Badalona Museum

The Badalona Museum, established in 1966, preserves and exhibits artifacts from the ancient Roman city of Baetulo, including public baths, sculptures, and other archaeological finds.

Planning your visit

Baetulo was a Roman city founded around 100 BC on the Catalan coast, and modern Badalona sits directly on top of it. The museum's distinguishing feature is that it is built over the excavation: visitors descend beneath the modern building to walk through the remains in situ — streets, the public baths with their hypocaust heating, shops, a section of sewer and the foundations of houses.

That underground route is considerably more affecting than a display of objects would be, because the urban plan is legible: you follow a Roman street between Roman buildings.

The collection above covers the finds — sculpture including the Venus of Badalona, ceramics, glass, coins, mosaics and the famous Tabula Hospitalis, a bronze document recording a formal friendship pact.

Badalona is a short train ride up the coast from Barcelona, with a beach and boardwalk.

Bookable options include tours from Barcelona combining the Roman museum with the beach promenade. Current availability is shown below.