May 18 Night of the Museums Cartagena 2024

Over 200 free visits, tours, concerts, workshops, activities and much more on one of the most popular nights of the year in Cartagena

In recent years the Night of the Museums has become one of the most popular dates in the calendar in the historic city of Cartagena, and as the city has emerged from the pandemic over the last couple of years the event has gone from strength to strength. On May 18 this year a huge turn-out is once again expected at the more than 200 free events and tours which are being held not only during the evening but also throughout the weekend.

Many of the numerous museums in Cartagena will be open until 1.00 in the morning, and there are a host of activities, workshops, live music events and other entertainments scheduled throughout the evening.

The sheer scale of the programme makes translating it an unfeasibly lengthy job (and unfortunately the Town Hall website contains the information only in Spanish: the programme for the evening can be found here), but the following is a list of the main venues. The recommendation is to pick up a map and leaflet once in Cartagena for further orientation! The tourist office should be open on the corner of the Palacio Consistorial and there are likely to be other information points where leaflets and maps can be collected.

Apart from the museums and exhibition spaces in the city centre, other offers include a historical/gastronomic tour of Cartagena, and ethnographic route in Galifa and El Portús, visits to the Basílica de la Caridad and various tours of the windmills in the Campo de Cartagena, the lighthouse of Cabo de Palos, the old mine of Las Matildas in Llano del Beal, teh Cueva Victoria, a paleaological tour...

In total there are over 1,000 places available on numerous guided tours and routes as well as a host of exhibitions, concerts, glass-blowing demonstrations… the list goes on and on!

The full list of guided tours can be found here and bookings can be made here from 8th May onwards.

When Cartagena held its first Night of the Museums in 2009 only five establishments took part, there are now 21, wtih the following special opening hours:

Museo Arqueológico Municipal Enrique Escudero de Castro: 10.00 to 14.00 and 19.00 to 1.00

Museo de Arte Moderno Muram (Muram) y Palacio de Aguirre: 11.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 1.00

Museo del Teatro Romano: 10.00 to 1.00

Museo Histórico Militar de Cartagena: 09.00 to 13.30 and 19.00 to 1.00

Archivo Municipal: 19.00 to 1.00

Museo Carmen Conde y Antonio Oliver: 10.30 to 13.30

Museo Nacional de Arqueología Subacuática (ARQUA): 9.30 to 1.00

Museo Naval and Sala Isaac Peral: 10.00 to 14.00 and 19.00 to 1.00

Centro de Interpretación Muralla Púnica: 10.00 to 1.00

Civil War Air Raid Shelter Museum: 10.00 to 1.00

Castillo de la Concepción: 10.00 to 1.00

Casa de la Fortuna: 10.00 to 15.00

Augusteum: 10.00 to 15.00

Fuerte de Navidad: 11.00 to 17.30

Museo del Foro Romano Molinete: 10.00 to 1.00

Museo de la Ingeniería, Tecnología e Industria: 11.30 to 13.30 and 17.30 to 1.00

Museo del Agua y la Energía in the UPCT: 11.00 to 14.00 and 19.00 to 00.00

Museo del Vidrio. MUVI: 19.00 to 00.00

Museo Etnográfico de los Puertos de Santa Bárbara: 10.00 to 14.00

Museo Teatro Apolo del Algar: 11.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 19.00

Museo Fundación Boyer Tresaco: 11.00 to 14.00 and 17.30 to 22.00

Fundación Museo Taurino Manolo Juárez: 10.00 to 1.00

Other places of interest include the headquarters of the Cofradía California, the Cofradía Marraja and the Cofradía Resucitado, the Asociación Canónica Cristo de la Divina Misericordia, the Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País, the Asociación Cristo de la Misericordia, the Casino, Casa Dorda, the Museo Taurino, the Museo Fundación Boyer Tressaco, the Casa del Folklore in La Palma, the Fundación CAM, the former CIM buidling and the Centro Cultural Ramón Alonso Luzzy.

Hotel accommodation

So popular has the Night of the museums become that various of the hotels in Cartagena are offering a 10 per cent reduction in room prices for those who book directly with the hotels for the nights of Friday 17th and Saturday 18th May. The package also includes a guided tour of the Palacio Consistorial on Sunday 19th: just mention the "Noche de los Museos" when booking!

The hotels taking part are Los Habaneros, Hotel Manolo, Posadas de España, Cartagena Puerto, NH Campo Cartagena, Sercotel Alfonso XIII, Sercotel Carlos III and LoopInn Hostel.

Special bus services

Buses will be running every 15 minutes from 19.00 to midnight on Saturday 18th May on a circular route from the Museo Arqueológico Municipal hasta to the Museo del Vidrio, stopping at the El Corte Inglés roundabout, the Museo Arqueológico, Plaza Héroes de Cavite, Santa Lucía. the Museo del Vidrio and Puertas de San José.

In addition, urban lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are running until 1.30 in the morning.

A 1-euro ticket will be valid throughout the evening.