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Museum of Contemporary Art, Toledo, Spain: Closed, and Where to See Modern Art Now

Updated on 9 October 2026

Toledo’s Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, which opened in 1975 in the Casa de las Cadenas in the Jewish Quarter, is closed and cannot be visited. This post explains what the museum was, what can still be seen of its building from the street, and where modern and contemporary art is on show in Toledo in 2026, with opening hours and prices.

The former museum in the Casa de las Cadenas

The museum occupied the Casa de las Cadenas (House of Chains) in Calle de las Bulas. The city council bought the house in 1962. In 1973 it was handed over to the national fine arts administration, and in 1975 it opened as the Museum of Contemporary Art. Its best-known rooms were given to the sculptor Alberto Sánchez, who was born in Toledo and whose family donated most of the works now on show in Toledo to the Spanish state.

The museum closed its doors in 2001. The works by Alberto Sánchez were moved to the storerooms of the Museo de Santa Cruz, which remained responsible for them. The regional heritage catalogue states that the building is now waiting for the city council to give it a new use, so there are no opening hours and no tickets.

The building

The Casa de las Cadenas is still worth a look from outside when walking through the Jewish Quarter. It is a typical Toledan house of the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century in the Mudéjar-Plateresque style, with walls of stone and brick. The name comes from the chains on its front. According to the regional catalogue they once hung in the entrance hall and stood for the owners’ right to grant asylum.

The plan is irregular because of the shape of the plot. The rooms are set around a central courtyard with wooden galleries, four on the first floor and two on the second. Inside, some roof beams keep their old painted decoration, and doors and windows are framed with Mudéjar plasterwork. From the end of the eighteenth century until the council bought it, the house was divided into dwellings for several families.

Where to see modern art now: CORPO

The main place for modern and contemporary art in Toledo today is the Colección Roberto Polo. Centro de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Castilla-La Mancha, known as CORPO. The regional government opened it on 27 March 2019 in the former convent of Santa Fe, at Paseo del Miradero 1, close to Plaza de Zocodover and the Museo de Santa Cruz.

The display follows the development of art from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. It covers about 8,000 square metres in 12 rooms, plus older parts of the building such as the Capilla de Belén and the church of Santiago. According to the centre, the permanent collection in Toledo brings together works by 171 artists. It is strong in the avant-garde movements of northern, central and eastern Europe, with names such as Kandinsky, Schwitters, Moholy-Nagy and Max Ernst, and continues with European and American art made since 1945. The entrance courtyard holds a sculpture garden of 2,000 square metres with pieces by Jorge Oteiza and Miquel Navarro, among others.

The link with the old museum is direct. Since 28 February 2023 a room in the former sacristy of the convent has shown 22 works by Alberto Sánchez that belong to the Museo de Santa Cruz: thirteen drawings and nine sculptures dated between 1926 and 1962. Among them are La mujer de la estrella and Maternidad, which had not been on public view in the city since the museum in the Casa de las Cadenas closed.

  • Hours: Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00; Sunday 10:00 to 15:00. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
  • Price: the centre’s price list shows every ticket type at €0, so entry is free.

Other places for contemporary art

  • Museo de Santa Cruz. The parent museum of the old collection, at Calle Miguel de Cervantes 3. It opens Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday 9:00 to 15:00. Since 2 April 2024 its main cross-shaped halls have been closed for structural work, while the temporary exhibition room, the Sala Carranza and the cloister stay open. Entry is temporarily free.
  • Museo de Victorio Macho. The house and studio of the sculptor Victorio Macho on the Roca Tarpeya, above the Tagus. It opens Sunday to Wednesday 10:00 to 14:00 and Thursday to Saturday 11:00 to 18:00. The general ticket costs €5 and the reduced ticket €2.50. The former studio building also houses the Espacio Rafael Canogar, a permanent display of the painter Rafael Canogar.
  • Cámara Bufa. A small space for contemporary art and culture under Plaza de las Concepcionistas. It opens Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 14:00 and is free.
  • Centro Cultural San Clemente. Temporary exhibitions run by the provincial council in part of the monastery of San Clemente, in Plaza de Padilla.

The Toledo tourist board groups these venues under the heading Toledo Contemporáneo, which is the best place to check what is currently on.

For students

CORPO, Cámara Bufa and, for now, the Museo de Santa Cruz cost nothing, which makes a day of modern art in Toledo cheap. At the Museo de Victorio Macho the reduced price applies to students with proof of status. According to its foundation, CORPO works with the art schools, the university and other schools of the region. Those thinking of studying in the city can start with the Toledo city page or the list of schools in Spain.

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