So Many Museums to Choose from in Madrid
We must admit that despite the vast amount of time we have spent in Madrid, we still have museums to see for the first time and others that we want to see again for their ever-changing exhibits. There are seemingly countless museums to choose from, big and small, each with their own unique treasures.
A year ago, we visited a few museums again: the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the Velázquez Palace (part of the Reina Sofia in Retiro Park). We had planned to visit the Royal Palace and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, but there wasn’t enough time. We did see one that we had never made it to previously, the Sorolla Museum and we are so glad we did. What an absolute treasure. And then there is the Chamberí metro station museum that we tried to see unsuccessfully at the last minute. Can we count the Museum of Public Art found along the Paseo de la Castellana? Yes, we can. And it was a fun place to hang out for our own personal photo shoot. This list of museums barely scratches the surface of the art-filled spaces in Madrid. In short, Madrid is full of art. In this post we are focusing on this not so short list to cover in a little more detail and we will mention some others that might be just what you are looking for.
The Prado Museum
The Museo del Prado is perhaps the crown jewel of the museums in Madrid. You could spend the whole day there or just a couple of hours. This spectacular museum houses the works of over 300 artists. I was astounded by this on a recent visit to their website. There are fourteen featured artists listed on the site whose works occupy significant space in the museum. Our favorites include Bosch, Rafael, Titian, El Greco, Rubens, Velázquez, Rembrandt, and Goya. You should visit the official website for a complete list and decide just how much time you will need for your visit. Some of us had visited the Prado several times previously. So, we decided to do a Withlocals tour with a guide who showed and taught us about some of the most important works. Our guide was Majo and she was wonderful. We really recommend this tour. It was two hours long and just right for our group. There are other tours of the Prado available or you can go it alone. If you go it alone, I highly recommend buying tickets online ahead of time. Either way, be early to ensure that you don't miss the time of your visit.
Reina Sofia
If you were to go to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia for the sole purpose of seeing one thing it would be Picasso's masterpiece Guernica. This massive painting is full of emotion. It is an absolute must see. The Guernica exhibit includes many of the studies or sketches Picasso did while preparing to paint it. You will want to have at least half an hour to visit just this small section of the museum. We took this approach on our recent visit because, like the Prado, we had visited several times before. We could go see Guernica over and over again. Since our last visit the museum lifted their ban on taking photos of this work. We snuck one or two anyway... Read more about this museum and purchase tickets here. If you have never visited this museum before and you enjoy the sort of art on display there, you will want to plan to spend several hours there. You could possibly spend the morning at the Prado and the afternoon at the Reina Sofia with a break for lunch in between. There is a nice cafeteria at the Prado or you can find plenty of restaurants in the area around the Reina Sofia. We loved sitting around a table during lunch talking about what we had seen and learned at the Prado.
There are two other exhibit spaces that are part of the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in the Retiro Park: Palacio de Velázquez, and Palacio de Cristal. We will write more about these on a future post about Retiro Park. This brief mention will allow you to do your own research if you so choose. You can read more about them on the Reina Sofia site. Time and weather permitting, you could finish your day in the Retiro Park, seeing these additional exhibit spaces and ejoying all that the Retiro Park has to offer.
Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid, also known as the Palacio Real, is a palace that was built in the 18th century, commissioned by the Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain. It was built on the site of the old Alcázar which had been built by the Moors who had occupied Madrid, then called Mayrit. The Alcázar had burned down and the Royal palace was eventually built on the site. The architect was Sachetti and he began his work on it in 1738. It was completed in 1764. It is the largest royal palace in Europe and, at 135,000 square meters with 3418 rooms, it is nearly double the size of Buckingham Palace in London or the Palace of Versailles in Paris. Don't worry! You will not be covering all of these rooms during your visit, LOL. We have visited a few times and it is always remarkably impressive. You can download an app on your phone and do the self-guided tour. Just don't forget to bring your ear buds. Purchasing the tickets on line will allow you to skip the line. Just plan to get there a little early so as not to miss your assigned time. Across from the palace to the south is the Almudena Cathedral which is also well worth a visit (more on this in a future post) and the newly opened Gallery of Royal Collections (see below). You really should make time to do this tour if the length of your stay in Madrid permits. Incidently, if you walk down the street behind the Almudena Cathedral you can find a park where you will see remnants of the original moorish wall dating back to the ninth century.
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
The last several times we visited Madrid we had the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum on our list but didn't make it. We have been told by our Spanish friends that this is something we should make time for. It just has not worked out because we end up spending a little more time than we thought in other museums. Here you can read about their permanent collection of over 1000 works spanning eight centuries of art. Then if it is of interest to you and you have time to fit it in, click on the tickets link at the top of the page to purchase your tickets online. On Monday afternoons you can see the permanent collection for free (currently). Be sure to check the website for details, though, because this might not always be the case.
