The mirrored ballroom
The room built to display the household's wealth, with big mirrors, heavy decoration and a decorated ceiling, and the showiest room in the house.
Luis García (Zaqarbal) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ertly — CC BY 4.0 · Ertly — CC BY 4.0 · Ertly — CC BY 4.0
Cerralbo is an aristocratic house near Plaza de España. The marquis built it to live in and to show what he collected, then left the collection to the state, which kept it together here; the rooms are shown as he arranged them, not as white galleries. The set pieces are a grand staircase, a mirrored ballroom, a room of arms and armour, and a gallery of Spanish, Italian and Flemish old masters, one attributed to El Greco. The density can wear on you: furniture, clocks and curios in nineteenth-century taste. Labelling is deliberately light — the rooms are shown as rooms — so take the room guide for context. It suits anyone who has done the Prado and the Royal Palace and wants to see how a rich Madrid family lived. It is quieter than the big three, though the free-entry slots can draw a short line. If you only want the famous paintings, skipping it costs nothing. Ventura Rodríguez metro (line 3) is a three-minute walk, with the Temple of Debod and Plaza de España nearby. The fee is small and there are free-entry windows, but hours are limited, so check the official site.
The room built to display the household's wealth, with big mirrors, heavy decoration and a decorated ceiling, and the showiest room in the house.
Arms and armour shown as decoration as much as history, arranged to the owner's taste rather than to the logic of a military museum.
Spanish, Italian and Flemish paintings hung densely in the old domestic manner rather than with museum spacing, including a work attributed to El Greco.
Calle de Ventura Rodríguez 17, 28008 Madrid
Temple of DebodA genuine two-thousand-year-old Egyptian temple stands on a Madrid hill — Debod,3 minutes walk4.5
Edificio EspañaA heavy brick tower on a stone base dominates Plaza de España, built between 1944 minutes walk4.8
Sabatini GardensFormal gardens on the north side of Madrid's Royal Palace, laid out in the neocl5 minutes walk4.7
Centro Cultural Conde DuqueConde Duque was built in the 18th century as a royal guard barracks, behind a ba7 minutes walk4.4
Royal Palace of MadridMadrid's Royal Palace is western Europe's largest working palace: 135,000 square8 minutes walk4.6Yes, if interiors and domestic detail interest you: Cerralbo shows how an aristocratic family lived, with the objects arranged as household furnishings rather than grouped by school or period, and the visit is short and quiet. If you are only chasing famous works, put the Thyssen-Bornemisza or the National Archaeological Museum ahead of it.
The nearest Metro is Ventura Rodríguez on line 3, about three minutes on foot, with Plaza de España (lines 3 and 10) about five minutes away. The Temple of Debod is a short walk, the Royal Palace about fifteen minutes on foot, and the streets around Plaza de España and Calle de la Princesa are full of restaurants.
An hour to an hour and a half is enough for most visitors. Children often like the armoury, but the whole house is look-don't-touch with nothing interactive. It is a historic house on several floors, so check the museum's accessibility page or ask at the entrance if you have a pram or need step-free access.