When visiting a foreign country, it’s always a shame to only focus on the uncomplicated leisure it has to offer and miss the chance of a captivating incursion into its past struggles, ethnic components and way of life, or a more detailed account of its natural history. Spain offers many such displays, varying in terms of theme and comprehensiveness.

Among the many presentations enjoying great popularity are those located in natural history museums such as The Museum of Nature and Man in Tenerife or the National Museum of Natural Sciences, located in Madrid, both displaying exhibits related to biodiversity, geology and paleobiology, among other features.

History museums documenting Spain’s development in terms of a broad array of aspects, as well as its wars, expansions and intervals of foreign domination, are always delightful to visit due to their concentrated instructiveness.

For instance, you can visit ample archaeology museums in a variety of places, such as Asturias, Alicante or Puerto de la Cruz. The National Archaeological Museum of Spain is located in Madrid and displays items dating back as far as pre-history.

As presumable, there are also many maritime museums recording Spain’s intense activity at sea, particularly during the most successful eras of the Spanish Armada, once the world’s most powerful fleet. One of them is the Barcelona Maritime Museum.

Local museums are always interesting to see as they encompass items relevant for a multitude of aspects. There are also many national museums, some located in the capital, centred on various fields of research, from anthropology to arts.

Or, if you prefer something less conventional, you can always visit the Bandit Museum in Ronda, the Museum of Chocolate in Barcelona, or, also in Barcelona, Museu de Carrossess Funebres, the Museum of Funeral Chariots, which is certainly strange yet has a certain character of its own.