Madrid
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1. Museo Nacional del Prado
One of the world's top museums, the Prado is to Madrid what the Louvre is to Paris: an iconic landmark that merits a visit by every traveler who comes to the city. King Carlos III commissioned the construction of the Prado in 1785 as a natural science museum, the nucleus of a larger complex encompassing the adjoining botanical gardens and elegant Paseo del Prado. But when the building was completed in 1819, the royal family opted to turn it into a museum showcasing the art gathered by Spanish royalty since the time of Fernando and Isabel. In the 21st century the museum got a new building and wing resurrecting long-hidden works by Zurbarán and Antonio de Pereda and more than doubling the number of paintings on display from the permanent collection. The Prado's jewels are by the nation's three great masters, Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco, though the museum also holds masterpieces by Flemish, Dutch, German, French, and Italian artists, collected when their lands were part of the Spanish Empire. The museum benefited greatly from the anticlerical laws of 1836, which forced monasteries, convents, and churches to forfeit many of their artworks for public display. Enter the Prado via the Goya entrance, with steps opposite the Mandarin Oriental Ritz hotel. The layout varies (grab a floor plan), but the first halls on the left coming from the Goya entrance (Rooms 7A–11 on the second floor) are usually devoted to 17th-century Flemish painters, including Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678), and Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641). Room 12 introduces you to the meticulous brushwork of Velázquez (1599–1660) in his numerous portraits of kings and queens. Look for Las Hilanderas (The Spinners), evidence of the artist's talent for painting light. The Prado's most famous canvas, Velázquez's Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor), combines a self-portrait of the artist at work with a mirror reflection of the king and queen in a revolutionary interplay of space and perspectives. Picasso was obsessed with this work and painted several copies of it—now on display in the Picasso Museum in Barcelona—in his own abstract style. The south ends of the second and top floors (primera planta and segunda planta) are reserved for Goya (1746–1828), whose works range from the bucolic to the horrific in tone. Among his early masterpieces are portraits of the family of King Carlos IV, for whom he was court painter. One glance at their unflattering and imbecilic expressions, especially in The Family of Carlos IV, reveals the loathing Goya developed for these self-indulgent, reactionary rulers. His famous side-by-side canvases, The Clothed Maja and The Nude Maja, may represent the young Duchess of Alba, whom Goya adored and frequently painted. No one knows whether she ever returned his affection. The adjacent rooms house a series of idyllic scenes of Spaniards at play, painted as designs for tapestries. Goya's paintings grew political around 1808, when Madrid rose up against occupying French troops. The 2nd of May portrays the insurrection at the Puerta del Sol, and its even more terrifying companion piece, The 3rd of May, depicts the nighttime executions of patriots who had rebelled the day before. The garish light in this work typifies the romantic style, which favors drama over detail, and makes it one of the most powerful indictments of violence ever committed to canvas. Goya's "Black Paintings" are dark, disturbing works, completed late in his life, that reflect his inner turmoil after losing his hearing and his embitterment over the bloody War of Independence. These are copies of the enormous, hallucinatory paintings Goya made with marvelously free brushstrokes on the walls of his house (known as La Quinta del Sordo: "the Deaf One's Villa"), situated near the Manzanares River. Don't miss the terrifying Saturn Devouring One of His Sons (which Goya displayed in his dining room!), a painting that communicates the ravages of age and time. The Prado's ground floor (planta baja) is filled with 15th- and 16th-century Flemish paintings, including the bizarre proto-surrealist masterpiece Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch (circa 1450–1516). In Rooms 60A, 61A, and 62A, contemplate the passionately spiritual works of El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos, 1541–1614), the Greek-born artist who lived and worked in Toledo, known for his mystical elongated forms and faces—a style that was shocking to a public accustomed to strictly representational images. Two of his greatest paintings, The Resurrection and The Adoration of the Shepherds, are on view here. Before you leave, stop in the 14th- to 16th-century Italian rooms to see Titian's Portrait of Emperor Charles V and Raphael's Portrait of a Cardinal. Buy tickets in advance online; to save a few bucks on an audio guide, download the Prado Museum Visitor Guide app ahead of your visit.
