How to visit the Linares Palace in Cibeles (Madrid): schedules, prices

If a architectural jewel of Madrid, which is not sufficiently known, from my point of view it is the Linares Palace.

The Madrilenian Linac Palace has been popularly best known for the legends that surround it than for the artistic beauty it contains.

Or even for the charismatic movie National Heritage of Berlanga, which in 1981 was filmed in the then abandoned palace.

El Linac Palace, which is currently the headquarters of the House of America, is located in a strategic place in the city, in the Plaza de Cibeles,

Specifically, in the corner between the Alcala street and Recoletos walk, and in front of the Palace of Cibeles, new headquarters of the city council.

Surely when passing by Cibeles The beautiful façade of this palace has caught your attention, but if you have not had the opportunity to visit its interior, you are not aware of the enormous artistic wealth found in its rooms and rooms.

And the most surprising thing is that until it was declared Historic Artistic Monument In 1978, it was on the verge of being destroyed due to the great urban development desire of the time.

Unfortunately that happened with other large and beautiful palaces that were located in that central and attractive area of ​​Madrid.

The marquises of Linares They lived in this majestic palace for 11 years, until their death.

El Linac Palace It was then inherited by a goddaughter, and later its ownership passed through various companies, such as Transmediterranean Company or the Confederation of Savings Banks.

House of America in Cibeles

Then the palace went through a long period in which it was closed and abandoned, a time in which it maintained all its decoration and furniture.

Finally, in 1992, coinciding with the celebration of the Fifth centenary of Columbus's arrival in America, a consortium formed by the Institute of Hispanic American Cooperation, town hall and Autonomous Community of Madrid, they acquired it to convert it into the headquarters of the House of America.

Curiosities about the history of the Linares Palace

El Linac Palace of Madrid was commissioned to build in 1872 by José de Murga, Marquis of Linares, to live with his wife Raimunda de Osorio.

It is possible that you know the palace precisely because of the relationship that both had and that generated one of the most famous legends of Madrid, the Legend of the Marquises of Linares.

The project palace of the marquises of Linares was carried out by the architect Carlos Colubi, which began construction in 1877 on a plot where there was previously a grain warehouse owned by the Madrid City Council.

It was in 1894 when the marquises of Linares They moved to live in their new palace, although the works did not finish until 1900.

El Linac Palace It is an impressive artistic jewel, with three floors and an eclectic architectural style that mixes various very luxurious styles, such as baroque, rococo, Luis XV and Luis XV.

The best materials were used in its construction, such as carrara marble or Chinese and French silks.

And its interior decoration includes works by the most prestigious artists, such as tapestries from the royal factory, and works by various artists, such as Casto Palencia, Manuel Dominguez o Francisco Padilla.

During the visit of the interior of the Linares Palace, in view of its sumptuous decoration and artistic wealth, at some point you have the feeling of being tour the Madrid's Royal Palace, with the logical difference in the dimensions of the rooms and rooms.

This institution that develops cultural activities at the Linares palace, carried out an important renovation commissioned to the architect Carlos Fuentes Fernandez.

Of course, at that time when the palace was closed, the aforementioned ghost legends as a consequence of some alleged psychophonies.

This is the experience of visiting the Linares Palace

For visit the Linares Palace, in addition to attending some of the cultural events organized by the House of America, it is best to participate in one of the guided tours.

These take place on Saturday and Sunday mornings. in groups of no more than 30 people and lasting one hour.

In your visit you will first go through the first floor of the palace, which was dedicated to daily life.

Even so, the decoration is truly sumptuous, with floors where you will see Roman mosaics with tesserae, and always with a decorative style parallel to that of the ceilings.

At bedroom you can see walls with French silks and the oil paintings of Casto Plasencia in the roof.

You will also see the daily dining room, and you will know that in the Linac Palace It did not have a large kitchen, since the marquises had food brought in every day from the Lhardy restaurant, and it only had a small kitchen for the servants.

From one of the windows you will see the Dolls' house, a small romantic-style pavilion built of wood, which is located in the palace gardens and had no specific function.

You will also see on the first floor the Music room decorated in rococo style with music themes, the Game room, Smoking room, very dark with its mahogany wood decoration, and the Library.

In this room you can see the original furniture, a wooden coffered ceiling, and paintings with portraits of Quevedo, Calderon de la Barca y El Quijote.

In the room that faces the main façade of the Plaza de Cibeles passed the Marquis of Linares most days until his death in April 1902, five months after the marchioness's death. She even moved her bed to that room.

In the visit to the Linares Palace you will go up to the second floor imposing staircase made with marble Carrara by Jeronimo Sunol.

On that second floor, once used for public events, is where you will find the most luxurious rooms.

You will be attracted by the decoration of the circular gallery, with marble walls of different colors, red, green, etc.

El Gala dining room It is impressive due to its dimensions and its decoration that combines marble, silk walls with gold trim, and original style tables and chairs. Louis XIV.

El Tea Room It is oriental in style, with all the decorative elements originally brought from the East, such as silk tapestries, lacquered doors, and decorative motifs with dragons and mandarins.

After going to two other rooms, like the Dance Preroom, with a ceiling with Mudejar craftsmanship, you arrive at the very spectacular Dance room.

With an oval floor plan, decorated with golden tones, don't miss the access window to the Musicians Gallery which is on the third floor, where the marquetry floor also stands out.

The last stay that will surprise you in the visit to the Linares Palace is Chapel Made in the Byzantine Romanesque style.

As a curiosity, the children who were going to be baptized in said chapel were lowered in a basket from a hole in the ceiling.

Visiting hours of the Linares Palace

For your information, the Visiting hours of the Linares Palace They are on Fridays, at 18 and 19,30:11 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays, at 12, 13 and XNUMX p.m., which is when the guided tours.

These guided tours They last one hour, including the preview of an eight-minute video with which you can learn about the history of the palace.

Linares Palace ticket prices

The ticket prices for guided tours of the Linares Palace The general price is 8 euros, and the reduced price is 5 euros for people over 65 years of age, children under 16 years of age and people with total disabilities.

You can buy tickets directly at the venue's headquarters. House of America, Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 15 p.m. and from 16 p.m. to 20 p.m.

Before the start of weekend visits, those that are available will also go on sale.

Dramatized and nocturnal visits to the Linares Palace

Also throughout the year, on different dates, except in August, you can sign up for a Dramatized visit to the Linares Palace.

These tours of the palace are carried out with the help of period figures, so that you can get to know the palace with the atmosphere typical of the 19th century.

I assure you that you will enjoy your visit.