What are the Best Museums in Madrid, Spain? From Reina Sofia to Museo del Prado, but also Tabacalera and The Robot Museum. Find out more about them.
Overview of the Best Museums in Madrid
1. Museo Reina Sofia
The best museum in Madrid has a very diverse art collection and is located in a beautiful historical building.
The building is huge with four floors to explore in the old building and a few floors in the new building. What’s best about the size of the building is that it makes your museum visit feel less crowded.
In many of the rooms, you’re allowed to take pictures, which I really liked because my picture gallery is part of my memory of the trip. Sometimes I simply gaze at art and let my mind wander, but I like to do the same after the trip with the artworks I liked.
My favorite collection was “The Task of the Painter” by Jörg Immendorff, a temporary exhibition you can visit from 30 October 2019 until 13 April 2020.
Opening hours
- Monday, Wednesday – Saturday: 10:00 – 21:00.
- Sunday: 10:00 – 19:00.
- Closed on Tuesday.
Check out extra closing days on the website of Reina Sofia.
Tickets
Tickets are 10 EUR. Admission is free from 13:30 – 19:00 on Sundays and between 19:00 and 21:00 on the other days the museum is open.
If you’re planning to visit in the morning, I recommend buying a ticket in advance via GetYourGuide. The queues get big and buying a skip the line ticket can save you up to an hour.
When I visited between 2 and 3 PM on a Friday (Dec 28) the line wasn’t very long and it would have been alright to visit without a ticket.
Access
Address: 52 Santa Isabel Street, 28012, Madrid, Spain
2. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Museo Thyssen has a mix of historical pieces and contemporary art. The interior of the building is an artwork on its own: the checkered orange and white floor and the orange walls remind you of an Escher drawing.
There is this whole area dedicated to Dutch painters showing Dutch landscapes of a few hundred years ago. For me, this was really interesting, though I couldn’t help thinking why they were here and not in the Netherlands.
Walking around felt very relaxing; partly because of the layout and decoration of the building but also because of the way the museum observers conducted themselves. It somehow felt natural, homey and less forced.
Many of the collections appealed to me and therefore this museum comes second place for me.
Opening hours
- Monday: 12:00 – 16:00 (permanent collection only).
- Tuesday – Sunday: 10:00 – 19:00.
Check out the closing days on the website of Museo Thyssen.
Tickets
Tickets are 13 EUR. Admission is free on Mondays.
If you’re planning to visit in the morning, I recommend buying a ticket in advance via GetYourGuide. The queues get big and buying a skip the line ticket can save you up to an hour. You can also reserve your timeslot for the temporary collection directly via GetYourGuide.
I joined the queue for Museo Thyssen at 9:45 on the morning of December 29 and got in within 5 minutes after the museum opened its doors with my pre-bought ticket.
Access
Address: Paseo del Prado, 8, 28014 Madrid, Spain
3. Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
Also called the Convent of the Barefoot Nuns. A place of silence within the bustling city center of Madrid.
The interior is beautifully decorated with paintings, wood and rock carvings and sculptures. Especially the main staircase is very impressive, with symmetries between doorways and paintings and between art on opposite sides of the staircase. Every little detail has been taken care of.
With the guided tour you walk past many alcoves dedicated to important religious figures. The guide tells you more about how the objects came to the monastery and about their use. In one of the rooms, you can see a collection of dolls brought by ambassadors from all over the world.
It is not allowed to take pictures inside, but in this case, that only adds to the mystery of the monastery. The sight of the staircase is edged into my brain. I highly recommend a visit to this monastery!
Opening hours and tickets
You can only visit this convent in the city center of Madrid by joining one of their morning tours for 6 EUR. They organize three or four tours on most days and you have to book several weeks in advance. Unfortunately, the tours are in Spanish, but joining a tour is worth it simply for being able to go in and look inside the monastery.
You can book your place on their guided tour online.
Access
Address: Plaza de las Descalzas, 28013 Madrid, Spain
4. Tabacalera
A museum of street art located in an old tobacco factory creating an intense harmony of foreground and background. The paintings inside are beautiful; that is, I liked them a lot. Colorful paintings of flowers, some more abstract than others.
The use of color forms a stark contrast with the gray industrial walls behind the paintings. Together they form the perfect picture.
Outside the museum, you can find many mural paintings in the area. Make sure you also walk through Calle de Miguel Servet just around the corner.
Opening hours
Tuesday – Sunday: 18:00 – 22:00. Check out the website of Tabacalera for closing days.
Tickets
Free admission.
Access
Address: 28012, Calle de Embajadores, 53, 28012 Madrid, Spain
5. CaixaForum
A very well designed and eye-catching building both on the inside and the outside.
CaixaForum is probably best known for its vertical garden, which is well deserved. The green wall next to the other brown walls of the building is a sight to behold. You can walk under the building and feel like you’re entering a crypt (an open-air one).
The stairs leading to the exhibitions inside have an industrial feel to it and the way the light plays with the silvery stairs causes interesting reflections.
There were two very different exhibitions during my visit. One from The British Museum featuring many objects from antiquity: “From the Assyrians to Alexander the Great”. And another with more contemporary art called: “The painting, a permanent challenge”.
I especially liked the second one with lots of colorful pieces that appealed to me.
Opening hours
All days: 10:00 – 20:00.