Caixa Forum
Another museum that we love is the Caixa Forum. Near the entrance to this museum there is a massive vertical garden of plants that will make you feel compelled to take a selfie or a family photo. Inside you will get to visit whatever exhibitions are on display during the time of your visit. In 2018 we got to wander through the Andy Warhol exhibit which was incredible. There were interactive areas that were fun for our children (and us). It looks like their website is only in Spanish. So, you may need to do some Google translating in order to learn more or to purchase tickets online.
Sorolla Museum
We visited the Sorolla museum for the first time in March 2023 and immediately asked ourselves what took us so long. This museum is small and manageable. It is in the former residence of Joaquín Sorolla, a famous spanish artist whose art I would call impressionist with an incredibly beautiful use of light (which I seem to recall he learned by studying Goya, another famous Spanish artist from an earlier period). The home was donated by his wife to be used as a museum. It is a beautiful place on its own with gardens and babbling fountains. You can do this in an hour not counting the time to get there (it is a short taxi or metro ride from the center of Madrid; still in the center but not Sol center). If you can fit this into youre agenda, you will be glad you did.
Museum of Public Art
The Museo de Arte Público (Museum of Public Art) is a collection of modern sculptures on display beneath an overpass of the Paseo de la Castellana. It is just a nine minute walk from the Sorolla museum. It is an interesting and fun place to visit and hang out and certainly not something you see every day. And when do you get anything beautiful, fun, and interesting for free these days?!
Chamberí Station Museum
Another museum we have never actually visited despite our best efforts is the Estación Museo Chamberí (Chamberí Station Museum). This is one of the original eight metro stations in Madrid. It is no longer operational and they have turned it into a museum. Only small groups can visit at a time. So, it is not very easy to get tickets. You cannot buy tickets online. You just go to the Plaza de Chamberí and get in line. If you go to www.metromadrid.es, change the language to English, and click on metro museums you might be able to find out more info. Or just google to see if you can find the hours because the website is a little wonky. On the website they describe the museum this way: " By only walking down a few steps into Chamberí Station, it feels like being back in the Madrid of the 50s and 60s. The old Chamberí Station was part of the first Metro Line that opened in Madrid in 1919 with eight stations: Cuatro Caminos, Ríos Rosas, Martínez Campos, (Iglesia), Chamberí, Bilbao, Tribunal, Gran Vía and Sol. In the early 60s, the Compañía Metropolitana made the decision to increase the lengths of trains and since it was not possible for them to make the station bigger, they had to close it. The station was permanently closed on 22 May 1966." On the website they have a few photos that will give you an idea of what you might get to see.
Gallery of Royal Collections
La Galería de las Collecciones Reales (Gallery of Royal Collections) is a totally new museum that opened during 2023. It had not yet opened when we were there in March. As if we needed another reason to return to Madrid. It is so new that the english version of the website is not yet available. But you can buy tickets online and that section of the website has an English version. The museum was built on the west side of the Almudena Cathedral which is directly south of the Palacio Real. It was built there so as not to interrupt the view of the Campo del Moro, a large, beautiful park with gardens that you will want to wander through after your visit to this museum. There are three floors of the museum. The first floor is dedicated to the Catholic Kings, Isabella and Ferdinand who you might be familiar with from your history classes. They were the monarchs who joined forces and funded the age of discovery of the New World starting in 1492 (among other very important achievements; please fact-check us as we are not historians). This floor is also dedicated to the Hapsburg reign in the 16th and 17th centuries. The second floor is dedicated to the Bourbon monarchy that reigned from the beginning of the 18th century until the present; interrupted for some time when Generalísimo Francisco Franco was in power. The third floor is used for temporary exhibits. On display throughout the museum is a collection of 100 pieces from the royal collections including paintings, sculptures, armor, tapestries and other decorative arts. Among these treasures are works signed by El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya, three of the most famous Spanish artists. With the addtion of this museum, I think it is safe to say that you could spend an entire day just in this section of the city, seeing the Royal Palace, the Gallery of Royal Collections, the Almudena Cathedral, the remnants of the original wall of Madrid, and sunset at the Debod Temple (these last three will be covered in future posts). And when you want to break for lunch, there are plenty of places to eat in this area, ranging from inexpensive to pricy gourmet food.
If you have more time, there are so many more museums in this beautiful city. Just google "museums of Madrid," click on the maps link and scroll through the list. It seems to go on forever. There is literally something for everyone. So have a look and plan accordingly. You can keep returning to Madrid and you will always find something unique and interesting.
Important note: some museums might require you to show your passport when entering. Plan to bring yours with you and keep it somewhere safe. We love clothing with discreet zipper pockets for this purpose.
We have more articles on Madrid planned for the near future. So, remember to subscribe to our blog to never miss a post!
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