Casa Botines Gaudí Museum

The Casa Botines is the building Gaudí designed for León: a stone block with towers at the corners, at Plaza de San Marcelo 5, next to the Guzmanes palace. Today it is a museum devoted to the history of the building, the figure of Gaudí and Spanish art of the 19th and 20th centuries, and you tour it inside, from the lower ground floor to the upper floors.

The history of the building

According to the museum itself, Gaudí probably designed it between 1887 and 1891 and began building it in 1892. It was commissioned by Simón Fernández and Mariano Andrés, partners in the firm Fernández y Andrés, whom Eusebi Güell had put in touch with the architect. It was a textile warehouse with commercial spaces and rented flats: seven floors, with the basement for storage, the ground floor for the shop, the first for the owners' home and the upper ones to let. The museum calls it Gaudí's first block of flats. In 1929 it was bought by the Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de León, which had offices here until 2017, the year the Fundación Obra Social de Castilla y León opened it to the public.

What you see

The self-guided visit includes the ground floor, the main floor, the first and the third. The guided one tours the same floors and adds the attic and the turret, which can only be seen with a guide. Besides the building, the museum has an art collection with works by Ramón Casas, Goya, Sorolla, Dalí or Chillida, among others, and temporary exhibitions. Allow an hour for the self-guided visit. It also organises workshops, activities and an urban route, "El león de Gaudí", as well as night visits on some dates; check the website for the next ones.

Opening hours and tickets

It is open Monday, Thursday and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00, Wednesday from 15:00 to 19:00 and Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00. It is closed on Tuesday. The self-guided visit costs €10, €7.50 reduced; the guided one, in Spanish, €13, €10.50 reduced. Groups of 15 or more pay €10 per person with the guided route. Under-7s do not pay. With an AVE or long-distance Renfe ticket there is a 50% discount on general admission, valid 72 hours before and after the journey. Tickets are bought on the website or at the museum, in cash or by card. Phone: 987 353 247.

Accessibility and services

There are lifts between the floors open to the public, adapted routes for reduced mobility, accessible toilets on the lower ground floor and adapted ones on the main floor, and a breastfeeding room. The lockers are free, with a key, and there are larger ones for groups. If you need any particular support, the museum asks you to let them know beforehand.

What to combine

It is five minutes' walk from the cathedral and on the edge of the Barrio Húmedo. If you go on Tuesday, when it is closed, change the order and leave Gaudí for another day: the cathedral is free on Tuesday from 17:30 to 19:00.