The Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande is a large neoclassical church to the south-west of the historic centre, between La Latina and the Royal Palace area. It has the largest dome in Spain, 33 m in diameter and 58 m high, and a painting by Goya in one of its chapels. It can be visited like a museum from Tuesday to Saturday, for €6, and free of charge on Thursdays. According to tradition, Saint Francis of Assisi founded a small chapel here in the early 13th century, during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The present church, whose first stone was laid in 1761 to designs by the Franciscan Francisco Cabezas, was completed by Francesco Sabatini and inaugurated in the presence of Charles III on 6 December 1784. Pope John XXIII gave it the title of basilica in 1963. It belongs to the Obra Pía de los Santos Lugares, an institution attached to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Allow about an hour for the visit.
Highlights
The dome
The church's circular plan is covered by a dome 33 m in diameter, the largest in Spain. It is decorated with late 19th-century oil paintings, including Our Lady of the Angels by Casto Plasencia in the centre, and with stained-glass windows made in 1882. Beneath the dome, twelve Carrara marble statues of the apostles ring the rotunda.
The Goya painting
In the Chapel of San Bernardino, known as the Goya Chapel, hangs "Saint Bernardino of Siena Preaching before Alfonso V of Aragon", commissioned from the young painter in the early 1780s. Goya painted himself among the figures listening to the saint.
The façade and portico
Framed by two towers, the façade opens through three large arches. Step back across the Plaza de San Francisco to see the dome rising behind the pediment.
The chapels and the choir
Six side chapels, decorated in 1885 and 1886, surround the rotunda. In the presbytery, the Renaissance choir stalls come from a former Hieronymite monastery, and the picture gallery holds paintings by Zurbarán, Alonso Cano and Luca Giordano.
The surroundings
The Vistillas gardens, just to the north, offer a view over western Madrid. The [Almudena Cathedral](/fr/attractions/cathedrale-de-l-almudena) and the [Royal Palace](/fr/attractions/palais-royal-de-madrid) are a 15-minute walk away along Calle de Bailén, and the tapas bars of [La Latina](/fr/attractions/la-latina-madrid) are 5 minutes away.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Tickets cost €6 full price and €3.50 reduced (minors, pensioners and groups); entry is free every Thursday. The ticket office closes 30 minutes before closing time, and opening hours may change for religious services. Visits are accompanied by guides, in collaboration with the cultural association CEATE; groups of up to 20 people must book at least 5 days ahead by phone, except on Thursdays. Prices checked in October 2026.
How to get there
Calle de San Buenaventura 1, Gran Vía de San Francisco, 28005 Madrid. Metro La Latina (line 5) or Puerta de Toledo (line 5), then about a 10-minute walk.
Opening hours
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