Museo del Ámbar image

Museo del Ámbar

Tourist attraction Jewelry store Museum Event venue

One of the Most Revieweds in San Cristobal de Las Casas


Address

La Merced, Calle Diego de Mazariegos S/N, Barrio de la Merced, 29240 San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chis., Mexico

Website

museodelambardechiapas.org.mx

Contact

+52 967 678 9716

Rating on Google Maps

4.50 (2.9K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Saturday: 10 AM to 2 PM, 4 to 8 PM
  • Sunday: 10 AM to 2 PM, 4 to 8 PM
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: 10 AM to 2 PM, 4 to 8 PM
  • Wednesday: 10 AM to 2 PM, 4 to 8 PM
  • Thursday: 10 AM to 2 PM, 4 to 8 PM
  • Friday: 10 AM to 2 PM, 4 to 8 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: amber (32) museum (22) pieces (18) small (18) interesting (14) mbar (12) building (10) Amber (10) Nice (9) good (9)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Eddy Della F. 2 years ago on Google • 192 reviews
    A Must-Visit in San Cristobal. This museum is in a historical building convent. It keeps the most Amazing unique Amber collection with pride and care. If you are curious to see (or purchase) this million-years old rock this is a great place. We have visit the workshop and discussed with the artists that worked on the pieces and its director and curator. It was a great and authentic experience. We highly recommend you visit this place.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Carlos R. 2 years ago on Google • 558 reviews
    Nice, compact museum dedicated to Amber. Most of the focus is Chiapas. They also discuss the global history and use of amber. The building is historic which used to be a convent then later a prison. Fee is inexpensive, less than 2 USD. Allow at least an hour or 1.5 hours. Nice shop which includes certificate of authenticity. Staff is attentive, knowledgeable and helpful. Learn here before buying on the street or in the market. Spend a few minutes watching the videos at the end of the exhibit.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Eli D. 10 months ago on Google • 47 reviews
    The Museum is very nice For a reasonable ~50 MEX pesos you can have a look at tons of beautiful pieces of amber, including fossils and intricate sculptures, there is a english brochure that they give you ( if you ask) and that helps for non-spanish speakers.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Francie S. 1 year ago on Google
    A sweet, interesting, small museum in a beautifully restored building. I easily walked here on my own one day in San Cris and learned everything about Amber that I never knew! Would recommend. Fun and interesting.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 P. P. 1 year ago on Google
    Small but cute museum. Worth visiting and inexpensive. Lots of ambar in all forms and shapes. Very informative videos. There is a very friendly cat which loves to be cuddled. There is a good ambar shop with plenty of types and shapes.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Lupita Z. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Excellent attention (Original) Excelente atención
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Hilary L. Chow F. 1 year ago on Google
    It has a break during the day so it wasn't open when I was there. But it's a nice building
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Natalia V. 3 years ago on Google
    Sorry for the low score,but Unfortunately it was nothing special to me. I'm from Lithuania originally, Baltic sea,where really a lot of amber is.So if I compare the huge Amber museum in Palanga with this in San Cristobal,is very small,not a lot of exponats,it took me 10 min to visit it all.But for somebody who never seen it, may be interesting:)
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Benjamin S. 4 years ago on Google
    Cool video that shows the polishing process, but the guy makes a football. An American football, out of Ambar. Yeah. Would've loved to see a scorpion, an eye, heck, ANYTHING but a football. But yeah, the other stuff is rad too.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Dmitry S. 2 months ago on Google • 171 reviews New
    A small museum of amber. Interesting exposition and a few short films about amber extraction and processing. Everything is in Spanish, but they do provide a short booklet with explanation in different languages including English. Also you can check history and architecture of former convent and army barracks.

  • 3/5 Toby S. 7 months ago on Google • 119 reviews
    I love museums but this was a bit underwhelming given the quality of other local museums, and this is the most expensive to enter. Beautiful building. A single room museum. Nice pieces on display and a quality shop. Video playing spent 10 minutes on how to tell fake Amber. Felt like I was being scared into visiting the shop.

