Museum of Altamira
Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira
A national museum beside the UNESCO-listed Altamira Caves. Its full-scale 'Neocave' faithfully recreates the painted ceiling of bison from the Paleolithic era.
The Altamira Caves are famous for their bison paintings, made some 15,000 to 36,000 years ago. They are often called the 'Sistine Chapel of prehistory' and were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1985. The original cave is largely closed to protect the paintings, and only a very small number of people are admitted each week through a lottery. The museum's 'Neocave' precisely reproduces the cave and its multicoloured painted ceiling at full scale. There is also an exhibition on Paleolithic life. Tickets cost about EUR 3. Entry is free on Sunday afternoons and on certain dates, and the museum is closed on Mondays. It is about 2 km from Santillana del Mar.
Opening hours
Tuesday to Saturday 09:30–20:00 (until 18:00 in winter); Sunday and public holidays 09:30–15:00; closed Mondays
Nearby sights
- Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana
- Santillana del Mar
- Comillas
- El Capricho de Gaudí
- Palacio de Sobrellano
- Liencres Dunes & Costa Quebrada
- Caves of Monte Castillo
- El Pendo Cave