Madrid · Europe » Related Content

Madrid: Capital of Art

Madrid's greatest daytime attractions are its three world-class art museums, the Prado, the Reina Sofía, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, all within 1 km (½ mi) of each other along the leafy Paseo del Prado, sometimes called the Paseo del Arte. The Prado has the world's foremost collections of Goya, El Greco, and Velázquez, topping off hundreds of other 14th- to 19th-century masterpieces. The Reina Sofía focuses on modern art, especially Dalí, Miró, and Picasso, whose famous Guernica hangs here; it also shows contemporary Spanish artists, such as Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida, Antoni Tàpies, and Antonio Lopez, as well as postmodern temporary exhibits. The Thyssen-Bornemisza encompasses the entire history of Western art, with collections of impressionist and German expressionist works.

Madrid's lesser-known museums are especially intimate and rewarding. The collections in the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales and the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando are superb. The Museo Sorolla displays the paintings of Spain's foremost impressionist painter, Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923), in his former home, and the Museo Lázaro Galdiano, a 10-minute walk across the Castellana, has a collection of decorative items and paintings by Goya, Zurbarán, Ribera, Murillo, El Greco, and Hieronymus Bosch's superb San Juan Bautista.