Cerralbo Museum

What to expect

The Marquis of Cerralbo, Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa, opened this house as a private gallery in 1893 and died in 1922. The Spanish state inherited the collection, and the house became a museum in 1944. It keeps much of its nineteenth-century look, with an Italian-influenced taste for chandeliers, wall paintings and baroque furniture.

You move from room to room through the home of an aristocrat who collected a lot of everything: Spanish and Italian paintings, archaeology and coins, Chinese and Japanese art, porcelain, tapestries, clocks and armour. Because the display feels like a lived-in house rather than a gallery, it is small, calm and easy to take in, with the grand staircase and ballroom the highlights.

Don't miss

• The grand staircase
• The ballroom and its chandeliers
• Paintings by El Greco and Zurbarán
• Collections of clocks and porcelain
• Arms and armour

Tips for your visit

• It is compact; most people spend about an hour here.
• A good rainy-day choice, near Plaza de España and the Temple of Debod.
• Guided tours, when offered, help explain the rooms and the collector.