View Tours and ActivitiesPaseo del Prado s/n, Madrid, 28014, Spain91-330–2800Sight Details
Rate Includes: €15, permanent collection free Mon.–Sat. 6–8 pm and Sun. 5–7 pm -
2. Parque del Buen Retiro
Once the private playground of royalty, Madrid's main park—which was granted World Heritage status in 2021 by UNESCO—is a 316-acre expanse of formal gardens, fountains, lakes, exhibition halls, children's play areas, and outdoor cafés. There is a puppet theater featuring slapstick routines that even non-Spanish-speakers will enjoy; shows are free and generally take place on weekends at 12:30 pm. The park is especially lively on weekends, when it fills with buskers, jugglers, and other street performers as well as hundreds of Spaniards out for exercise. There are occasional concerts in summer. From the entrance at Puerta de Alcalá, head to the park's center, where you'll find the estanque (pond), presided over by a grandiose equestrian statue of King Alfonso XII erected by his mother. The 19th-century Palacio de Cristal, southeast of the estanque, was built as a steel-and-glass greenhouse for exotic plants—and, horrifically, tribesmen displayed in a "human zoo"—from the Philippines, a Spanish colony at the time, and is now a free-admission art exhibition space. Next door is a small lake with ducks, swans, and gnarled swamp trees. Along the Paseo del Uruguay at the park's south end is the Rosaleda (Rose Garden), an explosion of color and heady aromas. West of the Rosaleda, look for a statue called the Ángel Caído (Fallen Angel), a rare depiction of the Prince of Darkness falling from grace. In February 2023, the Montaña Artificial ("Man-Made Mountain") at the northeast corner of the park reopened after nearly 20 years of neglect. Built in 1817, the pink building with a vaulted ceiling was a folly of Ferdinand VII and has a waterfall and cats galore.
View Tours and ActivitiesPuerta de Alcalá s/n, Madrid, 28014, Spain -
3. Cuesta de Moyano
Home to Europe's most expansive permanent book fair since 1925, this pedestrian avenue has around 30 wooden stalls filled with new and secondhand books. In addition to being a pleasant street to stroll—it connects Paseo del Prado with El Retiro Park—this is also a good place to find collectible and first-edition books. The tourist information kiosk hands out free English-language maps and brochures.
Cuesta de Moyano s/n, Madrid, 28014, Spain -
4. Estación de Atocha
Madrid's main train station is a steel-and-glass hangar built in the late 19th century by Alberto de Palacio y Elissague, who became famous for his work with Ricardo Velázquez on the Palacio de Cristal in El Retiro Park. It was the site of one of the 2004 Al-Qaeda train bombings that collectively killed 193 and injured over 2,000, the topic of the 2022 Netflix documentary 11M: Terror in Madrid. Today, following renovations by architect Rafael Moneo, the station's main hall resembles a greenhouse; it's filled with tropical trees and contains a busy turtle pool, a magnet for kids. Beware of detours and delays through 2024. In 2022, the city green-lit a €69 million renovation that will reroute the station's main entrance through the iconic wrought-iron façade facing Calle de Atocha.
Paseo de Atocha s/n, Madrid, 28045, Spain91-243–2323 -
5. Fuente de Cibeles
RetiroThe Plaza de Cibeles, where three of Madrid’s most affluent districts (Centro, Retiro, and Salamanca) intersect, is both an epicenter of municipal grandeur and a crash course in Spanish architecture. Two palaces, Buenavista and Linares (baroque and baroque revival, respectively), sit on the northern corners of the plaza and are dwarfed by the ornate Palacio de Cibeles. In the center of the plaza stands one of Madrid’s most defining symbols, Cybele Fountain, a depiction of the Roman goddess of the Earth driving a lion-drawn chariot. During the civil war, patriotic Madrileños risked life and limb to sandbag it as Franco's Nationalist aircraft bombed the city.
