Those travelling to Madrid from Feb 06 to May 05 shall find at the Reina Sofia Museum the COLLECTION OF THE PICASSO-PARIS NATIONAL MUSEUM, an outstanding exhibition with more than 400 paintings, including the Guernica, permanently housed at the Reina. I think this is an occasion to see many of Picasso's best works, so travellers be sure to save a full day for this. Check http://www.museoreinasofia.es/s-noti...?idnoticia=108 (So sad for those travelling to Paris, the Picasso Museum shall be empty!).

Hi josele,

thanks for the info on this. unfortunately we "did" madrid last feb and haven't got a return trip scheduled at all.

I'm not a great fan of Picasso, but this would be a terrific opportunity for those who are. I looked at the web-site you provided the link to, and managed to work out, i think, that there will be over 400 works, including paintings, sculptures, & ceramics - but the english version wasn't working so I struggled a bit.

regards, ann

The Picasso collection at the Reina Sofia is nice as far as it goes, but they are not his best works as not all of the Paris collection is currently being shown.

A number of painting and sketches are being shown for the first time, but many are studies Picasso did before completing the final work. I was a bit disappointed, but there is much more to see as part of the permanent collection.

I thought your post was so cool because I saw Guernica in Madrid in 1975 during a high school trip to Spain. What goes around comes around, huh??

Hi josele,
We were lucky to see the 400 Paris Picassos at the Reina Sofía on opening day.

For those planning to go, these Picassos are found both in and around the Gernica room on the second floor of the original wing and also on the ground floor, plus on the ground floor and second floor of the Jean Nouvel wing. The signs are rather confusing, it's easy to miss some rooms, so make sure that you hit all of the exhibit which is housed in both wings. Just ask the guards.

We arrived at 5 pm and spent about 2 and a half hours (without audio guide) hitting all the Picasso rooms in both wings. If you plan to view the Picasso exhibit plus the Dalí, Miró, Juan Gris, etc. rooms, and the special "Noche española" flamenco exhibit, you should allow an hour and a half more.

Lines to get in weren't long at all, in fact it took just a minute to buy our tickets, but the rooms were fairly crowded. I think that many just didn't realize that it had opened yet. Street banners hadn't been put up yet, as they have for the new Modigliani exhibit at the Thyssen which opened the day before.

We paid the general admission of 6€, as they weren't selling special timed-tickets. And as I mentioned, we didn't opt for the audio guide.

It's certainly a "must see" for any Picasso lover, so if you plan to be in Madrid from now until May 5, please put it on your list!