  • 5/5 Vanessa A. 3 months ago on Google • 23 reviews New
    I can't spend hours and hours in museums, especially when I have my teenage children with me, so this one was perfect: only $50 pesos to enter, and it has one large room with plenty of amber on display (see photos in other reviews) and enough information to tell the story of amber, from it's composition and formation, to mining and uses. It's definitely not overwhelming, but informative enough to know a bit more about amber. The videos were not working when we went through. The shop was very extensive as well, and didn't seem expensive. They also provide a certificate of authenticity with each piece we purchased. I love that they are restoring ex convents and housing museums in them. This ex-convent is being restored by a civil association and depends on donations and the entry fees of the amber museum to continue their efforts. But it's also cool to see the one finished side and the unfinished side opposite.

  • 5/5 Ryan D. 1 year ago on Google • 17 reviews
    This place was amazing! My girlfriend and I love visiting museums in every Latin American country, this one did not disappoint! Only wish that it was longer//expanded but for what it is there are some amazing pieces in there. It really takes you back in time given they have a multi million year old pieces of amber there. Truly cool Stuff. You’ll spend maybe 1 hour to 90 mins there. I believe it’s 40 pesos per adult. Enjoy!

  • 5/5 Hanevy W. 3 years ago on Google
    Loved it! They have 2 videos about working the amber and how to recognize fake ones, it was very interesting. The building was beautiful too.

  • 5/5 Sir L. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) very well explained, something small but the price is according to what is available, they also explain how to differentiate real amber from fake (Original) muy bien explicado, algo pequeño pero el precio es acorde a lo que hay, además te explican cómo diferenciar ámbar real del falso

  • 5/5 Omar L. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Nice place, some of the good as the city is sadly run down. (Original) Bonito lugar, algo de lo bueno ya que la ciudad está deteriorada lamentablemente.

  • 4/5 Sergio P. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Nice although somewhat small (Original) Bonito aunque algo pequeño

  • 5/5 Melissa L. 3 years ago on Google
    The history

  • 5/5 Ana Lilia G. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) It is a small place but it is worth visiting. The videos are very interesting. In the store there are precious things made of amber. (Original) Es un lugar pequeño pero vale la pena conocerlo. Los videos son muy interesantes. En la tienda hay cosas preciosas de ámbar.

  • 5/5 SEBIRE RAPHAEL HUBERT E. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very interesting, nice tour (Original) Muy interesante, agradable recorrido

  • 4/5 Rafael Custodio C. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very good (Original) Muy bien

  • 5/5 Ana Cristina Álvarez D. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) What was a former convent and prison historically today is a museum of Amber. Small but with good information, the facilities are excellent. (Original) Lo que fue un ex convento y cárcel históricamente hoy es un museo de Ámbar. Pequeño pero con buena información, las instalaciones son excelentes.

  • 5/5 MAG F. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) It has the history of Amber, very interesting. (Original) Tiene la historia del Ámbar, muy interesante.

  • 5/5 Giselle 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Beautiful sculptures, very peaceful. (Original) Hermosas esculturas, muy tranquilo.

  • 3/5 Christian Skov H. 2 years ago on Google
    Worth 30 pesos. Takes 20 minutes unless you’re really into amber

  • 4/5 Cleary B. 2 years ago on Google
    Nice museum, fairly small but with interesting pieces and low entry fee

  • 5/5 Jessica G. 2 years ago on Google
    Great spot to learn about amber in Chiapas!

  • 5/5 Andy K. 6 years ago on Google
    We'll worth the $25 to get in. The building itself is quite attractive and the exhibits are very well put together to exhibit an interesting range of Amber pieces. Kids of the right age will get excited by the bugs stuck in many of the pieces while adults can enjoy the artistry and craft. The museum is open until 8, which is nice as many close much earlier.

  • 4/5 Helen W. 6 years ago on Google
    Nice collection of various amber abjects and jewellery. Informative videos in Spanish with English subtitles.

  • 3/5 Richard P. 2 years ago on Google
    30 pesos entry. There is a display of amber plus two old videos, one describing how to tell fake amber, and the other about polishing amber. There are English subtitles. It takes about 30 minutes maximum to look around. To be honest it was not very inspiring.

  • 3/5 Gabriela O. 1 year ago on Google
    Very small museum, but they make an effort! Interesting âmbar pieces and they also let people know there’s a lot of fake pieces being sold in the city.

  • 5/5 Thomas Lubo B. 1 year ago on Google
    Small but promising, it's a young project filled with really passionate people. It is not the greatest museum, but it is great at what it does. Downside, must description were just in Spanish.

