The Palacio de Acebrón is an unexpected find in the middle of the national park: a mid-century neoclassical country house, elegant and slightly incongruous among the cork oaks, that now serves as one of Doñana's three visitor centres. Entry is free. The permanent exhibition — "Doñana and Its People" — focuses on the ethnographic history of the area: the traditional occupations that sustained communities here for generations, the fishing in the Guadalquivir, the pine resin harvesting, the seasonal cattle movements across the marismas. It is not flashy, but it adds genuine depth to a visit otherwise focused purely on wildlife.
The short circular trail from the palace car park along the Charco del Acebrón pond is worth doing at any season. The path winds through cork oak forest and riparian woodland along the Rocina stream — damp and shaded even in summer — with hides over the water at several points. It takes under an hour at a leisurely pace. The combination of the museum and the walk makes this a good option for the middle of the day when the marismas are quiet and the sun is high.