Check out the website of CaixaForum for closing days.
Tickets
Access to the building is free. Tickets for the temporary exhibitions are 6 EUR and can easily be bought on site. You can see the vertical green wall and the staircase without buying a ticket to the exhibitions.
Access
Address: Paseo del Prado, 36, 28014 Madrid, Spain
6. Museo del Prado
Museo del Prado is one of the three best-known museums in Madrid together with Reina Sofia and Thyssen Museum. It is big, the building is magnificent and the museum lives up to its name.
The artworks on display are of the biggest artists in history. Many unique pieces can be seen in Museo del Prado with a collection ranging from sculptures to paintings. Instead of having a wide range of artists, it offers big collections from individual artists giving a very complete feel to your visit.
I placed this museum lower in the list because the type of art on display appeals less to me. I didn’t see as many pieces of art that I liked here, whereas I did see many in Reina Sofia, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Tabacalera, and CaixaForum.
The museum also felt crowded. Partly because it was the only museum open on New Year’s Eve day, but also because of the layout of the building. There was less room to wander off with every room leading back to the same main hallway. Big groups were passing through and I didn’t feel like taking a moment to stand in front of a painting I liked to explore the many aspects of it.
I did like the temporary exhibition of Goya’s drawings very much. If you happen to be in Madrid during this exhibition (20 November 2019 until 16 February 2020), then I recommend a visit.
Opening hours
- Monday – Saturday: 10:00 – 20:00.
- Sundays and holidays: 10:00 – 19:00.
Check out the website of Museo del Prado for closing days or reduced opening hours.
Tickets
Tickets are 15 EUR. Admission is free from 18:00 – 20:00 on Mondays – Saturdays and 17:00 – 19:00 on Sundays and holidays.
If you’re planning to visit in the morning, I recommend buying a ticket in advance via GetYourGuide. The queues get big and buying a skip the line ticket can save you up to an hour (it did for me).
Access
Address: Calle de Ruiz de Alarcón, 23, 28014 Madrid, Spain.
7. The Robot Museum
A museum with many robots on display: from Pepper and Nao to the older InMoov and Retrorobot. During the tour, you get an introduction to the history of robotics. You learn about the earliest robots, perfecting movements, the use of robots in Star Wars and for educational and health/companionship purposes.
The tour is especially fun for kids as there is a lot of interaction and you see some robots in action.
On top of The Robot Museum, you can explore the Juguetronical store and buy some robot toys for kids and play around with some of them (secretly just as much fun for adults).
Opening hours and tickets
You can only visit The Robot Museum via one of their guided tours in the evening. There are about three to four tours every day and you have to book in advance. Reservations open at around two weeks before the tour date and the few English tours they have sell out very quickly. I joined a Spanish tour instead, but still booked a week and a half in advance.
On the day of your tour, you have to exchange your reservation for a real ticket of 5 EUR at least 20 minutes before the start of your tour.
Access
Address: Calle de Alberto Aguilera, 1, 28015 Madrid, Spain.
8. Palacio de Velázquez and Palacio de Cristal
Palacio de Velázquez and Palacio de Cristal are two exhibition areas of Reina Sofia in Retiro Park.
Palacio de Velázquez
Palacio de Velázquez is at a prime location in Madrid’s central park. The building has a grand appearance and deserves to carry the name ‘palace’. Inside the museum, you can see a few works of art from the collection of Reina Sofia. The main point of interest here is the main hall with the light falling in from the ceiling to play with the works on display. The artworks are contemporary and you can watch them from different angles and even walk around some of them.
Palacio de Cristal
This is a glass (‘crystal’) palace that looks best from the outside when the sun is playing with the glass exterior. I wasn’t impressed with the interior; it felt to me like I was locked up in a greenhouse with many other people.
The building didn’t look as beautiful from up close but is well worth a visit if you look at it from a distance.
Opening hours
- April – September: 10:00 – 22:00.
- October 1 – 30 / 1 – 31 March: 10:00 – 19:00.
- November – February: 10:00 – 18:00.
Check the website of Reina Sofia for closing days.
Tickets
Free admission
Access
Both palaces are at a few minutes’ walk from each other.
Palacio de Velázquez: Parque del Retiro, Paseo Venezuela, 2, 28001 Madrid, Spain.
Palacio de Cristal: Paseo de Cuba, 4, 28009 Madrid, Spain.
9. Andén 0 Chamberí
A subway station turned museum. It is a very small museum with the main attractions being the old ticket office and entrance gates upstairs and the wall tiles at the subway track downstairs.
Visiting the tracks feels like stepping into history. The draughty atmosphere adds to the feeling of abandonment. The wall tiles are colorful and nice to look at.
Opening hours
- Thursday: 10:00 – 14:00.
- Friday and Saturday: 10:00 – 19:00.
- Sunday: 10:00 – 15:00.
Check the website of Andén 0 for closing days.
Tickets
Free admission.
They only allow 56 people in at a time. If the queue upstairs reaches the pedestrian crossing, then it takes over an hour before you can get inside. Had I known that beforehand, I would have skipped this museum: the 10-minute visit to the museum is not worth an hour wait.
After my visit to the museum, the queue upstairs was much shorter though, so perhaps my timing was a bit unlucky.
Access
Address: Plaza de Chamberí, 28010 Madrid, Spain
