During the Spanish Civil War, which took place from 1936 to 1939, dozens of air-raid shelters were built so that the population could be protected from the bombings carried out by German and Italian aircraft to try to subdue the enemy camp. Alicante suffered more than 70 bombings in this period. The Museum of the Plaza Seneca, is a shelter from that time preserved and in which you can make guided tours at an affordable price. Find out about the conditions and do not forget to visit it.

The old Almadraba warehouse building, once completed its rehabilitation as a Service Building, is the space that houses the Nueva Tabarca Museum since its inauguration in May 2004. For this purpose, a new distribution of the rooms of the same was carried out, keeping the original floor, with the aim of being able to accommodate the two large spaces that initially comprise this museum project: the Audiovisual Room and the Showroom. Witness and symbol of the intense relations between man and the sea that have occurred on the island throughout the ages, the Almadraba de Tabarca was for many years the main economic engine for the island inhabitants, mainly thanks to the fishing of the tuna. Nowadays, this building, directly related to this important fishing activity, has become a physical space from where it contributes to know the remarkable Tabarquino heritage, both natural and cultural, and by extension, the people who have had in the Its main ally to survive. Schedule: Wednesday to Sunday, both inclusive, adapted to the schedule of the Santa Pola-Tabarca line boats (in the mornings from 10.45am). Starting at 11:30 am, during summer time, adapted to the schedule of the Alicante-Tabarca line boats). Group visits: prior telephone request; also by e-mail: conserjeria.museotabarca@alicante.es

At the beginning of the 40s, the town hall of Alcoy rehabilitated the building to be used for cultural purposes. On 18-7-1945 the museum was inaugurated under the name of Museum of Art and Public Library. Later, in 1958, it would be renamed Municipal Archaeological Museum "Camilo Visedo Moltó", in memory of its creator. In recent years the building has undergone a complete interior rehabilitation, as well as a notorious expansion (1985-1990). On the ground floor there is a changing exhibition room (90 m2), designed to show the latest research and findings. The current permanent museographic exhibition (192 m2) presents a selection of archaeological materials arranged thematically and chronologically. A specialized library is also open to the public. The museum has warehouses, a restoration laboratory, a drawing cabinet and an administration area.

This collection features the toy production in Dénia from the early 20th Century to the 60’s Decade. It is located in the former Dénia-Carcaixent train station on the first floor. This building houses the “L’Estació” Art Centre in the ground floor and the Toy Museum is on the first floor. HISTORICAL INTEREST The first toy industry, founded in Dénia in 1904, was exclusively dedicated to lithographed tin toys with German imported machinery and models. Ten years later, a wooden toy factory was founded with lathing, varnishing, and shiny finishes decorated with metal adornments. During the 1920’s decade, leaving the development of metal toys, the production of wooden toys gradually characterized the typical toys made in Dénia. The most popular toy in the 50’s decade was the wooden toy par excellence. Despite the restructured production of the tricycle, bicycle, pedal cars and scooters which date back to the early decades of the 20th century and in spite of the luxurious manufacture of pedal cars, airplanes, and metal carriages, the wood toys with their bright colours made the most emblematic impression which achieved noteworthy levels of popularity during those years. The favourite toy models amoung children were the sailboats, the horse or mule drawn carriages, lorries, etc. The wood kitchen stoves, the bowling pins, the hoop games or the Cowboy and Indian forts clearly illustrated the richness and the diversity of the wood toys made in Dénia.

Not being in Elche in August or in late October and early November in even years, is no reason not to experience the intensity of the Mystery Play. La Festa Municipal Museum came into being in 1997 with the idea of capturing in space and time part of the magic surrounding the Mystery Play, or Festa d’Elx, and so that those visiting the city outside the period of performances, and who could not witness it live in the Basilica of Santa María, could still find out all about it. There are two chambers. In the first one, known as Casa de la Festa, seat of the Mystery Play governing body and rehearsal site for its singers, displays relating to the staging are on show, such as old posters, instruments, singers costumes and a model of the Basilica. Special Effects But the real attraction of museum is in the second chamber, which is situated in the nave of the Hermitage of San Sebastian. It is the last vestige of the Catalan Gothic architecture of the 15th century still preserved in the city, and it served as a rehearsal place for the local Capella until the opening of the Casa de la Festa in 1988. Inside this chamber, with the aid of new technologies, the history and emotions that surround this extraordinary performance may be relived. There is a half-hour audiovisual show, conducted by one of the characters of the Mystery Play, the apostle San Jaime (Santiago), accompanied by special effects which are impressive. Books and Souvenirs The museum has a small shop where souvenirs relating to the iconography of the Mystery Play and of the Virgin of the Assumption may be purchased. Also on sale are books, CDs and DVDs of La Festa. The upper floor is used as an archive and research centre. Next to the museum, in the Casa de la Festa, which still retains part of the facade of the former Charity hospital from the XVI and XVII centuries, the tickets for the General rehearsals carried out on 11th, 12th and 13th August, and in even years, on 29th and 30th October, may be purchased.

