The Prado. 🏛️
One of the most important museums in the world. It houses the Spanish Royal Collection. Expect Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, and Bosch.
Las Meninas
Velázquez's masterpiece of perspective. The artist is painting you, the King and Queen are in the mirror, and the Infanta stares right through you.
Black Paintings
Goya painted these nightmares on the walls of his house when he was deaf and going mad. "Saturn Devouring His Son" is terrifying.
Reina Sofía. ⬛
Housed in an 18th-century hospital with glass elevators added to the outside. This is the home of Picasso, Dalí, and Miró.
Guernica
Picasso's response to the bombing of a Basque town. It is massive (3.5m x 7.8m), monochromatic, and overwhelming.
Dalí's Surrealism
See "The Great Masturbator" and other melting landscapes. It is a dive into the subconscious mind of Spain's eccentric genius.
The Courtyard
The museum wraps around a peaceful garden courtyard. It is the perfect place to sit and recover after the intensity of Guernica.
Private Collection
The Missing Link
Thyssen- Bornemisza. 🧐
Originally the private collection of Baron Thyssen. It fills the gaps between the Prado (Old Masters) and Reina Sofía (Modern).
Why Go?
It has everything the others don't: Impressionism (Monet, Renoir), Pop Art (Roy Lichtenstein), and American hyper-realism (Edward Hopper).
Paseo del Arte. 🌳
The tree-lined boulevard that connects the three museums. It was the first tree-lined urban promenade in Europe, designed to bring nature to the citizens.
Vertical Garden
Near the Prado, look for the CaixaForum. One entire exterior wall is a living vertical garden with 15,000 plants.
Free Hours
Most museums have free entry hours in the evenings (usually the last 2 hours before closing). The lines are long, but the price is right (€0).