With one of the most comprehensive leisure agendas, Madrid is currently considered the cultural capital of the country, thanks to its nearly 40 museums spread across the city, but also because of its many concerts, theater performances, performing arts shows, poetry readings, debates, and artistic expressions. As the venues that attracted the most visitors in 2019, in this post, we focus on the museums, the epicenters of national and international art, that also offer free access days so everyone can enjoy the famous art pieces they house inside. We start the route in the so-called "Art Triangle," one of the world’s largest concentrations of artistic heritage, located just over 1 km apart from each other. From the 12th century at the Prado to the absolute contemporaneity of the Thyssen and Reina Sofía, visitors can follow the evolution of artistic movements as they walk through the rooms of these three art galleries.
Museo Reina Sofía
With over 3.5 million annual visitors, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía was the most visited exhibition center in 2019. Established in 1990 with the goal of becoming a reference for artistic vanguards, it was conceived as a chronological extension of the Prado, housing works from the late 19th century onward. For this reason, among the over 21,000 works in its permanent collection, you’ll find the work of great 20th-century Spanish artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró, as well as surrealist, cubist, and expressionist pieces by international painters. Its main piece, if one can choose just one, is Guernica, an expression and icon of the barbarity the city suffered during the bombing that occurred during the Spanish Civil War.
Hours:
Monday: 10 am to 9 pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday to Saturday: 10 am to 9 pm
Sunday: 10 am to 7 pm
Holidays (January 1st and 6th, May 1st, 15th May, November 9th, and December 24th, 25th, and 31st): Closed
How to get there:
Metro: Line 1, Art station/Line 3, Lavapiés station
Urban buses: EMT lines: 6, 10, 14, 19, 26, 27, 32, 34, 36, 37, 41, 45, 59, 85, 86, 102, 119, C1, C2, and E1
Train: Atocha-RENFE station
Price:
€8 for general advance tickets (online)
€10 for general tickets (box office)
Free entry on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 7 pm to 9 pm and Sundays from 1:30 pm to 7 pm.
Museo del Prado
Opened in 1819 in the Prado de los Jerónimos, from which it takes its name, the Prado Museum today houses over 8,000 paintings, 10,000 drawings, 6,000 engravings, and 1,000 decorative arts pieces created by European masters from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Unlike other museums that display works from different periods, styles, and schools, the Prado's collection mainly reflects the tastes of Spanish monarchs who practiced collecting. Because of their aspiration to own as many works as possible, the Prado is now defined as a museum of painters rather than paintings. Among the artists preferred by royalty are Goya and Bosch, who likely have the best and most extensive representations. But there are also many works by Velázquez, El Greco, Titian, Rubens, Murillo, Ribera, Zurbarán, Raphael, Veronese, Tintoretto, Van Dyck, and Poussin, among many others.
Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 10 am to 8 pm
Sunday: 10 am to 7 pm
Holidays: Open from 10 am to 2 pm on January 5th, and December 24th and 31st. Closed on January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th.
How to get there:
Metro: Line 1, Atocha station/Metro: Line 2, Banco de España station
Price:
€15 for general admission.
Free entry on Monday to Saturday from 6 pm to 8 pm and Sundays and holidays from 5 pm to 7 pm.
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Located in the third corner of the art triangle, the private collection of the late Baron Hans-Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and his family is one of the most important in the world, complementing the works of the neighboring museums with a display of 19th-century North American schools, rarely shown in European museums. Opened in 1992 in the Palacio de Villahermosa, the collecting fervor of two generations has gathered nearly 1,000 works that span the history of Western painting from the 13th to the 20th century: from Italian Gothic by the early masters to pop art. The pieces are arranged in strict chronological order across the three floors of the museum. Famous names include Duccio, Van Eyck, Carpaccio, Dürer, Caravaggio, Rubens, Sargent, Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Kirchner, Mondrian, Klee, and Hopper. The museum is now part of one of Madrid’s essential cultural visits.
Hours:
Monday: 12 pm to 4 pm with free entry
Tuesday to Sunday: 10 am to 7 pm
Holidays: Open from 10 am to 3 pm on December 24th and 31st. Closed on January 1st, May 1st, and December 25th.
How to get there:
Metro Line 2, Banco de España station
Urban Buses: Lines 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 27, 34, 37, 41, 51, 52, 53, 74, 146, 150
Train: Atocha or Recoletos stations
Price:
€13 for general admission to the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions.
Free entry on Mondays.
In Madrid, the history of art has one of its main epicenters in the world. Don’t miss any of the museums if you visit the capital and stay in the best hotels in Madrid with Silken Hotels.
