Is the Thyssen worth a ticket alongside the Prado and Reina Sofía?
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza sits in the Palacio de Villahermosa on the Paseo del Prado, directly across the boulevard from the Prado itself. It holds a private collection two generations of a German-Hungarian family assembled and Spain bought outright in 1993, running from medieval panels to Pop Art in one continuous walk. This guide compares the two ways to get inside, a plain entry ticket and a guided tour, and works out which one actually earns its price.
About This Experience
Paseo del Prado 8, in the Palacio de Villahermosa, 28014 Madrid.
Metro Banco de España (line 2) is one minute away, directly across the boulevard from the Prado.
Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00, and Monday from 12:00 to 16:00. The museum is open every day of the week.
The reserved entry ticket runs $16; the door price is 13 euros, and the permanent collection is free every Monday from 12:00 to 16:00.
The Palacio de Villahermosa on the Paseo del Prado, holding a collection two generations of a German-Hungarian industrial family assembled before Spain bought it outright in 1993.
Ghirlandaio's Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, Van Eyck's Annunciation Diptych, a full floor of Impressionists, and Hopper's Hotel Room, hung in the chronological order that runs from the top floor down.
Check Live Availability & Prices
Thyssen slots are easier to come by than the Prado's, but a fixed time still saves a wait at the door once the Golden Triangle museums fill up in high season.
Which Thyssen Museum Ticket to Pick
The choice here is simple: guide or no guide. The $16 reserved entry ticket is all most people need, because the Thyssen's logic is built into the building itself. Take the lift to the top floor and gravity does the rest, walking you down through seven centuries of painting in the order it was made.
At 4.8 stars from 386 travelers, it is the best-reviewed way into the collection, and reserved timed entry means no standing at the door across from the Prado.
The $54 guided tour follows the same top-down route with an art historian attached, and it includes skip-the-line entry. It holds 4.5 stars from 169 reviews, a touch lower than the plain ticket, but for a different reason: here you are paying for a person, not just a door. That person is worth it if you want to hear how this collection was deliberately built to fill the exact gaps the Prado and Reina Sofía leave, the early Netherlandish panels, the Impressionists, the American gallery.
Honest take: the Thyssen is the easiest of Madrid's big three museums to walk through alone, and it is free the entire Monday afternoon from 12:00 to 16:00, so a visitor on a budget should simply turn up then. Pay the $54 only if a guided walk through the history of painting sounds better than working through the wall labels solo. Either way, it is worth a look at Madrid's other museums before deciding how much of the day the Thyssen should take.
Both Thyssen Ticket Options
Two ways into the same collection, the plain ticket and the guided version.
from $16 Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum Entry Ticket
- Reserved timed entry
- 700 years in one collection
- Impressionists & Pop Art
from $54 Thyssen Museum Guided Tour with Skip-the-Line Entry
- Skip-the-line entry
- Chronological top-down route
- The full sweep of painting
What You'll See
The hang starts on the top floor with early panels: Ghirlandaio's Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, the serene profile that has become the museum's unofficial emblem, alongside Van Eyck's Annunciation Diptych and a run of jewel-like early Netherlandish paintings the Prado is thin on. Working down a floor brings a full room of Impressionists, Monet, Degas, Renoir and Pissarro, a movement the Spanish royal collection never really touched.
The lower floors carry the collection into the twentieth century: Hopper's Hotel Room, one of the finest Hoppers outside the United States, sits inside a strong American gallery, and Gauguin's Mata Mua, a Tahitian scene long considered the star of the whole collection, hangs nearby. Kirchner and the German Expressionists lead into Rothko and Lichtenstein by the final rooms, closing a chronological hang that runs from the 1300s to Pop Art in one walk down the stairs.
How a Visit Flows
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Before you go
Book a timed slot
Reserve entry online, especially for weekend mornings when the Prado crowd spills across the boulevard.
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10:00 am
Take the lift to the top floor
Starting at the top and working down puts the collection in the order it was painted, from the 1300s onward.
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First hour
The early panels and Impressionists
Ghirlandaio, Van Eyck and a full room of Monet, Degas and Renoir fill the upper floors.
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Second hour
Hopper, Gauguin and the moderns
Hotel Room, Mata Mua and the German Expressionists carry the walk into the twentieth century.
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Monday afternoons
Come back free
The permanent collection is free from 12:00 to 16:00 every Monday, exactly when the Prado is at its most crowded.
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Before you leave
Compare it to its neighbors
Two hours here is enough, calmer and more manageable than the Prado or Reina Sofía next door.
Know Before You Go
Not suitable for
- Anyone trying to squeeze it into a rushed hour between the Prado and lunch
- Visitors who want free entry outside the Monday 12:00 to 16:00 window
- Strollers on a Monday afternoon, when the free slot draws a real crowd
What to bring
- A printed or phone copy of your timed-entry confirmation
- Photo ID matching the name on the booking
- Comfortable shoes for the stairs down through three floors
- A little extra patience on Monday afternoons, when the free slot means a longer wait outside
Not allowed
- Large bags and backpacks, left at the cloakroom
- Flash photography near the paintings
- Food or drink inside the galleries
Insider Tips
A few habits make the difference between a rushed pass through the Thyssen and an actual visit.
- Take the lift straight to the top floor and walk down; the chronology only works in that direction
- Visit on a Monday afternoon between 12:00 and 16:00 if free entry matters more than your schedule
- Set aside two hours; it rewards more time but does not demand the half day the Prado does
- Cross the Paseo del Prado from the Prado itself; the walk takes about a minute from Banco de España
- Skip the guide if you already know the Impressionists from Monet, Degas and Renoir on sight
- Pair it with the Reina Sofía on the same day; the three museums sit within a ten-minute walk of each other
Where You're Headed
Thyssen Museum Tickets FAQ
How much are Thyssen Museum tickets?
The reserved entry ticket costs $16, and the guided tour with skip-the-line entry runs $54. The museum's own door price is 13 euros, and the permanent collection is free every Monday from 12:00 to 16:00.
What are the Thyssen Museum's opening hours?
Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00, and Monday from 12:00 to 16:00. The museum is open every day of the week.
Is the Thyssen Museum closed on any day?
No. It is the rare Madrid museum that stays open every day, though Monday hours run shorter, from 12:00 to 16:00 only.
How do you get to the Thyssen-Bornemisza?
Take metro line 2 to Banco de España. The museum sits directly across the Paseo del Prado from the Prado, about a minute on foot.
What will you see inside the Thyssen?
Ghirlandaio's Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, Van Eyck's Annunciation Diptych, a full floor of Impressionists, Hopper's Hotel Room, and Gauguin's Mata Mua, hung chronologically from the 1300s to Pop Art.
Do you need to book Thyssen tickets in advance?
Booking ahead is not essential the way it is at the Prado, but a reserved slot avoids the ticket window and guarantees your time.
Is the guided tour worth it at the Thyssen?
The Thyssen is the easiest of Madrid's big three museums to navigate alone, so the guide mainly earns its price if you want the history behind why this particular collection was assembled.
What Visitors Say
We went on a Monday afternoon for the free entry and had entire rooms of the Impressionist floor almost to ourselves.
Took the lift up and walked down like the guide suggested, and the collection actually made sense as a timeline instead of a random walk.
The guided tour connected dots I would never have made on my own, especially why the Impressionist floor even exists here and not at the Prado.