Two Madrid museums charge exactly 3 € and one gives almost twice as much museum as the other. The National Archaeological Museum opens Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am to 8pm, ten and a half hours, while the Cerralbo Museum shuts at 3pm and manages five and a half. Both belong to the same group of eight state museums, on the same tariff set by the Ministry of Culture.
What are the hours and price of Madrid’s Archaeological Museum? It opens Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am to 8pm and Sundays and holidays 9.30am to 3pm, closing Mondays. A general ticket is 3 €, free on Saturdays from 2pm and all day Sunday. It stands at Calle Serrano 13 and is the largest of Madrid’s eight state museums.
The National Archaeological Museum holds the Spanish state archaeological collection from prehistory to the nineteenth century, and is the largest of the eight museums run directly by the Ministry of Culture in Madrid. Its size and long timetable make it the only one in the group where the planning question is which galleries to see rather than how much time is left before closing.
Sunday is the shortest day, and the busiest
Worth settling before choosing a day, because the free window and the short window fall together.
Sundays and public holidays run 9.30am to 3pm, five and a half hours, half a weekday. Since Sunday is also free, it is simultaneously the busiest day and the shortest. Anyone wanting the free entry with room to breathe does better on Saturday from 2pm, which gives six hours of free access, the longest free window of the eight.
The same price does not buy the same museum
This is the comparison that explains what the shared tariff actually means.
| Museum | Tuesday to Saturday | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Museum of Romanticism, summer | 9.30am to 8.30pm | 11 h |
| National Archaeological Museum | 9.30am to 8pm | 10 h 30 |
| Museum of Romanticism, winter | 9.30am to 6.30pm | 9 h |
| Cerralbo Museum | 9.30am to 3pm | 5 h 30 |
All three cost 3 €. The Ministry sets the tariff for all eight at once, but each museum sets its own calendar, in Madrid state museums at 3 €, Cerralbo Museum hours and free entry and Museum of Romanticism tickets and passes.
Where it is and getting there
It stands at Calle Serrano 13, in the Salamanca district, which carries fewer driving restrictions than the old town.
Salamanca is not a special-protection zone, so an emissions label under the city-wide rules is enough, in the Salamanca district guide and driving into Madrid’s low emission zones. On the metro a single runs €1.50 to €2.00, in what a Madrid metro ticket costs.
What to pair it with
Filling a whole morning, the sensible move is to follow it with a late free window elsewhere.
The Prado concentrates its free entry at the end of the day, in what the Prado free evening covers, and the full map of free windows is in free museums in Madrid.
Frequently asked questions about the National Archaeological Museum
How long do you need for the Archaeological Museum?
A full morning comfortably, since it is the largest of Madrid’s eight state museums. Against a house museum like the Cerralbo, which takes a long hour, the problem here is the opposite one and it pays to pick galleries in advance.
What are the opening hours?
Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am to 8pm and Sundays and public holidays from 9.30am to 3pm, closed every Monday. That is ten and a half hours on weekdays, the longest timetable of the eight state museums in Madrid.
What does a ticket cost?
3 € general, the same rate the Ministry of Culture sets for all eight directly run state museums. It is free on Saturdays from 2pm until closing and for the whole of Sunday, with no nationality check and no booking.
Where is the museum?
At Calle Serrano 13, in the Salamanca district. That district is not a special-protection low emission zone, so arriving by car carries fewer conditions than in the old town, though an emissions label is still required.
Is a combined pass worth it?
It depends how many you visit. The Four Museums pass costs 8 € against 12 € for four single tickets, and the Eight Museums pass 16 € against 24 €. Both bring the price down to two thirds of buying separately.
Three euros buy five and a half hours at one museum in the group and ten and a half at this one.