National Museum of Roman Art

Moneo's brick nave

The National Museum of Roman Art opened in 1986 in a building by Rafael Moneo raised opposite the theatre and amphitheatre. Its image is the great nave of brick arches, which repeats the Romans' way of building, with overhead light. It is the museum of Augusta Emerita: almost everything you see turned up in the Mérida excavations.

In February 2026 its extension, also by Moneo, joined to the original building, was inaugurated: a new temporary exhibition room, an auditorium for 238 people, areas for educational workshops, storerooms and new research spaces. With it the ticket office, shop and access were also renovated.

What is inside

Statues, mosaics, portraits, inscriptions and everyday objects from the capital of Lusitania, spread across the central nave and its upper galleries. The sculptures that decorated the Roman theatre are here, and seeing them after visiting the theatre helps you imagine the full stage front. In the basement, the building rests on remains of the Roman city, with houses and a road, which can be walked.

Allow at least an hour and a half; with children, it is better to pick a few rooms than to try to see it all.

Hours, admission and free days

It is open Tuesday to Saturday 9:30 to 20:00, and Sundays and public holidays 10:00 to 15:00. It is closed on Mondays. General admission costs €3 and reduced €1.50. It is free every Sunday and on Saturdays from 14:00, and always for under-18s, over-65s and students aged 18 to 25, among other groups.

It is not included in the joint ticket for Mérida's monuments: the museum is state-run and has its own ticket office. The Visigothic Collection, in the former church of Santa Clara, in the centre, belongs to the same museum, is free and has different hours; check before going. The information phone number is 924 311 690.

Where it is and how to fit it in

It is on Calle José Ramón Mélida, level with the entrance to the theatre and amphitheatre. The logical thing is to do the theatre first thing, before the heat builds, and go into the museum on leaving. If you do the guided visit "Mérida in Full", the museum is left out: save it for the afternoon or for Sunday, when you do not pay.