{"id":2602,"date":"2014-11-10T19:17:13","date_gmt":"2014-11-10T19:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/?p=2602"},"modified":"2026-10-09T13:58:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T13:58:35","slug":"palacio-de-las-cortes-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spainexchange.com\/articles\/palacio-de-las-cortes-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Palacio de las Cortes, on Plaza de las Cortes in central Madrid, is the seat of the Congreso de los Diputados, the lower house of the Spanish parliament. This post covers the history of the building, what there is to see, and how to book one of the free guided visits.<\/p>\n

History of the building<\/h2>\n

In the first years of constitutional government Spain had no building made for a parliament, and the Cortes met in adapted theatres and churches. When a two-chamber parliament was created in 1834, one chamber met in the Convento de do\u00f1a Mar\u00eda de Arag\u00f3n, which is now the seat of the Senate, and the other in the convent and church of the Esp\u00edritu Santo on Carrera de San Jer\u00f3nimo. The Constitution of 1837 was the first to use the names Congreso de los Diputados and Senado for the two chambers.<\/p>\n

By 1841 the church of the Esp\u00edritu Santo was close to ruin, and a new building for the Congreso was proposed for the same plot. A public competition held in 1842 was won by the architect Narciso Pascual y Colomer. Work began in 1843 and ended in 1850, and the royal opening session was held in the new building on 31 October. The Congreso describes it as one of the oldest parliament buildings in Europe, older than those of Berlin, London, Vienna and Budapest.<\/p>\n

The general elections called in 1977 were for a Congreso de los Diputados of 350 members and a Senate, and those Cortes drew up the Constitution of 1978. Several neighbouring buildings have since been added to the complex for the committees and the parliamentary groups. The upper house sits elsewhere, in the Palacio del Senado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What to see<\/h2>\n

On the main fa\u00e7ade a flight of stairs climbs to a neoclassical portico. Six fluted Corinthian columns support a triangular pediment decorated with reliefs by the sculptor Ponciano Ponzano. The two lions that flank the entrance are by the same sculptor. According to Madrid’s tourist board they were cast from the iron of cannons captured during the Spanish-Moroccan War. Under the pediment is the engraved bronze main door, which is opened only on special occasions.<\/p>\n

The building has a symmetrical ground plan. Its best-known rooms are the assembly hall (sal\u00f3n de sesiones), the library and the conference hall, known as the sal\u00f3n de los pasos perdidos (hall of lost steps). Portraits, tapestries and furniture decorate the rooms.<\/p>\n

The guided visit enters through the Puerta de los Leones and the main vestibule, the Vest\u00edbulo de Isabel II. It passes through the Sal\u00f3n de los Pasos Perdidos and two writing rooms, the Escritorio del Reloj and the Escritorio de la Constituci\u00f3n, and reaches the Hemiciclo, where the plenary sessions are held. A recent renovation there has covered most of the bullet holes left by the shots fired during the attempted coup of 1981. The visit continues on the first floor through the Portrait Gallery, the Sala Mariana Pineda and the Sala Constitucional.<\/p>\n

Visiting in 2026<\/h2>\n

All visits are free and all need a booking in advance. These are the rules on the Congreso’s visits page<\/a> in October 2026:<\/p>\n