The building was the Lonja, built in the 16th century so that merchants would stop doing business in the cathedral. In the 18th century it became the repository for the records of Spain's American empire, which is what it still is.
⭐ It is free, it is rarely busy, and the staircase and upper gallery alone justify walking in. The displayed documents rotate.
⚠️ Most of the holdings are not on show and are not meant to be — this is a working archive used by researchers. Come for the building and take the exhibition as a bonus.
Our tip
It is thirty seconds from the cathedral and it costs nothing. There is no reason to skip it.
Archivo de Indias, photographed