The exciting history of Elche, from its origins to the present day, is presented in an enjoyable and interactive way at the Alejandro Ramos Folqués Archaeological and History Museum of Elche (MAHE). The restored building, inaugurated in 2006, endows the city with a first class cultural asset, and definitively enhances the value of the rich archaeological and historical heritage of Elche. Audiovisual shows, touch screens and panels facilitate the visitor´s understanding of the artefacts on display. Its ethos follows, with scrupulous respect, the path of the work undertaken over more than 40 years by the Alejandro Ramos Folqués Municipal Archaeological Museum. Both the man himself and centre have acquired an outstanding reputation throughout the world of Spanish archaeological research. The Whole Stronghold Since 1982 the museum had occupied the restored buildings of an old textile factory in the eastern wing of the Alcazar de la Señoría, or Palace of Altamira. The new MAHE project has made use not only of the whole stronghold, but also the first level of an underground car park built in the Traspalacio area. Antiquities In the Traspalacio, with its newly constructed floor, there is a well-nurtured collection of marvellous antiquities. Its six halls range from the Neolithic (around 4,000 B.C.) to Late Antiquity, the great protagonist being the Iberian cultural legacy with noteworthy works such as the pillar-stele, sculptures of bulls and Sphinxes and painted ceramics, all of them being some of the best examples of this culture found in Spain. There are also reproductions of burial sites and homes of this era (III to VI B.C.) From this floor a stretch of the medieval wall and the remnants of one of its towers may be seen, as well as part of a XVII century aqueduct which provided water to the city by means of a branch from the main water channel. The Alcazar de la Señoría The second area is the exhibition area in the Alcazar de la Señoría, incorporated as an additional part of the museum, and which could not be visited in its entirety until the opening of the MAHE. The excavations carried during its restoration in 2005 made it possible to expose part of the old Islamic road to the city, with a large monumental gate which provided access from the banks of the river. By crossing the parade ground the two floors of the East wing are reached. Here the historical museum and a technological exhibition with selected artefacts dating from the XIII century to the present day, are housed, with explanatory panels and visual displays. The lower hall covers the period from the Christian Conquest (1265) to the XVII century and it highlights the boundary crossings of the roads to Orihuela (XIIII century) and Alicante ( XV century). The upper floor covers the last three centuries of local history, whilst a glass walled room in the western wing is dedicated to exhibitions. The Keep The imposing Keep tower, which presides over the stronghold, was the home of the Lady of Elche during her temporary six-month stay in 2006. Whilst the people of Elche await her return, her place is occupied by an exact replica of the famous Iberian bust, ceded by the Archaeological Museum of Alicante (MARQ). The parade ground of the Palace of Altamira is used on a regular basis to host cultural and social events.

The middle of the Raval neighbourhood, one of the areas with most character in the city, is the Contemporary Art Museum. Inaugurated in 1980, it turned the project of a local painters´ cooperative group, the Grup d’Elx, and an idea which was first conceived at the end of the 1960s, into a reality. It is located in the building, restored and with two floors added, which housed the City Council of the former Raval de Morería. A Baroque construction of mid-17th century origins with a colonnaded area and a fish market at its western point, under which passes the Calle Mayor of this place of mediaeval origins. Valuable Collection Through the dream of the Grup d’Elx a valuable collection took shape, deeply rooted in the historic and artistic developments of the past sixty years. The great cohesion of the collection, as well as the solidarity and special circumstances associated with its formation, mean that it constitutes an exemplary museum. It has gained widespread recognition within the network of museums and permanent museum collections of the Autonomous Valencian Region. Emblematic and representative figures from the vanguard of Valencian and Spanish art, such as Arcadi Blasco, Juana Francés, Salvador Soria, Toni Miró, Equipo Crónica, Viola, Genovés and Amalia Avia, among others, make up the central body of artists represented in this collection of valuable cultural heritage. It includes the works of many of those who promoted the modernising of Spanish art between the 1940s and 60s of the last century, and who have emerged since the 1980s and up to the present day. Exhibition Centre The museum organizes temporary exhibitions, which are displayed in the nearby Municipal Exhibition Centre, Plaza de San Juan, in front of the church of the same name, alongside exhibitions which are organised by the City Council. In front of this modern building of three floors, there is a sculpture of the painter Sixto Marco, one of the founders of the Grup d’Elx and the museum itself. A charismatic figure, much loved in the city, he died in 2002.