View Tours and ActivitiesMadrid, 28014, Spain -
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6. Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas
This palatial building showcases 70,000 items including textiles, furniture, jewelry, ceramics, glass, crystal, and metalwork. The collection starts with medieval and Renaissance items on the first floor and ends with 18th- and 19th-century pieces on the top floor. The ground floor rotates temporary exhibitions and avant-garde works. This museum can be seen as part of the Abono Cinco Palacios, a €12 pass that grants access to five mansion-museums over a 10-day period.
Calle de Montalbán 12, Madrid, 28014, Spain91-532–6499Sight Details
Rate Includes: €3, free Thurs. after 5 and Sun., Closed Mon. -
7. Museo Naval
History buffs interested in old vessels and warships shouldn't miss the 500 years of Spanish naval history displayed in this newly renovated museum. The collection, which includes documents, maps, weaponry, paintings, and hundreds of ship models of different sizes, now features English-language placards and is fully wheelchair-accessible. Beginning with Queen Isabel and King Fernando's reign and the expeditions led by Christopher Columbus and the conquistadores, exhibits also reveal how Spain built a naval empire that battled Turkish, Algerian, French, Portuguese, and English armies and commanded the oceans and shipping routes for a century and a half. Moving to the present day, the museum covers Spain's more recent shipyard and naval construction accomplishments.
Paseo del Prado 3, Madrid, 28014, Spain91-523–8789Sight Details
Rate Includes: €3 suggested donation, Closed Mon. -
8. Palacio de Cibeles
This ornate building on the southeast side of Plaza de la Cibeles, built at the start of the 20th century and formerly called Palacio de Comunicaciones, is a massive stone compound bearing French, Viennese, and traditional Spanish influences. It first served as the city's main post office and, after renovations, is now an administrative building housing the mayor's office, a cultural center called CentroCentro (a pleasant place to study or work), several exhibition halls, dining options (on the second and sixth floors), and a rooftop lookout.
Pl. de Cibeles 1, Madrid, 28014, Spain91-480–0008Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Mirador Madrid €3, Closed Mon. -
9. Puerta de Alcalá
This triumphal arch, today a popular backdrop for photos, was built by Carlos III in 1778 to mark the site of one of the ancient city gates. You can still see numerous bullet and cannonball holes on its exterior, left intentionally as a reminder of Madrid's tumultuous past.
View Tours and ActivitiesCalle de Alcalá s/n, Madrid, 28001, Spain -
10. Real Fábrica de Tapices
Tired of previous monarchs' dependency on Belgian and Flemish thread mills and craftsmen, King Felipe V decided to establish the Royal Tapestry Factory in Madrid in 1721. It was originally housed near Alonso Martínez and moved to its current location in 1889. Some of Europe's best artists collaborated on the factory's tapestry designs, the most famous of whom was Goya, who produced a number of works on display at the Prado. The factory, the most renowned of its kind in Europe, is still in operation—you can tour the workshop floor and watch weavers at work. They apply traditional weaving techniques from the 18th and 19th centuries to modern and classic designs—including Goya's. Prebooking online is required, and all visitors get a tour (English tours usually begin at 12:30 pm weekdays).
Calle de Fuenterrabía 2, Madrid, 28014, Spain91-434–0550Sight Details
Rate Includes: €5, Closed weekends and Aug., Reservation required -
11. Real Jardín Botánico
You don’t have to be a horticulturalist to appreciate the breadth of the exotic plant collection here. Opened in 1781 and emblematic of the Age of Enlightenment, this lush Eden of bonsais, orchids, cacti, and more houses more than 5,000 species of living plants and trees in just 20 acres. Its dried specimens number over a million, and many were brought back from exploratory voyages to the Americas.
View Tours and ActivitiesPl. de Murillo 2, Madrid, 28014, Spain91-420–3017Sight Details
Rate Includes: €6 -
12. San Jerónimo el Real
Ferdinand and Isabella used this church and cloister behind the Prado as a retiro, or place of respite—hence the name of the adjacent park. The building, one of the oldest in the city (built in the early 16th century), was devastated in the Napoleonic Wars and rebuilt in the late 19th century.
Calle de Moreto 4, Madrid, 28014, Spain91-420–3078Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free
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