Approximate duration: 30 minutes.

Language: Spanish. For another language, check availability by calling 968 500 093.

Price: to enjoy the free guided tour service, you must purchase a ticket to the museum. If you do not have it, click on the following link: Buy Online.

Timetable

• High season: 11.00, 12.00,17.00 and 18.00
• Mid-season: 11.00, 12.00 and 17.00
• Low season: 11.00, 12.00 and 16.00

* These timetables are subject to modification: please consult before planning a visit.

  Rules for Guided Tours (PDF - 422,33 KB - Fecha de revisión: 07/11/2024)

  Free Online Booking

• There are no activities scheduled for this museum

• There are no workshops scheduled for this museum

At Cartagena Puerto de Culturas, we want everyone to be able to enjoy the heritage and tourist attractions the city offers. That's why we work every day to guarantee access for the greatest number of visitors. Currently, the Isaac Peral House Museum offers the following facilities:

• It has eliminated architectural barriers through the installation of an elevator.
• Accessible toilet.
• Reduced rate for people with disabilities, upon presentation of the corresponding official accreditation at the ticket office.
• Access is permitted with a guide dog with the corresponding accreditation.
• Accessible content: 
  • Easy-to-read explanatory panels.
  • Audio description and sign language guides through QR code reading.
  • Haptic planes. 
  • Audiovisual with voice-over (Spanish) and subtitles (English).

GIVE HISTORY!

Cartagena Puerto de Culturas offers you in its stores a wide variety of articles and exclusive designs. Come to our stores and take your memory of the city of Cartagena!

• There are no pictures available

Historical context

The Cartagena of the 19th century, where Isaac Peral was born (June 1, 1851), was a city undergoing profound transformation . Under the reign of Isabella II, the city experienced an economic revival thanks to the construction of new ships at the Arsenal, the modernization of military infrastructure to adapt to the technological revolution, and the development of an industrial sector linked to the expansion of mining and the production of high-quality manufactured goods such as glass and ceramics. This industrial boom led to the creation of a new port area for trade and the construction of the railway line connecting Cartagena to Madrid. 

In this context of prosperity, the city began to grow, although confined by the 18th-century wall. Its partial demolition at the end of the 19th century, along with the confiscation of convents, freed up new land. Furthermore, after the Cantonal War of 1873, during which many buildings were totally or partially destroyed, the reconstruction of many others became necessary. The result was an urban layout of labyrinthine streets and buildings with narrow facades and considerable depth, allowing for maximum use of the limited urban space. 

Isaac Peral House Museum

The house is located at number 3 Zorrilla Alley . It is a traditional, humble 19th-century building with a narrow, four-meter-wide facade and a depth of ten meters, arranged over four floors. This type of house was known as a "saddlebag." The ground floor was used for commercial purposes, while the three upper floors were occupied by apartments, some of whose original doors, wooden ceilings, and a kitchen have been preserved. 

This site was the birthplace of Isaac Peral (1851-1895) , a sailor, inventor, and intellectual who developed the first electric torpedo submarine in history, a scientific and technological milestone that placed Spain at the forefront of naval engineering at the end of the 19th century. His life was marked by both successes and failures, and he suffered cruel neglect. 

Enhancement

After years of neglect, the building was acquired by the Cartagena City Council to house collections donated by collectors and family members, becoming a tribute to the illustrious Cartagena native. The architect José Manuel Chacón Bulnes was commissioned to design the new museum. 

Restoration began in 2021, during which some original elements were preserved, such as the original staircase with its hydraulic tile flooring and steel railing. The floors of the various levels also retain their hydraulic tiles. The most remarkable feature is the preservation of the cistern beneath the ground floor, almost five meters deep, visible through a walkable metal and glass structure.

The new museum space houses collections loaned to the Cartagena City Council by the Peral family (through their descendants Carlos de Miguel Peral and Isaac Peral Delgado) and Diego Quevedo Carmona. These are complemented by models created by Juan Ignacio Chacón Bulnes and pieces donated by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT), the Spanish Navy, and Juan Ros. In short, it is a diverse collection containing personal objects, plans, and later depictions of Isaac Peral that reconstruct his life and work.

All these projects were carried out by the Cartagena City Council, which then transferred their tourism and cultural management to Cartagena Puerto de Culturas. The Isaac Peral House Museum was inaugurated in 2026. 

The tour of the museum:

• Ground floor. The Profound Isaac. This is where you can see the first original elements of the old house, such as the cistern and the stairs. You can also delve into the life of the illustrious mariner through the book "The Profound Isaac," written by his son, Antonio Isaac Peral y Cencio.
• First floor. Isaac Peral and Cartagena. A journey through the main episodes of his life, from his family origins, his education and military career, the development of his great invention, to the events that marked his final years. The narrative is accompanied by personal objects such as portraits and letters handwritten by him. The old kitchen serves to contextualize 19th-century Cartagena and is also transformed into a small playroom for children.
• Second floor. The Peral Submarine. Isaac Peral's great invention was an electrically propelled torpedo submarine, a technological innovation that could have revolutionized the world. Through scale models, a cross-section, and several original plans, we can understand the complexity of this invention and of submarine navigation. Furthermore, on this floor we also learn about the events surrounding the submarine itself, from its construction and launch to its current display at the Naval Museum of Cartagena.
• Third floor. Collecting Isaac. The top floor of the house museum is dedicated to building the memory of this figure and understanding the impact he achieved and how he suffered a decisive decline shortly afterward. Various representations, publications, and diverse objects reveal the enduring presence of this figure over time. An audiovisual presentation complements the exhibition with insights from specialists in history, heritage, and culture, who analyze the significance of the inventor and his legacy.

Bibliography

• ÁLVARO, Laura. Isaac Peral, the Spanish engineer who revolutionized the world with the invention of the electric submarine. Industrial Technology, 2023, no. 334, pp. 94-95.
• ANCA ALAMILLO, Alejandro.  «The Peral submarine: technique and innovation of submarine navigation in the 19th century», en ristre, no. 17, pp. 10-17.
• ARACIL, Javier. The seduction of the machine: Santponç, Monturiol, Isaac Peral: Steamers, submarines and inventors. 2004.
• BRU-PERAL, Javier. Isaac Peral, the man. 2013.
• BULNES, Juan Ignacio Chacón; PERAL, Javier Sanmateo Isaac. Peral Submarine: Day by Day of its Construction, Operation and Testing. Juanelo Turriano Foundation, 2013.
• GONZÁLEZ, Agustín Ramón Rodríguez. Isaac Peral: story of a frustration. EDITUM, 1993.
• MITROFANOV, Alexander F. First Spanish Submarines. International Naval Journal, 2018, no 6, p. 82-87.
• MORENO, Diego Victoria. Isaac Peral, “the Spanish Jules Verne” and the myth of submarine navigation. Náyades: magazine of customs, traditions and histories of the Region of Murcia, 2025, no. 18, pp. 13-38.
• RODRÍGUEZ González. AR  Isaac Peral; History of a frustration. Murcia: Cartagena City Council and Caja Murcia. 1993.
• RODRÍGUEZ GONZÁLEZ, Agustín Ramón.  «The Peral submarine», in La Aventura de la Historia, no. 19. May 2000, pp. 113-118.
• "The Peral submarine on the 125th anniversary of its launch," in Revista de Historia Naval, supplement no. 18. Institute of Naval History and Culture, 2013.
• SANMATEO, IPJ  The Peral Submarine; The great conspiracy. Cartagena: Divum & Mare. 2008.
• SPOOITORNO, José Ortega. The Submarine. 1989.