The museum’s collection is displayed chronologically and includes artifacts including carefully restored stained glass with naval decoration, period weapons, looted coins and jewelry, navigational maps, restored boats, and paintings depicting various monumental events in maritime history. Don’t miss the parchment map illustrated by Juan de la Cosa, which is considered to be the earliest preserved map of the Americas. Self-guided audio tours and hop-on hop-off bus tours of Madrid lead travelers to the Madrid Naval Museum.
With all of its entertaining and educational nautical displays, the Naval Museum is a great choice for traveling families.
The museum is wheelchair accessible and has wheelchairs for loan.
Entrance is free but a small donation is highly recommended.
The Madrid Naval Museum is located on the Paseo del Prado, one of Madrid’s main boulevards, within walking distance of many attractions, including the Prado Museum. The closest Metro stop is Banco de España, which is on Line 2 of the Madrid Metro and a 4-minute walk away.
The Naval Museum is open year-round, from Tuesday through Sunday, mid-morning until late evening. In August its opening hours are abbreviated and it closes in the middle of the afternoon. The museum is closed on Mondays, as well as January 1 and 6, May 1, and December 24, 25, and 31.
The Naval Museum lies just outside Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art, which consists of the city’s three leading art museums: the Prado Museum, the Reina-Sofia Museum, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. While you should try to visit all three, the Prado is unmissable for those with an interest in Spanish history. Its collection of 12th- to 19th-century European art includes paintings and sculptures from the Spanish Royal Collection, including Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez.
