The Permanent Exhibition of the Army Museum is placed in the interior of the Alcazar Building and consists of thirteen thematic halls, in which specific collections are exhibited, and eight halls of historical itinerary that present a chronological journey through the military history of Spain.
The thematic halls are located in the ambulatory (Floor T2) and basement (Floor T1), while the historical itinerary halls occupy the sixth (Floor H1) and seventh floors (Floor H2).
All the exhibition halls of the Museum have museographical support elements that help bringing the public closer to the collections exhibited and to understand the story narrated through their display. The said elements are models, manipulatives, sceneries, projections, dioramas, audiovisual aids, etc. All these resources are contextualized within the developing of the expository speech to make its understanding easier for the visitors.
The current Army Museum is the result of the union of the museums of the different branches of the Army. Its origin dates back to 1803, year in which the Royal Military Museum was established. Over more than two hundred years, the military museums underwent changes of locations and ownership until they united in the Palace of the Buen Retiro in Madrid.
The hall of the history of the Army Museum recreates some elements that identified that Palace: Arab plaster works, Renaissance ceilings and stained glass windows from the 19th century are the framework in which are exhibited the items that, at the time, formed part of the exhibition discourse of the Palace of the Buen Retiro.