Museo Casa de Cervantes

About the museum

Miguel de Cervantes lived in Valladolid between 1604 and 1606 as a tax collector, and very probably in this house he had the first copies of the Quijote in his hands. The building belongs to a group of five houses that Juan de las Navas erected in 1601 on the calle del Rastro Nuevo de los Carneros, and it has kept its structure and internal layout intact. At the end of the 18th century, Cervantes's testimony in the case concerning the death of the knight Gaspar de Ezpeleta made it possible to identify the house.

After the writer left in 1606, the house was a rented dwelling, an ateneo (cultural society) and a popular library. In 1872 the Ateneo Cervantino was founded and in 1875 the Sociedad Casa de Cervantes, which filled the rooms with paintings, weapons and rare editions of the Quijote. At the start of the 20th century, Benigno de la Vega-Inclán warned King Alfonso XIII that the building was in a ruinous state; the monarch created the Institución Cervantina and bought the house in 1912, while Archer Huntington bought the neighbouring houses to install a library and a museum.

The Biblioteca Popular y Cervantina was inaugurated on 23 April 1916 and the museum opened in 1948, with a recreation of the house based on letters and wills. In 2005, on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the Quijote, the museography was renewed. The ground floor offers a Spanish garden, the library and a courtyard with reliefs of the Quijote and a bust of Huntington; on the upper floor the reception room, the estrado (raised sitting area), the aposento (private chamber), the alcove, the dining room and the kitchen are recreated.

Highlights

• The only house where Cervantes is known to have lived
• Recreated rooms on the upper floor: estrado, alcove, dining room and kitchen
• Spanish garden and courtyard with reliefs of the Quijote
• Cervantine library
• Guided visit “Todo empezó en 1604”

Permanent exhibition

• La casa y sus estancias – A tour of the house: on the ground floor, the Spanish garden, the library and the courtyard; on the upper floor, rooms recreated in the atmosphere of Cervantes's time.

Founded

1948

Operated by

Ministerio de Cultura

Admission & discounts

Free admission: All Sundays; 18 April, 18 May, 12 October and 6 December; free admission for all visitors from 15 October 2026 to 17 January 2027.

Tickets are also free for unemployed people, with accreditation.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

Because of the building's features, access is not possible for people with motor disabilities and may be difficult for people with reduced mobility. People with visual impairments may find the stairs, narrow passages and exhibited works without protective elements difficult. A portable induction loop is provided at the ticket office for users of hearing aids and cochlear implants. There is an adapted plan and an easy-read leaflet, produced with Plena Inclusión Castilla y León.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum organises workshops for all ages and the educational programme “¿Quién vive ahí?”, with routes for schoolchildren in Early Childhood and Primary Education.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit