A Good Walk: Art Museums

A Good Walk: Art Museums

Exit the Puerta del Sol onto Calle de Alcalá, and you'll find on your left the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. Take the next right, past the elegant bank buildings, onto Calle Sevilla and turn left at Plaza Canalejas -- where La Violeta, at No. 6, sells violet-flavor sweets -- onto Carrera de San Jerónimo. (If you cross the plaza onto Calle Príncipe, you'll reach the Plaza Santa Ana tapas area.) Walk down San Jerónimo to Plaza de las Cortés.

The granite building on the left, its stairs guarded by bronze lions, is the Congreso, lower house of Las Cortes, Spain's parliament. Walk past the landmark Westin Palace on the right to the Fuente de Neptuno in the wide Paseo del Prado -- the Museo del Prado is across the boulevard to the right. On your left is the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and across the plaza on the left is the elegant Ritz hotel, alongside the obelisk dedicated to all those who have died for Spain. Either tackle one or both of these museums now, or continue strolling.

Turning right and walking south on Paseo del Prado, you can see the Jardín Botánico on the left and eventually Estación de Atocha, a railway station said to resemble the overturned hull of a ship. It's worth a quick visit for its humid indoor park, which has tropical trees, benches, paths, and a restaurant. Across the traffic circle, the immense pile of painted tiles and winged statues houses Spain's Ministry of Agriculture. The Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, site of Picasso's Guernica, is in the building with the exterior glass elevators, best accessed by walking up Calle Atocha from the station and taking the first left. If you walk between the front entrance of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Atocha station (which will be on your right), you'll reach a gas station, after which the street splits. Take the street to your right, Avenida de la Ciudad de Barcelona. On the left hand side of the street is a church, Nuestra Señora de Atocha. Once you pass it, you'll come to Calle Julián Gayarre, which crosses to the left. Turn onto this street and a few yards later, on your left hand side, will be the main entrance to the Panteón de Hombres Ilustres. On the corner of Julián Gayarre and Calle Fuenterrabía is a big brick building, the Real Fábrica de Tapices. Retrace your steps, and a block before the Ministry of Agriculture, make a right on Calle Alfonso XII, which puts the Anthropology Museum on your left. Calle Alfonso XII runs along the west side of the vast Parque del Buen Retiro. Straight ahead, on your left, is the Casón del Buen Retiro. Behind the Casón, you can find the the church of San Jerónimo el Real on the street running south. If you walk down the street, which ends at the back of the Casón del Buen Retiro, you can get back to the Plaza Cánovas del Castillo and the Fuente de Neptuno.

Back at the fountain, turn right and walk up the right side of Paseo del Prado (or, even better, the leafy central promenade). After passing the Museo Naval, cross Calle Montalbán, where the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas is located. Finally, you'll reach the Plaza de la Cibeles, surrounded by the Palacio de Comunicaciones, the Banco de España, and the Casa de América. Turn right at Cibeles, walk up Calle Alcalá, and you can see Madrid's unofficial symbol, the Puerta de Alcalá, and, again, the Parque del Buen Retiro. About 100 yards north of Cibeles, on the Paseo de Recoletos, you can see a grand yellow mansion on the right -- now a bank headquarters, this was once the home of the Marquis of Salamanca, who at the turn of the 20th century built the exclusive shopping and residential neighborhood (northeast of here) that bears his name. Continue north for the Museo Arqueológico, which adjoins the National Library, and the Plaza Colón. If you're an art buff, press on to the Museo Sorolla and Museo Lázaro Galdiano.

Timing

With a visit to the Reina Sofía and the Parque del Buen Retiro, you can do this walk in four to five hours. Set aside a morning or an afternoon each to return to the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza.