The National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira is one of the best prehistoric art museums in Europe, and the full-scale replica of the Polychrome Hall ceiling — known as the Neocave — is the closest most visitors will get to the real thing. The replica was built using laser scanning and digital projection mapping to reproduce the exact contours of the original cave ceiling, with paints matched to the original ochres and charcoal. When you lie on your back on the viewing platform as the Magdalenian artists would have done, the effect is genuinely impressive.
Beyond the Neocave, the museum covers the archaeology of the cave and its context: the tools, objects, and way of life of the people who made the paintings. There are audio-visual displays on the history of the cave's discovery and the long controversy over its authenticity. The museum also runs an active research programme into cave conservation and Palaeolithic art. Guided tours in Spanish and English are available; the museum is open Tuesday to Saturday year-round, and on Sunday mornings.