Cave of Altamira

May 2023
You are able to view this replica of the original caves. Only archaeologists can view the real ones. Very interesting. I had a guided tour, and I would recommend this to learn a lot.
Then you can explore the museum on your own.
There is a gift shop with many interesting items. There is a restaurant on site, and lots of free parking.

Love the sensation of being there next to an 18000 year show of artistic rendition

Very good exhibition on palaeolithic activities and origins with many beautiful original artefacts. Absolutely brilliant reconstruction of the original cave. For the low price of 3,- you get a lot to see and they've done a magnificent job in giving a full experience with much respect to both the original cave as to the visitor's desire to know and feel the cave and experience our ancient ancestry. Very much enjoyed

Very interesting place. It gives you a good sense of what the cave is like inside, although you cannot enter the actual cave. The exhibition provides you with ample information on the background of its discovery and the history of cave paintings in the Neolithic era in general. Get there early. Even though the parking area is big it fills up fast. Altamira is a popular destination.

We had a wonderful meal here. Staff were very pleasant and had a sense of fun.
While some of the staff didn't have a lot of English, they went above and beyond to explain the dishes which were excellent.
The wines were amazing as was the food. Would highly recommend and we thought very good value given the quality of the food and wines.

The caves a beautiful and so freshing to see a piece of rich history that makes the struggle of human survival so vivid and alive. A time where humans were united as one and looked out of eachother, created incredible art and craftsmanship, looked after their elderly and disabled and came up with extrodinary means of survival!!

It's heartbreaking to come out and see so many chained dogs in the town below and caged dogs in the villages above. I guess they missed the message of looking out for one another and surviving together with compassion.

It’s was very good museum. It isn’t possible see the real cave. It’s closed to visiting since 2002. The good news is that you can see The Neocueva made as the original by the archeologist and experts. Very interesting to visit with kids. When I visited no price to visit, free entrance.

Amaizing place. You visit a model after the original cave but even like that it worth a visit. You need to make a reservation to visit the cave. We were told that in the 9:30 to 10:00 visit slot on Fridays only, you can enter a raffle if you win you can visit the original cave. Which could be great!!!

Cave the Altamira

The Cave of Altamira, often referred to as Altamira Cave, is a famous archaeological site in northern Spain. Here's more information specifically about the Cave of Altamira:

The Cave of Altamira is renowned for its remarkable prehistoric rock art, characterized by stunning polychrome (multi-colored) paintings of animals, mostly bison. The artistry and level of detail in the paintings are considered exceptional for its time.

The cave art found in Altamira dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period, specifically the Magdalenian culture, roughly between 36,000 and 13,000 years ago.

The Cave of Altamira was closed to the public in 2002 to protect the fragile environment and preserve the delicate artwork from damage caused by visitors. The preservation efforts involve controlling humidity, temperature, and bacterial growth inside the cave.

It is a nice reproduction of the real cave, what they need to protect. If you are lucky, you can have a chance to win on the raffle an entry to the real cave. There is a museum, what is really good for children. They can learn how changed everything through these ages. They can go on a workshop and there is usually an exhibition as well.

Not the real thing but a reasonable facsimile. Very well organized to accommodate large crowds and with a friendly stall.

The museum is very beautiful! Definitely worth a visit (make sure to book in advance). I don’t recommend walking afterwards to “see” the cave’s entrance because it’s not visible from the road.

A very well made replica of the world's oldest known cave paintings, and a well laid out museum. There was even a wheel chair available for grandma who can't walk for very long at a time, so she got to experience the museum as well!

Very interesting and really well organised. We had a guided tour in spanish. Easy to get to and plenty of parking.

If you find yourselves close to Santander or santillana del mar you should really visit the caves! The museum is great albeit not huge and the tour in the "caves" is really worth it!! The actual caves are not accessible in the tour in order to protect them as they explain in advance but there is an exact replica where they also show some scenes of life back then according to the remnants they found in the caves..

Very friendly personnel, nice, cosy. One of museums has english localisation, another doesn't. Visually it is great. Almost wheel-friendly (only one square with stairs), ok to go with baby or disabled. Great parking space.

Incredible replica of the actual cave. Got the chance to go and visit the real one too and they are very similar indeed. It was and amazing experience but you have to go on Friday 09:30am to have the chance, they do a raffle and only 5 are selected for the visit.

Toured the cave in 1972. Very happy this site was discovered!

Beautiful setting, low impact building, excellent museum with English if needed. Easy to get to, ample parking. Not sure why people complaining that cave is replica - why should your need for a selfie destroy one of the most significant finds of human art in history trump it’s preservation for future generations.

Although the actual cave is no longer accessable to the public, the recreation in this museum is very realistic. It gives a clear illustration of the brilliance of these ancient art works, as well as the fascinating story of their discovery and the scientific debate that raged for a few years until they were finally proven to be over 14,000 years old.