from whales to anchovies, are the subject of this museum. The tower was built by native son Alonso de Ercilla y Zuñiga (1533–94), poet and eminent soldier. Ercilla's "La Araucana," an account of the conquest of Arauco (Chile), is considered one of the best Spanish epic poems.