The José Saramago House Museum, known as A Casa, is the former home of the Portuguese novelist José Saramago in the town of Tías on Lanzarote. Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998, settled here in the 1990s and lived in the house for the rest of his life. The house, his library and a garden planted with olive trees are open as a museum, and visits run as guided tours.
Jose Saramago House Museum
Local name: A Casa José Saramago
House museum of Nobel laureate José Saramago in Tías, with his study, library and olive-tree garden
- Accessibility
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance and wheelchair-accessible toilet.
- Parking
- Free street parking nearby; a free public car park about 400 m away in a straight line.
- Difficulty
- None: a house in Tías reached on foot from street parking, or from the car park about 400 m away.
- Transport
- Bus stop Campo de Fútbol de Tías, about 350 m away.
- Hours
- Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10:00–14:00; Tuesday and Thursday 10:00–14:00 and 16:00–18:00; Saturday 11:00–14:00; closed on Sunday. Guided tours start on the hour.
- Address
- C. Los Topes, 1, 35572 Tías, Las Palmas, Spain
What makes it special
You stand in the room where Saramago wrote, surrounded by his books, while the guide fills it with the small details of how he lived and worked. The tour moves on through the house, into the library and out to the garden with its olive trees, and the house looks out over the island.
It works for readers who know every novel and just as well for those who arrive without knowing his name: the visit is as much a picture of a lived-in Lanzarote home as a writer's memorial. It finishes in a shop selling his books in several languages, a good place to choose a first one.
Good to know
- Visits are by guided tour only, and tours start on the hour. Check the tour times before you set out.
- The tour takes about an hour, with an audio guide alongside the guide.
- There are toilets inside, including a wheelchair-accessible one.
- The shop at the end of the tour sells Saramago's books in several languages.
Getting there
The house stands on a residential street in Tías, and the last stretch is on foot along the town's pavements. There is parking on the street nearby, and the nearest mapped car park, surfaced with asphalt, is about 400 m away in a straight line. Coming by bus, the Campo de Fútbol de Tías stop is about 350 m away. Aim to reach the door shortly before the hour, when the next tour sets off.
Best time to visit
Best: a weekday morning, arriving just before the hour so you join a tour from its start.
Avoid: Sunday, when the house is closed, and afternoons other than Tuesday and Thursday, the only days it reopens after lunch.
Most of the visit is a fixed indoor tour, so the opening pattern decides your day far more than the weather does.
Things to do nearby
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Frequently asked questions
Can you visit the José Saramago House Museum without a guide?
No. Visits are by guided tour only, supported by an audio guide. Tours start on the hour and take about an hour.Is it worth visiting if I have never read Saramago?
Yes. The tour introduces his life and work along with a Lanzarote home, and the shop at the end sells his books in several languages if you want somewhere to start.Where do I park?
There is street parking near the house, and a car park about 400 m away in a straight line.Is the museum wheelchair accessible?
The entrance is wheelchair accessible, and so is the toilet.