Real Casa del Labrador

From outside it looks like a farmhouse; inside it is one of the most lavish interiors in Europe. Charles IV had it built between 1794 and 1803 at the far end of the Prince’s Garden, on the site of an old farmhouse that gave it its name (“the farmer’s house”). Juan de Villanueva, the French decorator Jean-Démosthène Dugourc (interiors) and Isidro González Velázquez, who finished it, all worked on it. The plaque on the façade sums it up: Reinando Carlos IV. Año de MDCCCIII.

A long-awaited reopening

Storm Filomena worsened the problems of a building that has always had water close by: it already suffered a great flood of the Tagus in 1846. Patrimonio Nacional carried out a full restoration costing about €10 million, including micropiles some 25 metres deep, and the pavilion reopened in October 2025.

What to see inside

• The Statue Gallery, one of Dugourc’s masterpieces, with fragments of Roman mosaic from Mérida in the floor and a bronze clock imitating Trajan’s Column.
• The Billiard Room, with frescoes by Mariano Salvador Maella finished in 1806 and 93 painted views.
• The Great Hall, about 130 m², with a malachite table and chair given to Isabella II.
• The Platinum Cabinet, the smallest and most precious room in the house.

Visits are guided only and in small groups, so book ahead. Combine it with the Prince’s Garden and the Royal Barge Museum for a full morning.