Museo del Prado
Spain's most important painting museum holds more than 8,000 works on display, among them Velázquez's Las Meninas, Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights and Goya's cartoons. Juan de Villanueva's neoclassical building, opened in 1819, is itself a monumental piece of architecture on the Paseo del Arte.
Why it's genuinely worth it
The Prado is not a museum you see in passing. It holds more than 8,000 works in its collection (only a portion on display at any time) and, above all, the world's greatest collection of Spanish painting: Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Murillo, Zurbaran, Ribera. If you can only focus on one painting, make it Las Meninas by Velazquez (c. 1656) - probably the most analysed painting in the history of Western art for its play of gazes, the mirror's reflection, and the painter's own presence within the scene. The building itself tells a story: Juan de Villanueva designed it in 1785 for Charles III as a natural sciences cabinet; the Peninsular War halted construction, and Ferdinand VII eventually converted it into a painting museum, inaugurated on 19 November 1819 with just 311 pictures. Alongside the Spanish painting collection sits a Flemish and Italian collection of the highest order.
Tickets, opening hours and how not to waste time queuing
The standard ticket costs 15 EUR and the reduced ticket 7.50 EUR (over-65s, large families, youth card holders). Free for under-18s and students up to 25 with accreditation. There is also a free slot open to everyone for the permanent collection only: Monday to Saturday 18:00-20:00 and Sundays and public holidays 17:00-19:00. The museum opens Monday to Saturday 10:00-20:00 and Sundays and public holidays 10:00-19:00; it closes on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December, and operates a half-day (10:00-14:00) on 6 January and 24 and 31 December. Buy your ticket on the official website (museodelprado.es) with a date and time slot: you skip the box office and it can sometimes work out slightly cheaper. Booking ahead is not compulsory except for some high-demand temporary exhibitions, but you'll be grateful for it at Easter, in summer and on long weekends. To see it at a comfortable pace, allow at least 2 hours (the essential circuit) and ideally 3-4 if you want to go deeper; the free slot lasts exactly 2 hours, enough for the highlights.
Getting there and tips from someone who's been
The museum is on Paseo del Prado, s/n, and is very well connected. By metro, line 2 (Banco de Espana) leaves you about 10 minutes walk along the Paseo, and line 1 (Atocha) about 7 minutes away. If you're arriving by Cercanias commuter rail, get off at Atocha-Renfe (all lines stop there). By bus, lines 10, 27, 34, 45 and 146 stop right outside or just metres away, as do the 101 and 200. To avoid the crowds, go first thing (10:00-12:00) on a weekday; Tuesday to Thursday between 10:00 and 13:00 tends to coincide with school groups, and weekend lunchtimes are the busiest. A couple of practical notes: flash-free photography is allowed in the permanent collection (not in temporary exhibitions), the cloakroom is free and you'll need to leave backpacks and luggage there. There's a cafe and a bookshop inside. If you have reduced mobility, the accessible entrance is through the Puerta de los Jeronimos (Calle Felipe IV).
Frequently asked questions
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