Has anyone visited the new museum? I've read a couple of articles about it and was looking for some personal opinions about it.

You may want to repost this in the Spain forum

It's all under one "Europe" forum

i did not have time to go in last week when i was in madrid, but it is an interesting building, at least.

the living carpet tapestry of plants on one of the outside walls is a nice concept i would like to see more of.

sandi-travelnut,
I haven't seen it yet either. The architects are the ones who designed the Tate Modern. It's free, for now at least, and open from 10-8. I think right now they have a fairly modest exhibit of 30 pieces from the permanent collection.

But we plan to visit on March 19, when the special exhibit opens of 45 religious paintings from the Uffizi "From Botticelli to Giordano", which runs until May 25.

Be sure and post your comments on it. It looks very interesting. We still have not made final decisions on our fall trip (clock is ticking) but I'm keeping this on my mind in case we're in the area.

sandi,
We did get to the Caixa Forum for the Treasures of the Ufizzi exhibit, titled "Bread of the Angels", and I can assure you that this new museum (free entrance!) is well worth your time.

The current exhibit will run until May 22. It's composed of 45 works, paintings and tapestries, from the 15th-17th centuries (Botticelli, Luca Giordano and others), displayed in 4 galleries, from the Uffizi warehouse that prior to this exhibit had never left the museum.

It's arranged around the religious themes of the Creation, the original Sin, sacrifice of Isaac, the Annunciation and Birth of Christ, the Last Supper, Crucifixion, Descent from the Cross and Resurrection.

For those who will be visiting Madrid in April-May, on certain Sundays (April 6, 13, 20, 27 and May 11) there will be classical music concerts to accompany this show, at 7 pm in the museum's auditorium.

Concert tickets cost €2 and can (and should) be purchased in advance at the museum.

But don't plan to visit on Sunday, when the museum is absolutely swamped! A better time would be Wed.-Fri. It's also quite busy on Mon. when the Prado and Thyssen are closed and Tues. when the Reina Sofía shuts its doors.

On the 4th floor there's a handy cafeteria/restaurant, a no smoking space, that serves a good value 3 course menu of the day (on the right side as you enter) for €12 (special Sat./Sun. menu for €20) and a la carte dining on the left side plus coffee and pastries at the bar.

The vertical garden on the outside wall is something to be seen-a great photo op. Now I'm eager to see how they're going to get rid of the weeds!

Forgot to mention opening hours are from 10-8 daily. Location: Paseo del Prado 36, across the street, slightly below the Prado Museum.

www.laCaixa.es/ObraSocial