Travel Tips - Art in Madrid, Spain

The Prado Museum was built between 1785 and 1819 to house the Spanish royal family’s art collection. Despite the massive size of the Prado, which takes up the equivalent of about two city blocks, it was not nearly big enough to house a collection of such epic proportions. Despite several expansions, the museum only displays about 1,500 of its work at a time.

Although the Prado collection has works by renowned classical artists from all over Europe, it is best known for its collection of works by two of Spain’s most important painters, Velazquez and Goya. These collections are not to be missed, especially the museum’s pièce de résistance, Velazquez’s Las Meninas. Fans of Hieronymus Bosch will be pleased to discover that some of his most famous paintings also grace the Prado’s walls.

The Prado is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00AM to 10PM. Entrance is free from 6:00PM to 8:00PM Tuesday through Saturday and from 5:00PM to 8:00PM on Sundays. At all other times, cost of entrance is 9 Euros.