About Marta Ceballos
I’m Marta Ceballos, an art historian based in Malasaña, ten minutes’ walk from the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. I spent two years cataloguing sixteenth-century convent inventories and now lead Habsburg-Madrid walking routes, which means I have sat through the Descalzas Reales guided visit more times than I can count.
Why I wrote this site
The Descalzas is extraordinary but poorly explained online. Most pages say you can “wander freely” or “visit at your own pace” — which is wrong. It’s a working Poor Clare convent. Entry is by timed, guided visit only, in a small group, mostly in Spanish. The €9 Patrimonio Nacional ticket is the honest door. The €39 GetYourGuide tour adds an English-language guide and convenience. Neither is “the only way.”
Nobody explains that difference clearly. So I wrote this site to close that gap. I tell the truth about how the visit actually works, what the €9 ticket buys you, what the €39 tour adds, and what you should do with the rest of the day — because sixty to ninety minutes at the Descalzas leaves you with half a day to explore the Royal Palace, the collections, or the Prado.
What this site is
An independent guide to the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. I research the tours and tickets available, read real traveller feedback, and write honest, practical guidance on how to visit and what to pair it with. I am not the monastery, not Patrimonio Nacional, and not a tour operator. When you’re ready to book, I send you to the official sources or to GetYourGuide, a licensed reseller. I don’t sell tickets.
How I’m funded
I earn a small affiliate commission when you book a tour through my GetYourGuide links, at no extra cost to you. That’s what keeps the site free. It never changes which tours I recommend; see my affiliate disclosure for the full picture.
Questions or corrections? Get in touch.