  • 3/5 Michael A. 1 year ago on Google
    honestly a very small and quick museum (about an hr) ... if you are passionate about geology etc then its worth a visit. Also the square/park just outside is really nice, and the building itself (a former convent and prison) is interesting and it looks like they are continuing to renovate it. The Museum is only in 1/4 of the building, but you can explore around alittle.

  • 5/5 Kenneth C. 7 months ago on Google
    This was a very cool place but I did feel like there was not to much to see maybe they sold most of there best specimens.

  • 5/5 shannon m. 3 months ago on Google • 6 reviews New
    This was a small, but neat museum! They have a TV near the back that shows the process of mining amber to designing it into something. The audio is in Spanish with English subtitles, so it was helpful not having to rely on my broken Spanish.

  • 5/5 Gabriela L. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Good environment, prevention measures and trained personnel (Original) Buen ambiente, medidas de prevencion y personal capacitado

  • 5/5 Laura R. 3 years ago on Google
    It's a very small museum but interesting if you want to learn about ambar

  • 5/5 Richard S. 3 years ago on Google
    Small museum in Chiapas but very interesting showing amber.

  • 5/5 Alex B. 4 years ago on Google
    Nice place to know more about Ambar

  • 4/5 Tim D. 5 years ago on Google
    A very small collection of refined amber pieces in the form of sculptures and jewelry. You can also see many examples of insects fossilized millions of years ago. The museum is a good introduction to the extraction and refining of amber.

  • 2/5 Marta B. 5 years ago on Google
    Honestly this was the most disappointing thing I did in San Cris. I was excited to go and learn about amber and see fossilized bugs, but it was small - very small. It was mostly carved amber statues and jewely, which were very skillfully rendered, but the presentation was a bit mundane and, for all the empty space in the rest of the building, clumped together so even the most exquisite pieces were just one of dozens. The gift shop was overly expensive too. Only reason I didn't give this 1 star is because there *were* lot of info panels in Spanish and the girls at the front desk were very friendly and provided an English info booklet. Otherwise not worth going.

  • 5/5 Baja R. 3 years ago on Google
    Es un buen lugar para ir, sólo que no dejan tomar fotos ni video la entrada cuesta $30 y haces tu propio recorrido

  • 2/5 VaCho D. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) I think because it is being remodeled it cannot be appreciated well (Original) Yo creo por estar en remodelación no se pueda apreciar bien

  • 5/5 Jesús V. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) It is small but has a lot of information on the subject of this. (Original) Está pequeño pero tiene bastante información sobre la temática de este.

  • 5/5 Angélica R. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Impressive. Each piece is unique and the entire viewing experience is wonderful. (Original) Impresionante. Cada pieza es única y toda la experiencia de observación es maravillosa.

  • 5/5 Angel R. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Although it is somewhat small, the exhibition is very beautiful, its small amber sculptures are great (Original) Aunque es algo pequeño, la exhibición es muy hermosa, sus pequeñas esculturas de ámbar son grandiosas

  • 5/5 Martin Suarez G. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Good information about the Ambar. (Original) Buena información hacerca del Ambar.

  • 2/5 Cindy Z. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Not much to see (Original) No hay mucho que ver

  • 5/5 Dulxe R. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very pretty (Original) Muy bonito

  • 4/5 Luz Maria Vargas L. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Small but effective, they tell you the basics. (Original) Chiquito pero efectivo.Te dicen lo elemental.

  • 5/5 Cuiro E. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Short but very beautiful tour, the store has pieces with affordable prices (Original) Recorrido corto pero muy hermoso, la tienda tiene piezas con precios accesibles

  • 5/5 adamitus 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very nice, price of $ 30 pesos mx (Original) Muy bonito, precio de 30$ pesos mx

