Casa de los Azulejos

The Casa de los Azulejos, in Mexico City

The Casa de los Azulejos, the house of azulejos, is one of the most dazzling palaces of Mexico City, entirely covered with tiles of polychrome earthenware. The Mexico City audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this sumptuous building of 1737, former residence of the counts of the valley of Orizaba, whose construction is surrounded by a delightful legend, and that imposes itself as a jewel of colonial art.

The blue palace of the counts of Orizaba

Impossible to miss the Casa de los Azulejos that, with its sumptuous Mudejar architecture and its dazzling colours, stands out easily from the other buildings of the capital. Entirely covered with mosaic of polychrome earthenware, this monument came into being in 1737; it was then called the Blue Palace. It was the main residence of the counts of the valley of Orizaba, Spanish nobles who made it one of the finest buildings of Mexico City. Its construction is moreover the object of a delightful legend: it is told that Don Luis and Doña Graciana, counts of the valley of Orizaba, had a partying and irresponsible son. One day, Don Luis is said to have told him that he would never be capable of building a house of earthenware tiles. It needed no more for the young man, stung to the quick, to decide to undertake the construction of this fine residence, under the astonished eyes of his parents. Myth or reality, no one will ever know, but what is certain is that this palace does not go unnoticed. Its façades covered with blue and white azulejos, its wrought-iron balconies and its interior arcaded patio make it a masterpiece. Today, the building shelters a famous café-restaurant and keeps on the upper floor a fresco by José Clemente Orozco. An earthenware palace and a colonial jewel, the Casa de los Azulejos is a fine stop of the discovery of Mexico City.

What to see

Here you admire one of the finest palaces of Mexico City, entirely covered with blue and white azulejos, built in 1737 and once called the Blue Palace; former residence of the counts of the valley of Orizaba, whose construction is surrounded by a delightful legend, it today shelters a café-restaurant and a fresco by Orozco. The Casa de los Azulejos is a colonial jewel of Mexico City. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Casa de los Azulejos lies on the calle Francisco I. Madero, in the heart of the historic centre of Mexico City, reachable on foot or by metro. You admire its façade from the street; the patio, that shelters a café-restaurant, is discovered freely at the opening hours, which vary. You discover it during a walk in the centre.

Why is the Casa de los Azulejos of Mexico City famous?

Because it is entirely covered with blue and white earthenware azulejos, which earned it the nickname of Blue Palace; built in 1737, it was the residence of the counts of the valley of Orizaba, and the legend has it that a son, challenged by his father, had it built to prove that he was capable of it. It today shelters a café-restaurant and a fresco by Orozco.

Where is the Casa de los Azulejos in Mexico City?

On the calle Francisco I. Madero, in the heart of the historic centre of Mexico City, in Mexico.