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The City Council of Almería is confident that the comprehensive renovation and museumisation works on the city’s historic Civil War shelters will be completed in time for a summer 2026 reopening. The underground network of corridors and galleries, which spans several miles beneath the (also recently renovated) Paseo de Almería boulevard and the historic city centre, has been closed for the past year.

 

Municipal sources have stated that the restoration work, which began last summer, is progressing as planned and is expected to wrap up by the middle of this year. The initial phase has focused on a thorough cleaning of the galleries, structural consolidation and repairs to address damp and oxidation issues that had led to an “advanced state of deterioration” in the shelters.

 

The forced closure has provided an opportunity for the city to rethink the visitor experience, with plans to introduce new audio and video guides, as well as a virtual reality system that will immerse guests in a recreation of the wartime conditions. Visitors will be able to interact in real-time from a first-person perspective, experiencing the atmosphere and events that took place within the shelters during the Spanish Civil War.

 

 

The initiative is part of the Andalucía Major Cities Tourism Plan, and will feature 360-degree video and photo content, graphics and other interactive elements. Costumed characters, period tools and materials, and tailored sound effects will further enhance the sensory experience for guests.

 

“The aim of these systems is to recreate, through sensorial immersion in the war scenario of the time, what will turn the user into an active agent capable of interacting in real time from a first-person perspective,” the city’s Tourism Department stated. “Visitors will thus be able to experience the events that took place during the Civil War and how people lived inside the shelters.”

 

The city is currently in the process of acquiring the necessary virtual reality equipment and developing the multimedia content that will be featured in the revamped Civil War shelter attraction. Parallel efforts are also underway to reinforce the site’s emergency access, ventilation and communications systems.

 

With the renovation works on track for completion by the middle of 2026, Almería’s residents and visitors can look forward to exploring this unique historical site through an immersive, cutting-edge experience this summer.

 

 

Image: Ayuntamiento de Almería