  • 5/5 Mona G. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very reconnected for those who want to buy. I realized and learned to give the monetary, artisanal and historical value of what Amber is. The posters, although you see a lot of handwriting, have valuable and surprising information. The pieces exhibited are unique in the world and make me feel proud of Mexico, my country. At the end of the tour, the doctor and museum manager explains in two parts how to identify the fake, the main characteristics of the original, the polishing and cleaning process of the blank and the promotion of buying the valuable and only established places. beautiful Amber. It would change the overload of letters on the posters, it would place clear and precise information in at least English (since it does not have all the information in that language) and that the entrance staff not only repeat as "parakeet" the information that They welcome you, they have to catch your attention from the moment you enter to observe the insect that they have under a microscope of millions of years old. (Original) Reconedadisimisimo para los que desean comprar. Me di cuenta y aprendí a darle el valor monetario, artesanal e histórico de lo que es el Ámbar. Los carteles, aunque veas mucha letra tienen información valiosa y sorprendente. Las piezas exhibidas son únicas en el mundo y me hacen sentir orgullosa de México, mi país. Al final del recorrido el doctor y encargado del museo explica en dos partes cómo identificar el falso, las características principales que tiene el original, el proceso de pulido y limpieza de la pieza en bruto y la promoción de comprar en unicamente lugares establecidos el valioso y bello Ámbar. Cambiaría la sobrecarga de letras en los carteles, colocaría información clara y precisa en por lo menos idioma inglés (ya que no cuenta con toda la información en ese idioma) y que el personal de la entrada no solo repita como "perico" la información que te dan de bienvenida, tienen que atrapar tu atención desde que entras a observar al insecto que tienen bajo microscopio de millones de años de antigüedad.

  • 5/5 Christian L. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) The attention of the staff is very good, the exhibition of amber pieces is not very extensive, however, it is explained in detail how it is formed and the additional carving process that the work exhibited has great detail. The restoration of the place has left it in excellent condition, in addition to this you can buy a wide variety of pieces and accept payment by card. (Original) La atención del personal es muy buena, la exhibición de piezas de ámbar no es muy amplia sin embargo se explica detalladamente como se forma este y el proceso de tallado adicional a que el trabajo exhibido tiene gran detalle. La restauración del lugar lo ha dejado en excelentes condiciones, adicional a esto puedes comprar una gran variedad de piezas y aceptan pago con tarjeta.

  • 4/5 Marco C. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very father history (Original) Muy padre la historia

  • 5/5 Jorge p. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very interesting. The people in charge, very attentive (Original) Muy interesante. Las personas a cargo, muy atentas

  • 4/5 Josue bahamaca f. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Nice place and very educational (Original) Bonito lugar y muy educativo

  • 5/5 Eva Araiza M. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Your staff very friendly annotations very clean (Original) Su personal muy amable anotaciones muy limpias

  • 5/5 StopAndLook s. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very nice place (Original) Lugar muy agradable

  • 5/5 victor m. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) It is a former convent, a very good place to visit (Original) Es un exconvento muy buen lugar para visitar

  • 5/5 Andrei F. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Small but very interesting! (Original) Pequeño pero muy interesante!

  • 4/5 Alan L. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) The downside is that you can't take photos (Original) Lo malo es que no puedes tomar fotos

  • 5/5 Francisco l. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) It is a very beautiful museum, the explanation about amber is very good, excellent attention from the entrance, the view from the inside of the museum to the outside is beautiful! (Original) Es un museo muy bonito, la explicación acerca del ámbar es muy buena , excelente atención desde la entrada, la vista que tiene adentro de museo hacia afuera es hermosa!

  • 5/5 Jose Luis M. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) Very good place the renovations that have been done are excellent facade continues "original" extensive content in amber. (Original) Muy buen lugar las renovaciones que le han hecho son excelentes fachada sigue " original" amplio contenido en ámbar.

  • 4/5 Irving M. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) The jewel of Chiapas par excellence can be admired in various presentations, do not hesitate to visit this beautiful space! (Original) La joya chiapaneca por excelencia puedes admirarla en varias presentaciones, no dudes en visitar este bello espacio!

  • 5/5 ROHESA DE C. 3 years ago on Google
    (Translated by Google) It is an excellent option when arriving in San Cristóbal since it has the complete history of amber in some super well preserved pieces and a remainder of more than 25 years. (Original) Es una excelente opción al llegar a San Cristóbal ya que tiene la historia completa del ámbar en unas piezas super bien conservadas y un resto de más de 25 años.

  • 5/5 Edgar Hernandez A. 3 years ago on Google
    Lovely small museum that shows you haw the amber is present in Chiapas. The place includes awesome pieces of very large amber crafted by hand. The staff is very kind


Call +52 967 678 9716 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
    • ✗ Wheelchair accessible parking lot

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