Marine reptiles, replicas of dinosaurs, remains of mammoths… A fascinating world where we transported to the Paleaozoic era by means of audiovisual shows and workshops. All this and much more awaits the visitor to the Paleontological Museum of Elche (MUPE), inaugurated in 2004 in the traditional neighbourhood of the Raval. The more than 1,200 fossil and models displayed within its halls provide a complete tour of the exciting history of life on our planet. It is made up of two floors. The lower floor is devoted to palaeontology in general, whilst the upper floor provides an profound insight into the geological history of the province of Alicante and its neighbouring areas. T-Rex The entrance hall to the MUPE hosts a reconstruction of the study of Pedro Ibarra, archivist, librarian and archaeologist of the early XX century and a pioneer in the area of archaeological and palaeontological research in the city. From this commencement, our journey through time begins with an audiovisual show about the origins of the universe and the appearance of the first forms of life on Earth. Three halls recall, in order of antiquity, the three periods, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic, through the fauna and flora which existed in each era. Amongst the fossils which are on display, some of the highlights are the exceptional examples of trilobites, ammonites and a mosasaurio, a marine reptile. There are also replicas of dinosaurs, a skull of a T-Rex and model of a Spinophorosaurus nigerensis, a new kind of dinosaur from Niger, whose origins were determined by the team of palaeontologists at the MUPE. Remains of Mammoths The palaeontological wealth of the province of Alicante may be truly experienced through the displays on the upper floor, with examples of discoveries from Elche, Crevillent, Guardamar and Aspe, as well as from nearby areas, such as Morella and Ribesalbes (Castellón), Las Hoyas (Cuenca) and Quibas (Murcia), amongst others. Amongst the stars of the MUPE, which is full of very interesting exhibits, some outstanding highlights are the original dinosaurs remains from Morella, impressive mammoth remains from Crevillent and fish in an exceptional state of conservation, which reflect one of the most important geological events in the history of the Mediterranean: its drying up. Unique in Alicante In addition, the visitor may enjoy an area of temporary exhibitions, home at the moment to a display of minerals. The MUPE is the only paleontological museum in the province of Alicante. In addition to treasuring part of the province´s rich heritage, it carries out research, conservation and educational activities.

Type of Event: Activities for children ACTIVITIES: Museum: Saturdays from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Second Sunday of the month, from November to April and from 10:30 to 13:30. Free entrance. FCAT VV (Ferrocarril Alicante-Torrellano live steam, 1/8 scale trains manned). Maquetismo Train service: Saturdays from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. Donation to travel on trains: 1.50 euros. Train service with steam traction "Alicante - Torrellano Vapor Vivo (FCAT VV)": The "Ferrocarril Alicante Torrellano vapor vivo" is one of the activities carried out by the Associació Alacantina d'Amics del Ferrocarril. Within the railway hobby, one of the most interesting aspects is that of railway model. Among the multiple scales and trends, the most striking for its possibility of public use is the so-called manned live steam (steam-live or live-steam they call most European fans). The dimensions, its facilities to the outside, the circulation of locomotives with steam traction, the use of mineral coal as fuel and the possibility of converting the amateur into authentic machinist are the characteristics of these small scale railroads, which have more and more adepts . Days of operation of trains with steam traction: Second Saturday of the month, from May to October, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Second Sunday of the month, from November to April, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Donation to travel on trains: 1.50 euros. Special days for groups, associations, groups, previous concerted visit. Schools: School days previous concerted visit.

It exhibits a selection of objects that are a reflection of the roots of Torrevieja. It is the most important museum in the city, mainly ethnological, where you will know the origins of the city and its history. Opened in February 1995 in its current provisional headquarters, it exhibits a selection of objects that are a reflection of the roots of Torrevieja as, a sample of saltworks crafts, collection of vintage photographs, scale models of ships, archaeological material, fishing elements and navigation and others. Recently highlights the exhibition of a magnificent model and diorama Torrevejense sailboat "Pascual Flores", the last boat in life of the ancient Torrevieja cabotage sailors, which is being rehabilitated in the Salt Quay and has been acquired in the United Kingdom by the City Council of Torrevieja. But without a doubt, one of the most unique attractions of this museum, is that you can visit the submarine Dolphin S-61, ceded by the Ministry of Defense of Spain to the City of Torrevieja, constituting an unprecedented fact. The ship can be visited in the port, in the area of ​​the fishing pier. Inside you can visit all the facilities of the boat, receiving both national and foreign visits, as it is the only ship of these characteristics that can be visited in Spain. It represents a milestone as an extension of the Museum of the Sea and Salt of Torrevieja. Address: Calle Patricio Perez, 10 bajo Schedule: Monday and Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 10 am to 2 pm and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm Sundays: from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Price: Free admission Telephone: call from Torrevieja.com at 966704643