Museo del Prado

The Museo Nacional del Prado is the main national art museum of Spain, in Madrid, and its collection of Spanish painting is the deepest in the world. The neoclassical building on the Paseo del Prado was designed by Juan de Villanueva in the 1780s for Charles III, who intended it as a natural history museum. It opened in 1819 as a royal museum of painting and sculpture, built on the collection of the Spanish crown, and that royal origin explains its strengths. The Habsburg and Bourbon kings were avid buyers across Europe of Italian, Flemish and Spanish art.

The highlights centre on Diego Velázquez, and Velázquez’s Las Meninas has a gallery of its own, and on Francisco Goya, with Goya’s royal portraits and the Majas on show here, along with The Third of May 1808 and its companion scene of the uprising against French forces, and the dark, haunting Black Paintings made late in his life. El Greco, Ribera, Murillo and Zurbarán fill out the Spanish rooms. Italian masters include Titian, whose work was a favourite of the crown, and Raphael and Tintoretto. Italian Renaissance and Baroque painting is a strength, as is European painting more broadly, and the Flemish and Dutch holdings range from Rogier van der Weyden’s Descent from the Cross to Rubens and, most famously, Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, a triptych that draws crowds in front of it.

The museum holds thousands of paintings, though only a fraction is on display at once. The collection spans from the Romanesque period through to the early nineteenth century, with a notable presence of the Spanish Golden Age. A modern extension by Rafael Moneo, which opened in 2007, links the old building to the restored cloister of the neighbouring Los Jerónimos church and adds temporary exhibition space.

The nearest metro station is Banco de España, and Atocha is also within walking distance. The Retiro Park lies a short walk away, along with the Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía museums, which together form Madrid’s Golden Triangle of Art.

A full visit can easily take a day, so many people choose a short list in advance, perhaps Velázquez, Goya and Bosch, and return another time for the rest. Booking timed tickets online avoids queues, and the official site lists current hours and ticket types, including free-entry periods. Wear comfortable shoes, as the galleries are long and the distances between rooms are considerable.