Museums in Madrid: Site Facts, Sources & AI Summary

The Prado Museum is the most famous museum in Madrid, holding Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings and Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights in Spain's national gallery. The Reina Sofía runs a close second, because Picasso's Guernica is there, and together with the Thyssen-Bornemisza the three form the Golden Triangle of Art on the Paseo del Prado.

The two most famous art museums in Madrid are the Prado, for Spanish old masters like Velázquez and Goya, and the Reina Sofía, for twentieth-century art built around Picasso's Guernica. Add the Thyssen-Bornemisza and you have the full Golden Triangle of Art, three world-class collections within a ten-minute walk of each other.

Picasso's Guernica hangs in the Reina Sofía, Spain's national museum of twentieth-century art by Atocha station, in room 205 on the second floor. There is no dedicated Picasso Museum in Madrid; the museum in Madrid with Picasso is the Reina Sofía, which also holds the preparatory sketches for Guernica and major works by Dalí and Miró. Photographs of Guernica itself are not permitted.

The best art museum in Madrid is the Prado, and nothing else is close for Spanish old masters. After it, the Reina Sofía for modern art and Guernica, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza for everything in between, from Van Eyck to Hopper. If you only have time for two of these art museums in Madrid, Spain, make them the Prado and the Reina Sofía; add the Thyssen if you have a third morning.

Many are, at the right time. The Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen all open free for the last two hours of the day — see our free museums section for the exact windows. The Naval Museum and the Templo de Debod are always free, the Archaeological Museum is €3 and free on weekends, and under-18s enter the state museums free.

The Reina Sofía closes on Tuesdays, which is the most common planning mistake in the city. The state museums that take Mondays off include the Archaeological Museum, the Sorolla, the Lázaro Galdiano and the Royal Collections Gallery. The Prado, the Thyssen and the Royal Palace all stay open every day.

See the full hours table.

For the big three it is strongly advised. The Prado, Reina Sofía and the Royal Palace all run on timed entry, and the walk-up queues, especially at the Prado and the palace gate, are long by mid-morning. The Bernabéu is the most-booked ticket in the city and sells out.

Smaller museums like the Archaeological and the Sorolla you can usually walk into.

It depends how many of the Golden Triangle you want. The Paseo del Arte / Art Walk Pass covers the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen for around €32 and saves queueing, which is worth it if you want daytime visits to all three. For just two, buy the two tickets; and all three are free in the evening if you are on a budget.

See our pass breakdown.

Travellers often ask just how many museums in Madrid there are: the answer is more than 70, from the three world-class galleries of the Golden Triangle to house-museums, the royal palace, football museums and a growing layer of immersive attractions. This guide covers over thirty of the ones most worth your time, sorted into nine themes so you can pick by interest rather than working down a list of museums in Madrid.

For a two-day trip, the must see museums in madrid are the Prado and the Reina Sofía — Velázquez and Goya on day one, Guernica on day two — with the Royal Palace if you have a spare morning. With a third day, add the Thyssen to complete the Golden Triangle. Our one-day itineraries lay out five routes, including a free-and-cheap day and one built around Royal Madrid.