Santa María la Real de la Almudena Cathedral faces the Royal Palace across the Plaza de la Armería, at the end of Calle Mayor. The church is open every day from 10am to 8:30pm (until 9pm in July and August), with a suggested donation of €1; the museum and the climb to the dome can be visited Monday to Saturday from 10am to 2:30pm, for €8. Alfonso XII laid the first stone in 1883 to fulfil the wish of his first wife, Queen María de las Mercedes, who died in 1878, and the planned church became a cathedral when the diocese of Madrid-Alcalá was created in 1885. Short of funds, the building work lasted more than a century: the crypt was completed in 1911, construction stopped during the Civil War, and John Paul II consecrated the building on 15 June 1993. Allow 30 minutes for the church and an hour for the museum and the dome.
Highlights
The neoclassical exterior
Francisco de Cubas's original design was Gothic Revival, but the 1944 competition, won by Fernando Chueca Goitia and Carlos Sidro, gave the exterior its classical look in white stone, in keeping with the Royal Palace. The dome and the two bell towers of the main façade close off the Plaza de la Armería.
The museum and the dome
The museum displays offerings made to Madrid's two patron saints, the Virgin of Almudena and Saint Isidore the Labourer, along with pieces of silverwork and sculpture. The route leads to the balconies and then to the dome, with views over the rooftops of old Madrid, the Royal Palace and the Casa de Campo; these are the only places in the museum where photos are allowed.
The neo-Romanesque crypt
Beneath the cathedral, this forest of columns with carved capitals, opened in 1911, is a parish in its own right. The entrance is at Calle Mayor 90, open every day from 10am to 2pm and from 5pm to 8pm.
The Gothic Revival nave
Inside, the building returns to the Gothic style Cubas intended, with vaults and modern stained glass. This is where King Felipe VI, then Prince of Asturias, married Letizia Ortiz on 22 May 2004.
Opening hours and prices
Church: every day from 10am to 8:30pm from September to June, from 10am to 9pm in July and August, suggested donation of €1 at the entrance; no sightseeing during services. Museum and dome: Monday to Saturday from 10am to 2:30pm, closed on Sundays, holy days of obligation and days of special celebrations; €8, reduced €5 (ages 10 to 16, EU students up to 25, EU citizens over 65, people with disabilities), free for under-9s. Free audio guide on your phone via the Wi-Fi.
Infos pratiques
Tips
For the museum, there is no need to book if you are visiting without a guide: buy your ticket at the desk on the steps of the main façade, opposite the Royal Palace, preferably by card (prices checked in October 2026). The museum recommends coming between 10am and 11am or between 1pm and 2pm. On days of the Solemn Changing of the Royal Guard, the first Wednesday of the month, you cannot linger on the cathedral balcony. Modest dress and silence are expected in the church, and guides may not give explanations inside.
How to get there
Calle de Bailén, 10, 28013 Madrid; crypt at Calle Mayor 90. Metro Ópera (lines 2 and 5), a 7-minute walk. Buses 3 and 148 (stops at the junction of Calle de Bailén and Calle Mayor). The cathedral stands at the heart of [Madrid de los Austrias](/fr/articles/madrid-des-autrichiens).
Opening hours
Nearby
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