Palacio Real de El Pardo

About the museum

In 1405 Henry III ordered a royal house to be built on the Monte de El Pardo, a hunting area he visited frequently, and his successor Henry IV built a small castle there. From 1544 Charles I transformed it into a palace to a design by Luis de Vega. A great fire in 1604 destroyed much of the building and its paintings, and Philip III ordered its reconstruction and decoration. During the 17th century it served mainly as a hunting lodge of the Habsburgs.

Philip V made it his main winter residence and replaced the paintings with tapestries. Between 1772 and 1778 Charles III commissioned Francesco Sabatini to extend it, giving the palace the castle-like appearance it retains today, with the Courtyard of the Bourbons. Tapestries woven from cartoons by Goya were made for its salons. Charles IV abandoned El Pardo in 1792, and Alfonso XII died there in 1885.

After the Civil War, from 1939 to 1975, the palace was Franco’s official residence. It opened to the public as a museum in 1976 and, after a renovation begun in 1980, in 1983 it became the official residence of foreign heads of state on official visits; the first guests were the King and Queen of Sweden.

The palace is surrounded by the Monte de El Pardo, considered the most important Mediterranean forest in the Community of Madrid. It belongs to Patrimonio Nacional.

Highlights

• Courtyard of the Bourbons and Sabatini’s castle-like façade
• Tapestries woven from cartoons by Francisco de Goya
• Casita del Príncipe don Carlos, visited by prior arrangement
• Setting of the Monte de El Pardo

Permanent exhibitions

• Visita guiada al Palacio Real de El Pardo – Guided tour of the palace’s rooms, a former royal and Franco residence, today the official residence of foreign heads of state.
• Casita del Príncipe don Carlos – Building linked to the palace in the Monte de El Pardo, visited with prior telephone booking.

Founded

1547

Operated by

Patrimonio Nacional

Admission & discounts

Free admission: 18 May (International Museum Day) and 12 October. On Wednesday and Sunday afternoons (15:00–18:00 in winter and 15:00–19:00 in summer, with last entry one hour before closing) admission is free for citizens of the European Union who live there and for Ibero-American citizens, at the ticket office only and with supporting documents.

Admission includes the guided tour, which is compulsory. Online bookings add €0.77 in handling fees per ticket. Unemployed people, active teachers, official guides and members of ICOM and ICOMOS also enter free. The Bono Cultural Joven is accepted.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

There is access for people with reduced mobility, and manual wheelchairs are available in the palace and at the Casita del Príncipe.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

By car, via the road from Madrid to El Pardo: M-30 motorway, turn-off to El Pardo (M-605). Visitor access is via the west façade.

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