Salamanca's culture runs deeper than its sandstone façades: a Casa Lis full of Art Nouveau glass, a Dominican convent hung with Riberas, two working theatres from 1842 and 1913, and a Film Archive holding Spain's confiscated memory.
A 1905 modernista mansion whose south wall is a wall of coloured glass, holding 19 collections: Lalique jewellery, Fabergé enamels, 400 French porcelain dolls and Loetz iridescent vases. Open 11:00–20:00 Tue–Sun; entry €5, free Thursday 11:00–14:00.
The provincial fine-arts museum in a 1496 late-Gothic house with a carved patio. Holds Juan de Flandes panels, Luis de Morales devotional works and the wooden Saint John the Baptist attributed to the Salamanca school. Tue–Sat 10:00–14:00 and 17:00–20:00.
Dominican convent whose 30-metre Plateresque façade functions as a stone retable of the stoning of Saint Stephen. Inside: José de Ribera's 1692 Churriguera altarpiece in gilded wood and the Claustro de los Reyes with its Gothic-Renaissance galleries. 10:00–14:00, 16:00–19:00.
A 1512 late-Gothic church built by Archbishop Fonseca, holding his alabaster tomb carved by Diego de Siloé and a coffered Mudéjar ceiling. The small museum keeps panel paintings by Juan de Borgoña. Open 11:00–13:00 and 16:30–18:30, closed Mondays.
Regional film archive in the Palacio del Licenciado Butrón conserving over 25,000 reels, amateur Super-8 of rural Castile and nitrate restorations. Free screenings and exhibitions in the ground-floor hall; archive open Mon–Fri 09:00–14:00.
Built inside the shell of the 1783 San Antonio convent and opened as a theatre in 1842, restored in 2002 with a horseshoe auditorium of 700 seats. Salamanca's main venue for chamber opera, flamenco and the autumn zarzuela season; box office opens at noon.
Riverside museum in a converted 1900s hydroelectric works with 130 vehicles staged as design history: a 1898 Peugeot, Art Déco Hispano-Suizas and coachbuilt Pegasos, plus period poster and radiator-mascot collections. Tue–Sun 10:00–14:00, 17:00–20:00.
The university's 1913 theatre, named after the Salamanca-trained playwright who founded Spanish secular drama around 1496. Programmes student companies, contemporary dance and the Aula de Teatro season; tickets from €6 and often free for a first night.
Housed in the 18th-century Colegio de San Ambrosio, this national archive holds the papers seized by Franco's forces: masonic files, union records and 3 million personal dossiers. Free reading room and permanent exhibition, Mon–Fri 09:00–14:30.
An open-air gallery of over 200 murals painted on shutters and blank gables since 2013 by the Zoes neighbourhood association, refreshed each spring during the Galería Urbana festival. Shutters are only visible on Sundays when shops close.
A 1521 Renaissance college by Diego de Siloé and Alonso de Covarrubias with a two-storey patio of Carrara medallions and a chapel altarpiece by Alonso Berruguete. Now a university residence; the courtyard opens to visitors 10:00–14:00, 16:00–19:00.
DA2, Salamanca's contemporary art centre in a converted 1930 provincial prison, shows video, installation and photography from the city's 2002 Capital of Culture collection. Free entry, Tue–Fri 12:00–14:00 and 17:00–20:00; weekends from noon.