Museo de America

This museum, built in a modern interpretation of a monastery actually covers far more than the Latin American territory I had expected. There is also a lot of North American material, up to the arctic, as well as Pacific Islands and the Philipines. Although it is massive, it is also quite manageable. All the printed info us in spanish, however there is an audio guide available on their website accessible by smart phone. For places like Mexico and Peru there are also good timeliness helping put the different cultures in context. Amongst the exhibits are temporary galleries covering, when I visited, Haitan painting and the legacy of colonialism. There are lots of ceramics, which I personally love, and examples of goldwork from Costa Rica dnd Colombia, plus some feather head dresses and helmets from Hawaii and Brazil, colonial era works and much more. Surely the most extraordinary thing on display is one of only 4 surviving Mayan codices.

Wonderful museum and artifacts from all over native American history. It's definitely worth if you're interested reading and experiencing the colonization that occured from Spain all over America during the centuries 1400 to 1800.

Great museum which shows many interesting artifacts and tells the fascinating history of Spanish American interaction. 3 euro entry and boards in Spanish doable with medium level reading - I believe there is a download able guide in other languages - please check. Allow a good 2 - 3 hours.

Great museum with great collection. Everything very nicely exhibited. Also, the building and surroundings are beautiful so it is a nice plan. I recommend it you enjoy to see different things that in this case, is the Latin American heritage. Very interesting!

Fantastic museum! Collection is mostly pre-Columbian ceramics, plus a great room of Quimbaya gold. Lots of 17-18th cent colonial art, mostly from Nuevo España. All descriptions are Spanish language only, not a word of English in the whole building. If there's a line, it's probably for a temporary exhibition. You can skip it, and just go directly to the ticket desk. Of course no signs to tell you this. €3, free for students.

This place is amazing! From ancient books, sculptures, customs to Native American clothing. You will definitely witness how the new world was first discovered.

Very friendly staff. Well preserved ancient artifacts from all over the American continent including Canada. I was more interested in Canadian Indigenous artifacts.

Amazing! Not as big as I expected, but beautiful anyway. Maybe the ticket us a bit overprized :(

2.5 stars I really wish I'd known ahead of time that nothing here was written in English. It seems like a cool collection with lots of historical explanations that I could only vaguely follow. It's probably worth a trip if you speak Spanish, but it's definitely not worth it if you don't.

This is a good museum (Spanish only other than a short English guide) that in a sparcly attended building documents one of the greatest conquests and destructive processes in human history. While they couldn't call it the "Museum of the Conquest" that is the topic here. While the treatment of native people is acceptable the critical edge of the avarice and greed of the Conquistadors seems subdued but what to expect from a museum in Spain - the country that took so much silver and gold and much more from Mexico, Central, and South America. For perspective it is worth visiting.

Fantastic museum! we all learnt a lot and most of us don't speak spanish... the building itself is worth a look around, clean grandiose proportions, beautiful staircase and arched ceilings that add to the elegance of the place. The exhibits are so varied and numerous, time flies and your hot afternoon has been well spent. Don't miss it!

Amazing collection, but not sure why some of these plundered treasures have not been repatriated. It could be called the Museum of Booty! It's a bit of a throw-back-- prepare to read Eurocentric wall text with outdated views about the conquest of the "new world" and overhear people talking about how the Spanish saved the savages in America...

This is a huge museum! It's not touristy at all which is always nice. Everything is in Spanish so I learned nothing. It was quite crowded when I visited (Heritage Day so it was free). But visitors were respectfully quiet, no camera-obsessed people (argh), no children running around. The museum is absolutely beautiful. If one of our museums in Ontario look like this, honestly... Just a note though: if you're not interested in the history of America (natives, hunting, slavery, religion), you should spend your precious tourist time somewhere else! Someone commented on the pedestrian-unfriendly path to reach here. The metro station is about a 10-minute walk to the museum. Google Maps will tell you to keep walking even though the path in front of you seems to separate and fork and spin around and fly to the sky. I walked on the South side of the path because I was visiting Museo Del Traje first. That path goes through a lot of greenery, which was heaven in the breezy morning. Until I reached Museo Del Traje and I was like, "Why does it smell like fertilizer** here?" Well, it was spring after all. **that's a nice way to put it The North side of the street Av Arco de la Victoria is confusing because it's not exactly straight. Still it's a nice pedestrian path that's bicycle-friendly and jogger-friendly. The walk to/from the station was WONDERFUL in the spring! Especially because this area is not that touristy!

Fantastic collection of artifacts from the Americas (mostly Latin America, but some Norte Americano as well). Would have been nice to have at least a small pamphlet or something in English or French or some other languages to point out highlights of the collection, especially since all signage is in Spanish. On the other hand, I was willing to put up with the lack of such amenities in exchange for a respite from the tourist hordes at the more famous Madrid attractions. You can easily reach the vicinity of this museum by Metro, but be prepared for a roundabout walk through some rather pedestrian-unfriendly road networks to get to the museum. Again, there is a lack of signage to help you find your way. But if you can find the museum, you will be rewarded by the blissful experience of being able to peruse its artifacts in detail without being pushed, shoved, jostled or crowded as you would be at many a European museum. Also, the museum is free on Sundays (otherwise a reasonable 3 Euro for adults). We went on Sunday and it was still uncrowded. One of the highlights of the collection for us was the display on ancient maps. Let's just say you can see why Columbus might have gotten lost using maps with this level of accuracy. But the maps are beautifully drawn and detailed! It was fun to pick out tiny American colonies from the 17th Century - back when New York was New Amsterdam!

If you're in Madrid for more than a few days this museum is worth visiting, especially if you are interested in Spanish and Latin American history. There are three floors of artifacts from the Inca, Maya, Aztec, tribes from the Amazon, and North America. I was impressed and would like to return again. I think admission is free on Sunday, not sure, but it was on the Sunday I was visiting.