The Museo Nacional de Escultura is the finest collection of Spanish wooden polychrome sculpture in existence — and as good a reason to come to Valladolid as anything else. The Castilian sculptors of the 16th and 17th centuries (Alonso Berruguete, Juan de Juni, Gregorio Fernández) produced devotional figures of extraordinary realism: bleeding Christs, weeping Virgins, saints in ecstasy, all carved in wood and painted with terrifying lifelike skill.
The setting matches the collection. The Colegio de San Gregorio, with its riotous Isabelline Gothic facade and serene cloister, is itself a masterpiece. The museum also incorporates the Palacio de Villena across the street, used for temporary shows and educational displays. Allow at least two hours; it is one of the most intense and rewarding museum visits in Spain.