Things to do in Madrid
Madrid's “Golden Triangle” of The Prado Museum, Reina Sofia Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum on the Paseo del Arte warrant several days' exploration. The lesser known Lázaro Galdiano Museum in Salamanca and Museum of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Arts in the Centre offer similar quality without the crowds. Explore the Old Town on foot, from Plaza Mayor to the Royal Palace. Several museums are closed on Monday.
Sorolla Museum
Valencian artist's former home
The Sorolla Museum, located in Chamberi, is a typical Andalusian-style house
and the former home and studio of Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla Bastida.
Alongside Sorolla's Impressionist paintings, the museum exhibits the
artist's possessions, including sculptures, ceramics and old
photographs.
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Cost
€3; concessions €1.50; Sun free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sat 9.30am-8pm; Sun 10am-3pm
Address
37, Calle General Martínez Campos, Madrid 28010
Telephone
+34 91 310 1584
Reina Sofía Museum
Home of Picasso's Guernica
A modern-art extravaganza, the Reina Sofía Museum in Paseo del Arte is home
to Picasso's world-renowned Guernica, as well as works by Dalí, Miró
and Juan Gris. The museum grew substantially with the opening of Jean
Nouvel's extension in 2005.
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Cost
€6; concessions €3;free Sat 2.30pm-9pm; Sun
Opening Hours
Mon & Wed-Sat 10am-9pm; Sun 10am-2.30pm
Address
52, Calle Santa Isabel, Madrid 28012
Telephone
+34 91 774 10 00
The Prado Museum
Spanish master paintings
The Prado Museum in the Paseo del Arte, contains an unrivalled Spanish art
collection, including Goya's The Third of May and Velázquez' Las
Meninas. It also has several Italian and Flemish paintings, such as
Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights.
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Cost
€8; concessions €4Tue-Sat 6pm-8pm & Sun 5pm-8pm free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 9am-8pm
Address
Paseo del Prado, Madrid 28014
Telephone
+34 91 330 28 00
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Centuries of European art
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, in Paseo del Arte, includes works collected by
Baron Thyssen and his wife Carmen Cervera. They highlight the most
significant artists and European art movements of the last 700 years as well
as modern American art.
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Cost
Permanent collection €8; concessions €5.50
Opening Hours
Tue-Sun 10am-7pm
Address
Palacio de Villahermosa, 8 Paseo del Prado, Madrid 28014
Telephone
+34 91 369 0151
Lázaro Galdiano Museum
Spanish and Flemish masters
The Lázaro Galdiano Museum houses prized paintings by Spanish, Flemish and
English masters. Located in the exclusive Salamanca neighbourhood,
highlights of the museum include two Goya paintings of witches and Bosch's
St John the Baptist in the Wilderness.
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Cost
€4; concessions €2
Opening Hours
Wed-Mon 10am-4.30pm
Address
122, Calle Serrano, Madrid 28006
Telephone
+34 91 561 6084
Museum of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Arts
Art school museum
Former San Fernando Royal Academy of Arts students include Dalí, who was
expelled, and Picasso. He didn't excel either but did leave some sketches
behind, held in the city centre Museum along with works by Goya, Sorrolla
and Rubens.
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Cost
€3; concessions €1.50; students free
Opening Hours
Tue-Sat 9am-5pm; Sun 9am-2.30pm
Address
13, Calle Alcalá, Madrid 28014
Telephone
+34 91 524 08 64
Society of Spanish Writers and Editors
Catalan modernism in Madrid
The Society of Spanish Writers and Editors' building is an example of Catalan
modernism, a rarity in Madrid and marvellously out of place in Chueca
neighbourhood. José Grases Riera's creation resembles a wedding cake that
hasn't quite set properly.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
24 hours daily
Address
4, Calle Fernando VI, Madrid 28004
Telephone
+34 91 349 9550
San Antonio de la Florida Hermitage
Exquisite Goya frescoes
San Antonio de la Florida Hermitage by River Manzanares is an exquisite
18th-century chapel and final resting place of great Spanish artist Goya.
The elaborate ceiling frescoes depicting a miracle by Saint Anthony of Padua
are among Goya's greatest works.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Tue-Fri 9.30am-8pm; Sat & Sun 10am-2pm
Address
5, Glorieta de la Florida, Madrid 28008
Telephone
+34 91 542 0722
Royal Palace
Neoclassical masterpiece
The Royal Palace in the Old Town is a Neoclassical masterpiece built by
Italian architects Juvarra and Sacchetti. Inside are a maze of lavishly
decorated chambers. Highlights include ceiling frescoes by Mengs and Tiepelo
and Goya's brutally honest royal portraits.
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Cost
€8; concessions €3.50-€6
Opening Hours
Apr-Sep daily 9am-6pm (until 3pm Sun); Oct-Mar daily 9.30am-5pm (until 2pm Sun)
Address
Calle Bailén, Madrid 28071
Telephone
+34 91 454 8800
San Francisco El Grande Basilica
Giant dome
Located in La Latina, the beautifully restored San Francisco El Grande
Basilica boasts one of the world's largest domes. Goya's depiction of St
Bernardino of Siena is in the first chapel on the left with Goya himself
looking on.
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Cost
Guided tours €3; concessions €2
Opening Hours
Guided tours: Tue-Fri 10.30am-12.30pm & 5pm-7pm
Address
Plaza de San Francisco, El Grande, San Buenaventura, Madrid 28005
Telephone
+34 91 365 38 00
Transport
La Latina metro
Plaza Mayor
Old Town's main square
Once market square, Plaza Mayor became the Old-Town hub in the 17th century.
Its uniform architecture is dominated by the Casa de la Panadería, whose
bright frescoes only date to 1992. There's a coin and stamp market here on
Sundays.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Daily all day
Address
Madrid 28012
Transport
Sol or Opera metro
Descalzas Reales Monastery
Art in a convent
Descalzas Reales Monastery, located close to the Plaza del Sol, was founded
in 1564 and is still active today. It is an oasis of calm filled with art
treasures, including elaborate floor-to-ceiling frescoes and paintings by
Rubens and Titian.
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Cost
€5; concessions €2.50-€4
Opening Hours
Tue-Thu & Sat 10.30am-12.45pm & 4pm-5.45pm; Fri 10.30am-12.45pm; Sun 11am-1.45pm
Address
3, Plaza de las Descalzas Reales, Madrid 28013
Telephone
+34 91 454 8800
KIO Towers
Madrid's leaning towers
Also known as the Gate of Europe, the leaning KIO Towers on Castellana
resemble a pair of designer stereo speakers. Originally planned to symbolise
Spain's new economic dawn in the early 1980s, they were finally finished in
1996.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
24 hours daily
Address
Plaza de Castilla, Madrid 28046
Transport
Plaza de Castilla metro
Parque del Buen Retiro
City-centre park
Buen Retiro Park ("The Retiro"), near The Prado Museum, is a large
17th-century French-style garden. Highlights include the Alfonso XII
Monument overlooking the boating lake, the Crystal Palace, Velázquez Palace
and the Fountain of the Falling Angel statue depicting Satan.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
Winter: daily 7am-10pmSummer: daily 7am-12am
Address
Madrid 28009
Transport
Príncipe de Vergara, Retiro or Ibiza metro
Plaza de España
Franco's towers
Plaza de España is dominated by two contrasting buildings, the Soviet-style
Edificio de España and Benidorm-style Torre de Madrid from the Franco era.
There's also a striking statue of Cervantes watching over his legendary
characters Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
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Cost
Free
Opening Hours
24 hours daily
Address
Madrid 28008
Transport
Plaza de España metro
