If you have any interest in muzzle loading and early breech loading cannon, then this place is a must. Into this mix add a few early machine guns, pistols revolvers and rifles as well as some interesting rifles. The section displaying the involvement of Portuguese soldiers in WWI is interesting and I suspect largely unknown to most native English speakers. There are also uniforms, suits of armour and a sprinkling of armes blanche. All of this is housed in a building that is architecturally and aesthetically impressive. No queue and ony 3 euros.

We had a little waiting time to kill before taking the night train from Sta Apolónia train station to Madrid and decided to take a look.

OMG This place is “the bomb” - Literally. It goes on forever. Incredible building and amazing collection.

The collection began in 1842. I’ve never seen so many weapons from cannons (the largest collection in the world), to swords, bayonets, pistols, helmets & hats. Baroque rooms. FANTASTIC original paintings. It was simply incredible.

Specimens from around the world.

Oh. And the entrance fee was €1. Please go. You won’t regret it.

This place is a hidden gem, full of very rare armour, uniforms, guns, cannons, etc. It has a very old world museum look and feel about it, but in some ways this just adds to the aura of the place. I could not believe how rare many of the items are in this collection, or that I'd never heard about it before.
There is very rare armour dating back hundreds of years, plus an excellent Napoleonic section with very rare uniforms of the Portuguese troops and other armies. Well worth a visit if you are interested in military history, as it's quiet and well laid out.