Liria Palace, home of one of Spain's greatest art collections & a Spanish duke

House of Alba's restorer Ana Isabel Ortega checks 'XIII Duchess of Alba' painting by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya at Liria Palace in Madrid. Photo: Reuters

Home to one of Spain's most important private art collections that includes paintings by Goya, Velazquez and Rubens, the Liria Palace was for decades Madrid's best kept cultural secret.

But over 14,000 people have so far visited the home of the 19th Duke of Alba, the head of one of Spain's oldest and richest aristocratic houses, since it opened its doors to the general public in September and there is a two-month waiting period for tickets.