Museo Taurino de València

Beside the historic bullring in the Eixample district, a step from the North Station, is the Bullfighting Museum of València, one of the oldest bullfighting museums in the world. The provincial council runs it, gathering almost a century of Valencian bullfighting heritage in a tour that appeals to aficionados and to anyone who simply wants to understand this chapter of the city's popular culture.

History and collection

The museum was founded in 1929 from the legacy of Luis Moróder Peiró, a great enthusiast of the early 20th century, and the private collection of bullfighter José Bayard Badila. It has since been renewed and expanded to hold some 2,500 objects from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, with special focus on Valencian bullfighting.

What to see

• Original trajes de luces (suits of lights), capes and muletas of great bullfighting figures.
• Vintage posters, photographs, sculptures and paintings that trace the spectacle's evolution.
• Mounted bull heads and ritual objects that explain the liturgy of the event.
• Themed rooms on the breeding of fighting bulls, the bullfighter's training and València's own ring.

Practical tips

Museum admission usually includes access to the arena floor and the stands of the bullring (when there is no event or set-up), something few visitors know. It sits close to the centre, so it's easy to combine with a stroll through the nearby Mercado de Colón or a visit to La Lonja de la Seda. Check current opening times and price before you go, since it closes on event days.

Insider tip

Curiosity: the bullring on Calle Xàtiva, built around 1850, is a Roman-inspired neoclassical building, a brick coliseum with 384 arches, and stepping onto its empty sand floor in silence is more striking than seeing it full. The museum opens that door normally closed to the public. To keep discovering the area's monumental heritage, our guide to things to do in València or the index of city places is a good next stop.