Gibraltar National Museum

About the museum

The museum opened on 23 July 1930 on the initiative of Governor Sir Alexander Godley. It had a forerunner in the 1830s, when the Gibraltar Scientific Society set up a small collection; that museum faded in the 1850s and the town had none for some decades afterwards. A museum ordinance passed in 1931 gave legal protection to monuments and regulated the export of archaeological finds.

The collection is housed in Bomb House, once the residence of the Principal Ordnance Officer, in a part of the old town with one of the longest built histories in Gibraltar. In the cellar lies a Moorish bath house from the 14th century, built under the Merinid dynasty and counted among the best-preserved of its kind in Europe. Excavations in the garden, begun in 1996, uncovered the remains of an Almohad-period house.

During the Second World War the museum's activities were suspended and the building was used as a food store. Over the following decades it grew from a one-person institution into a team of trained curators and researchers, and it now fills the whole building. It was renamed Gibraltar National Museum under the Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018. A second site, the Natural History Museum at Parson's Lodge Battery, opened in 2023.

Highlights

• 14th-century Moorish bath house in the cellar
• Galleries on Gibraltar's history from prehistory to the modern era
• Garden excavations with Almohad remains
• Neanderthal finds and the Gorham's Cave Complex World Heritage Site
• Natural History Museum at Parson's Lodge included in the ticket

Permanent exhibitions

• Moorish Baths – A 14th-century bath house in the cellar, built in the Islamic period and preserved with its vaulted rooms.
• Gibraltar history galleries – Galleries tracing Gibraltar's story from prehistory and the Neanderthals through the Islamic, Spanish and British periods.

Founded

1930

Operated by

Government of Gibraltar, Heritage Department

Admission & discounts

The ticket covers all galleries, the Moorish Baths, the garden excavations, special exhibitions, the bookshop and the Natural History Museum at Parson's Lodge. Holders of a Gibraltar ID card enter free.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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

Part of the ground floor and the garden are accessible by wheelchair. The first-floor galleries, the toilets and the Moorish Baths in the basement can only be reached by stairs. There is no lift. The Natural History Museum at Parson's Lodge has many steps and no wheelchair access.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

School groups can join hands-on tours and workshops on human evolution, Neanderthals, natural history and experimental archaeology; worksheets, books and tool kits are available for teachers. Children under 12 pay half price.

Getting there & parking

The museum is off Main Street on Bomb House Lane, past the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned and next to the Bristol Hotel. From the frontier, cross the airport runway by footbridge and follow the signs to the city centre; the walk takes about 10 minutes from there.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop and gift shop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit