Congress of Deputies

The Palace of the Spanish Parliament, in the Plaza de las Cortes, was built on the site of the former Convent of the Holy Spirit, which—by then vacated by the friars—served as the seat of Congress between 1834 and 1841, continuing a history of its itinerant location. The competition held to design the current building was won by the architect Narciso Pascual y Colomer, who completed the work in 1850.

On the main façade, a staircase ascends to the Neoclassical portico, with six imposing fluted Corinthian columns, above which rises the triangular pediment decorated with reliefs by Ponciano Ponzano. The emblematic lions flanking the entrance are the work of the same sculptor and were cast from the iron of cannons captured during the War of Africa. Beneath the pediment, the chiseled bronze door opens only on very special occasions. Among the rooms of the symmetrically laid-out building, the well-known Session Hall stands out, as well as the library and the Conference Room, better known as the Hall of Lost Steps. Portraits, tapestries, and valuable furniture decorate the seat of the Spanish Parliament, which in recent decades has undergone several expansions by connecting it to adjacent buildings. What does the guided tour consist of? After entering through the Lions' Gate, and from the Main Vestibule, or Isabel II Vestibule, the tour includes the Hall of Lost Steps, the Clock and Constitution Desks, and then the Hemicycle, where the plenary sessions are held. There you can see the recently completed renovation that has concealed many of the famous bullet holes in the ceiling from the attempted coup in 1981. The tour continues through the Portrait Gallery on the first floor, the Mariana Pineda Room, and the Constitutional Room. To arrange a guided group tour: (+34) 91 390 65 25 or visitasguiadas@congreso.es.