Madrid’s Top 10 : Museums and Galleries

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  1. Museo del Prado

    The
    world famous gallery is housed in Juan de Villanueva’s Neo-Classical
    masterpiece – an artistic monument in its own right. The relief over the
    Velázquez Portal depicts Fernando VII as guardian of the arts and
    sciences – it was during his reign that the Prado opened as an art
    gallery. Its strongest collection, unsurprisingly, is its Spanish
    artworks, particularly those of Francisco de Goya .




    Museo del Prado

  2. Museo Thyssen Bornemisza

    The
    setting for this outstanding collection is the Palacio de Villahermosa,
    remodelled in the 1990s. Carmen Thyssen Bornemisza, widow of the
    preceding baron, was responsible for the salmon pink colour scheme
    inside. The museum covers international art from the 14th century
    onwards .




  3. Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

    This
    treasure house of modern Spanish art was designed as a hospital by
    Francisco Sabatini in 1756. The conversion to art gallery was completed
    in 1990. The glass elevators offer panoramic views .




    Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

  4. Museo de América

    While
    the fabled treasures shipped back to Spain by Cortés, Columbus and
    Pizarro were exhibited as early as 1519, most of the items disappeared
    or were melted down. These fascinating ethnological and ethnographical
    exhibits originate from Carlos III’s “cabinet of natural history”,
    founded in the 18th century, and now embrace the entire American
    continent .




  5. Museo Cerralbo

    This
    astonishingly diverse collection – paintings, sculptures, tapestries,
    glassware, porcelain and more were originally the property of the 17th
    Marquis of Cerralbo. The museum’s 30,000 artifacts are housed in his
    palace and the rooms offer a fascinating window onto the life of Spanish
    aristocracy at the beginning of the 20th century .

  6. Museo Arqueológico Nacional

    Founded
    by Queen Isabel II in 1867, the archaeological museum contains
    treasures from most of the world’s ancient civilizations with an
    emphasis on the Iberian Peninsula. Highlights include the carved
    sculpture, the “Lady of Elche”, a noblewoman from the 4th century BC .




    Museo Arqueológico Nacional

  7. Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando

    The
    Academy of Fine Arts was founded by Fernando VI in 1752 and moved into
    the Goyeneche Palace 25 years later. Among the highlights are works by
    Spanish artists El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo, Zurbarán and Goya, as well
    as an array of European masterpieces .

  8. Casa Museo de Lope de Vega

    Spain’s greatest playwright lived in this house between 1610 and 1635. Now an evocative museum, the
    rooms are furnished in the style of the period, based on an inventory
    made by the dramatist himself .

  9. Casa Museo Sorolla

    The
    home of Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923) is now a
    delightful museum displaying his work. Sorolla won international
    recognition after his paintings were exhibited in the Exposition
    Universelle in Paris (1901). His impressionistic canvases are brilliant
    evocations of Spanish life.

  10. Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas

    One
    of the many pluses of the Decorative Arts Museum is that it sets
    Spanish crafts in a European context. Highlights include the Gothic
    bedroom, Flemish tapestries and a collection of 19th-century fans .