Conjunto Arqueológico de Baelo Claudia
Hispano-Roman city on the Bolonia cove, famous for its salting factories, with a site museum and a preserved theatre.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Baelo Claudia was a Roman city located in the Bolonia cove, in what is now the Strait Natural Park. It emerged at the end of the 2nd century BC on the site of an earlier settlement and grew as a trading port with North Africa. Its wealth came from fishing, fish salting and the production of garum, and the emperor Claudius granted it the status of a municipium.
It reached its height between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. A tsunami, raids from North Africa and the crisis of the 3rd century brought about its decline, and it was abandoned around the 7th century. Among the visible remains are the theatre, which could hold some 2,000 people, the forum, the basilica, the temples, the salting factories and the aqueducts. The recovery of the site began with the excavations of Jorge Bonsor around 1917–1921, and it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1992.
The reception building, by Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra, opened in 2007. It houses the museum, with two permanent rooms and one for temporary exhibitions, as well as restoration workshops, storerooms, a library specialising in the Roman world and a lecture hall.
Highlights
- Roman theatre for some 2,000 people
- Forum, basilica and temples
- Salting factories and garum production
- City model and a Roman copy of Polykleitos’s Doryphoros in the museum
- Beach setting on the Bolonia cove
Permanent exhibition
- Museo del Conjunto Arqueológico de Baelo Claudia – Two permanent rooms: one with a model of the city and panels on Hispania, and another on religion, urban planning, the economy and the thermal spaces, with a Roman copy of Polykleitos’s Doryphoros.
- Founded
- 2007
- Operated by
- Junta de Andalucía – Consejería de Cultura y Deporte
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €1.50 |
|---|---|
| Groups (10+ people) | –Advance booking is compulsory for non-family groups of 10 or more people; no guided tours are run for groups. |
Free admission for accredited citizens of the European Union; €1.50 for visitors from other countries.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The visitor car park has two spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility. The website does not give details of accessibility along the route. Access with pets is not permitted.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
Car park exclusively for visitors, with capacity for 70 cars and 7 coaches. During the reception works, access is via the south car park.
- Accessible parking
By car, via the N-340 (Cádiz–Málaga): at kilometre marker 70.2 take the provincial road CA-P-8202 towards Bolonia and El Lentiscal; the site is less than 8 km from that junction.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
Shop in the reception building and a picnic area with benches and tables for 50 people, the only place where eating is allowed; within the site only drinking water is permitted.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | no |
|---|---|
| Good to know | No guided tours are run for groups. The museum has a lecture hall for 70 people and a specialist library, open without appointment from 10:30 to 14:30, Tuesday to Friday (currently closed due to the works). |
