Top Museums to Visit in Madrid

The Museo del Prado is one of the most famous museums in the world if you want to see classical or religious art. With masterpieces from Francisco Goya, Bosch, El Greco, Murillo, Zurbarán and as well as the famous “Las Meninas” painted by Diego Velázquez, you could spend days in this museum at not see it all.

Home to a fine collection of modern art, the Reina Sofía has some incredible works by Pablo Picasso, such as “Guernica,” which depicts the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. Plus, there’s also an extensive Salvador Dalí collection, featuring his most famous paintings like those dripping clocks, alongside many paintings by Joan Miró.

The Thyssen Museum has a fancy permanent collection, featuring works by Caravaggio, Rubens and Rembrandt as well as many cool special exhibits that change throughout the year. Much of the collection is actually private, owned by the Baroness Thyssen.

Housed in the former mansion of the artist Joaquín Sorolla, the Museo Sorolla gives a beautiful glimpse into the painter’s works and life. The little outdoor garden is a charming place to breathe in the scents of spring.

The Museo Arqueológico Nacional, also know as the MAN, recently underwent a huge renovation and has an enormous space dedicated to the famous prehistoric Cuevas de Altamira. The museum has artefacts from many different time periods and occupations including Prehistoric, Egyptian, Celtic, Iberian, Greek, Roman, Visigoth and Christian.

The Museo del Romanticismo is all about Romantic art, furniture, décor and more. The museum looks tiny from the outside, but actually houses more than 16,000 items from the permanent collection, such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, furniture, photos and decorative art.

Fashion-lovers should visit the Museo del Traje, a museum dedicated to fashion and costumes. The permanent collection has over 160,000 pieces. Many special events and temporary exhibits are offered, such as collections devoted to a particular designer or workshops and talks about the evolution of fashion in Spain.

A museum for children, the Casa Museo Ratón Pérez is dedicated to Ratón Pérez, a tiny mouse made famous by a storybook written in 1902. In Spanish culture, this small mouse is actually the tooth fairy, bringing gifts at night in return for taking children’s teeth from beneath their pillow as they sleep.