Las Ventas Bullring: tour, bullfighting museum and history of Madrid's plaza de toros

Updated on October 1, 2026

Las Ventas, officially the Plaza de Toros Monumental de Las Ventas, stands on Calle de Alcalá in the La Guindalera neighbourhood. Built in the 1920s in the Neo-Mudéjar style, it hosted its first bullfight on 17 June 1931 and is the largest bullring in Spain, with close to 24,000 seats and a ring 60 metres in diameter. Listed as a historic monument in 1994, it remains the benchmark of the bullfighting world. Outside events, the official visit (Las Ventas Tour) takes you around the ring, the stands, the chapel and the bullfighting museum with an audio guide.

Highlights

The Neo-Mudéjar façade

Exposed brick, horseshoe arches and glazed ceramic decoration: the façade borrows the vocabulary of Mudéjar architecture. The tiles bear the coats of arms of the Spanish provinces. Around the building, statues pay tribute to figures linked to the bullring, including the matador Antonio Bienvenida and Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, whom bullfighters regarded as a benefactor.

The ring and the stands

From the tendidos, the lower tiers, up to the columned galleries of the upper levels, you get a clear idea of how a bullfight unfolds. The route also takes in the Puerta Grande, through which triumphant bullfighters are carried out on the crowd's shoulders, the bull pen gate and the cuadrillas courtyard.

The chapel and the infirmary

Before entering the ring, bullfighters pray in the bullring's small chapel. The tour also shows the infirmary, where injured toreros are treated.

The bullfighting museum

Opened on 15 May 1951 and run by the Community of Madrid, it displays suits of lights that belonged to Manolete, Joselito and Belmonte, capes, posters including the one for the inaugural bullfight of 1931, paintings and sculptures. It is included in the bullring tour.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Audio-guided tour in 11 languages, including English: 16 € full price, 13 € for students, seniors and 13-18 year-olds, 7 € for children aged 5-12 and people with disabilities (prices checked in October 2026 on the official Las Ventas Tour website). The ticket covers the ring, the bullfighting museum and virtual reality experiences. A tour with a private guide is also available, from 25 to 30 € depending on the option. The ticket office closes one hour before closing time and the bullring is wheelchair accessible. The bullfighting season runs from late March to mid-October. Its highlight is the San Isidro fair, from early May to early June (8 May to 7 June in 2026), followed by the autumn fair in early October and the bullfight on 12 October. On bullfight days the tour closes 3 hours before the event, and it may close for special events (on 4 October 2026, for example): check before you go. Bullfighting remains a subject of debate in Spain; the tour itself focuses on the building's architecture and history.

How to get there

Address: Calle de Alcalá, 237, 28028 Madrid. The tour entrance is through the Puerta Grande, opposite the metro exit. Metro: Ventas (lines 2 and 5). Bus: routes 12, 21, 38, 53, 106, 110 and 146.