Madrid Museums

Prado National Museum (Spanish: Museo del Prado) is originally an 18th-century building designed by Juan de Villanueva. It is a Spanish national art museum and is located in the centre of Madrid city. This museum proudly exhibits the masterpieces by Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Zurbaran, Ribera, Titian and Raphael and showcases some excellent works of Spanish art.

Opening Times: Mon. to Sat. 10am - 8pm,
Sun. & holidays 10am - 7pm
Address: Paseo del Prado, s/n, 28014 Madrid, Spain.
Tel.: +34 913 30 28 00

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is an art museum in Madrid city and located close to the Prado Museum. The museum is also a part of the 'Golden Triangle of Art' which includes the Prado museum and the Reina Sofia gallery. With over 1600 paintings it once had the second largest private art collection right behind the British Royal Collection. This vast collection ranges from primitive Flemish masterpieces to modern-day paintings.

Opening Times: Tue. to Sun. 10am - 7pm,
Mon.12noon - 4pm
Address: Paseo del Prado, 8, Madrid 28014, Spain.
Tel.: +34 902 10 70 77

The Reina Sofia Museum (Spanish: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía) is Spain's national museum of art and is named after Queen Sofia. Picasso's painting Guernica is the museum's prized possession. The museum offers national and international temporary exhibitions in many of its galleries and is a fantastic spot to view modern and contemporary art.

Address: Calle Santa Isabel, 52 28012 Madrid, Spain.
Tel.: +34 917 74 10 00

National Archaeological Museum was founded in 1867 and is located on Serrano Street beside the Plaza de Colón. The building is designed in the neo-classical style by architect Francisco Jareño and mainly focuses on the archaeological aspect, rather than displaying arts. The museum not only has collections from Spain but from Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt as well.

Address: Calle de Serrano, 13, 28001 Madrid, Spain.

Built in 1941, the Museum of the Americas was designed by Luis Moya and Luis Martínez Feduchi. It is the national museum in Spain and houses antique collections of American Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Archaeological Museum. The museum contains over 25000 objects. This culturally rich museum contains a wide variety of artefacts from different eras of history and is a unique place to visit.

Address: Reyes Católicos Avenue, 6 28040 Madrid, Spain.

Located in the heart of Madrid city, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando or the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando works both as a gallery and a museum. The building was designed by José Benito de Churriguera for the Goyeneche family. The Royal Academy was first opened in 1744 and now houses a fine collection of paintings from 15th to the 20th century and is the current headquarters of the Madrid Academy of Art.

Address: Calle Alcalá 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain.

The Royal Armoury of Madrid (Spanish: Real Armería de Madrid) contains the personal arms of the Kings of Spain. It is an excellent space for history lovers and contains all possible artefacts and trinkets belonging to the Kings of old. The armoury contains military weapons, armours and diplomatic works of art like mixed tapestries, paintings and other works of art and trophies and is considered to be the best in the world.

Address: Palacio Real, Calle de Bailén, s/n, 28013 Madrid, Spain.

The Sorolla Museum houses the environment and art collection of the famous artist Joaquín Sorolla. The house is one of the best-conserved houses in Europe and is converted into a museum by his widow after the artist's death. The house included paintings, drawings and even a large well lit studio all of which contain the late artist's extraordinary collection of work and personal collections.

Address: Paseo del General Martínez Campos, 37, 28010 Madrid, Spain.

Museum of Lázaro Galdiano houses the vast art collection of José Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid city. The museum was initially home to Lázaro Galdiano and his wife, and now contains several manuscripts, valuable works from the prehistoric period to the nineteenth century, respecting all of the original home's interiors. The building was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1962.

Address: Calle de Serrano, 122, 28006 Madrid, Spain.

The National Museum of Natural Sciences is known locally in Madrid city as Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. It is located in the centre of the city by Paseo de la Castellana and is managed by the Spanish National Research Council. Opened since 1771, the museum showcases some amazing collections, historical artefacts, vegetation evolution and even mineral and stones from the old ages.

Address: Calle de José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.

The Naval Museum is the national museum in Madrid city and is known as Museo Naval. As known by the name, it showcases the history of the Spanish navy right since the 15th century during the Catholic monarchs. It is one of the most important naval museums in the world. Various collections like naval instruments, weapons, maps, paintings and even a specimen of the moon rock are available to see and learn about.

Address: Paseo del Prado, 3, 28014 Madrid, Spain.