Art in Madrid

The people of Madrid love to party, but they also take their art very seriously.

There are plenty of opportunities to enjoy art in Madrid, and by far the easiest way to do so is to head to the Paseo del Arte. This is Madrid’s central avenue of art, and it includes the famed Prado museum, Reina Sofia, the CaixaForum, and the Thyssen Museum. The Prado alone is one of Europe’s most important art museums, and includes an incredible collection of sculptures, drawings, paintings, and more, covering centuries of history.

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, meanwhile, was originally the private collection of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, but the state took over his more than eight hundred paintings…maybe because the state got sick of trying to pronounce his name. Those into post-modern art should head to the CaixaForum, which took an old abandoned electrical station and added floors encased in oxidized cast iron. It’s a pretty amazing-looking building, and next to it is an equally cool art installation of green plants growing on the wall of the neighboring house.

The city usually sells special discount tickets good for entry to several of Madrid’s museums – look for the Abono Paseo del Arte or Tarjeta anual multiple, which lets you visit the museums as many times as you want over the course of a year. Of course, smart tourists and art lovers in Madrid would be wise to snag a Madrid Tourist Card, which covers pretty much all of Madrid’s top sights, including the Prado, Reina Sofia, Thyssen, and more than fifty other museums and attractions.

No matter how you slice it or what kind of art you’re into, the plethora of museums and cool galleries in Madrid will keep you busy for a long time.