Archivo General de Indias

Why go

The Archivo General de Indias was founded in 1785 at the wish of King Carlos III to bring together in one place the documents on the Indies, according to the Ministry of Culture's history page, which says its building, the Casa Lonja, built under Felipe II to plans by Juan de Herrera, still houses it. The ministry's page on the building says work on the merchants' exchange began in 1583 and lasted until 1646, that it was chosen in 1781 as the archive's seat, and that a remodelling fitted the upper outer galleries for temporary exhibitions on a visitors' route through the whole building. The archive's visits page says the tourist visit gives access to the monumental area, needs no prior booking, limits groups to 25 people, and may be restricted for capacity. This record is the archive as visited in the Casa Lonja; the building has its own Wikidata item, and the archive also uses a second building, La Cilla. According to Seville Cathedral's site, UNESCO inscribed the archive with the cathedral and the Real Alcázar as one World Heritage property in 1987.