The Monastery of the Descalzas Reales stands on Plaza de las Descalzas, a five-minute walk from the [Puerta del Sol](/fr/attractions/puerta-del-sol), behind a plain façade that gives no hint of the treasures inside. It can only be visited on a guided tour, Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 2pm and from 4pm to 6:30pm, and on Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 3pm; the ticket costs €9 and the compulsory guided tour is included in the price. Allow about one hour. Juana of Austria (1535-1573), youngest daughter of Emperor Charles V and Princess of Portugal, turned the palace where she was born into a convent of Poor Clares, who arrived in 1559; the community still lives here, which explains the small groups and the supervised route. The monastery received the European Museum of the Year award in 1987.
Highlights
The façade and Plaza de las Descalzas
The former palace of Charles V's treasurer has a very plain brick and granite façade. You can see it freely from the square before entering through the main façade for the tour.
The cloister
Around a garden planted with orange trees, the cloister galleries lead to the convent's chapels and rooms. It is the heart of community life, and the nuns still use it outside visiting hours.
The Rubens tapestries
The tapestry room displays the Triumph of the Eucharist series, woven after designs by Rubens around 1628. Isabel Clara Eugenia, daughter of Philip II, who was brought up in the monastery's Cuarto Real, gave it to the convent to adorn the church and the cloister.
The main staircase
A survivor of the original palace, it is covered with 16th- and 17th-century wall paintings and is one of the most remarkable parts of the monastery.
The Cuarto Real and the founder's tomb
Princesses and infantas stayed in these apartments; Empress María, sister of Philip II, lived and died here. Juana of Austria rests in the chapel built on the very spot where she was born.
Opening hours and tickets
Ticket: €9 per person, guided tour included; free for children under 5 and for the groups listed by Patrimonio Nacional (unemployed people, people with disabilities, large families, teachers, official tour guides, ICOM members). Free entry on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4pm to 6:30pm (last entry 5:30pm) for European Union citizens, residents and work permit holders in the EU, and Latin American citizens, with proof of eligibility and at the ticket office only; entry is also free on 12 October, Spain's National Day. Tickets online from the Patrimonio Nacional ticket website or at the monastery's ticket office on the day.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Book paid tours online: groups are limited and fill up quickly (prices checked in October 2026). The free Wednesday and Thursday afternoon tickets are only issued at the ticket office, so arrive early. Tours bought online are all conducted in Spanish; a tour in English runs Tuesday to Sunday at 12 noon. A new visitor reception centre opened in March 2026, and three chapels now being restored are due to join the route on special tours. Photos without flash are allowed for personal use, but tripods and selfie sticks are forbidden. The monastery is not accessible to people with reduced mobility.
How to get there
Plaza de las Descalzas, 3, 28013 Madrid. Metro Ópera (lines 2, 5 and the Ópera-Príncipe Pío branch), a 5-minute walk away; the Puerta del Sol is the same distance. Buses 3, 25, 39 and 148.
Opening hours
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