Vilamuseu, the museum of La Vila Joiosa

What it is

Vilamuseu is the museum of La Vila Joiosa, at Calle Colón, 57. It tells more than 3,000 years of local history through the Mediterranean cultures that passed through here: in Iberian times it was an important settlement, trading with Phoenicians, Greeks, Egyptians and Etruscans; then came the Roman municipality of Allon, and later the medieval town. It also organises activities at the Iberian sanctuary of La Malladeta and several routes around the town. Allow an hour and a quarter for the visit.

What you see

The exhibition Tresors de la Vila Joiosa brings together the most outstanding pieces: the Egyptian New Year flask, an orientalising gold necklace from the 6th century BC, the Estela necklace, the foundation-sacrifice jug from the Allon baths and a Roman mosaic you can touch, part of a sensory itinerary. The other exhibition is devoted to the Bou Ferrer, a Roman merchant ship built in Naples that went to Baetica to load amphorae of fish sauce and lead ingots from Sierra Morena bound for Rome and the emperor Nero. It sank off Allon in the 1st century AD and is one of the most important wrecks in the Mediterranean; amphorae and finds from years of underwater archaeology are on display.

The website announced the Tresors exhibition until 15 September 2026 and the Bou Ferrer one until 15 June 2026, so it is worth asking what is open on the day of your visit.

Opening times and price

From 16 September to 15 June it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 19:00 and on Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00. From 16 June to 15 September, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 21:30, and on Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00. It closes on Mondays, on 1 and 6 January, on the afternoon of 5 January, on 1 May, on 29 July and on 24, 25 and 31 December.

Admission costs €3; the reduced rate, €1.50, is for groups, students, large families and single-parent families. It is free on Sundays, on 18 May and for under-18s, students aged 18 to 25, over-65s and pensioners, teachers, unemployed people and people with disabilities with their companion, on showing proof. The annual pass costs €5 and includes two guided or dramatised visits.

Visits and families

Guided visits are booked on 609 771 110 or at [email protected]; some are currently temporarily out of service. For children, the Vilakids programme runs workshops by age (628 993 175). For general questions, 966 508 355 or [email protected].

On leaving, Calle Colón leads to the Tourist Info and the Mercat de La Vila, and the old town and the colourful houses are a walk away, with Playa Centro below.