Cerralbo Museum

Housed in a late nineteenth-century mansion near Plaza de España, this museum preserves the eclectic art collection of a Spanish aristocrat who bequeathed his home and possessions to the state. Rooms are displayed largely as the marquis left them, crammed with paintings, armor, clocks, tapestries, and porcelain arranged in the dense decorative style of the era. A lavish ballroom with mirrors and a painted ceiling is the centerpiece. The museum offers a rare glimpse into the domestic world of Spain's Gilded Age collectors.