Spain's national collection of archaeology, from prehistory to the early modern period, in a handsome 19th-century palace on Calle Serrano. The collection's signature pieces are the Dama de Elche — a polychrome Iberian limestone bust from the 4th century BC, perhaps the most iconic pre-Roman sculpture in the country — and the Dama de Baza, a near-contemporary seated female figure from Granada.
Beyond Iberian sculpture, the museum covers Visigothic gold votive crowns from the Treasure of Guarrazar, Roman mosaics, a full-scale replica of the Altamira cave paintings, Egyptian and Greek antiquities, and an Islamic collection from Al-Andalus. The redesign in 2014 made it one of the best-presented museums in the city. Allow two-and-a-half hours. Free Sunday afternoons and Saturday after 2 pm. Metro Serrano (line 4).