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If you are an art lover, you can find some great art museums in Madrid to enjoy while visiting the city. Walk through the city’s “Golden Triangle of Art” at Paseo del Prado where three great museums stand up: Museo del Prado, Museo Reina Sofia and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. All of them have great art collections from different periods of art history as well as famous masterpieces from famous European Masters.

All three museums are closed on Mondays. You can buy a Special Bonus to enter all of them at a lower ticket price. You can easily spend a whole day at Museo del Prado and set aside and afternoon for each of the other two museums.

Museo Del Prado

Museo Del Prado is Spain’s most renowned museum and it’s considered among the world’s greatest art galleries. The museum opened in 1819 and it was initially built to house The Natural History Cabinet. It then became a Museum for the Royal Collection thanks to King Ferdinand VII and his wife Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza. Most of the pieces in display correspond to art works between the XVI and XIX century; specially paintings from European painters like Velazquez, Goya, Tiziano and Rubens. Its most famous works are Velazquez’s “Las Meninas”, a beautiful piece
depicting Infanta Margarita, King’s Phillip IV daughter, and her entourage, including the painter in one of the corners. Also can’t miss the “Majas” by Goya and his series of “black paintings”.

Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia

The Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia was inaugurated on 1992 and owes its name to Spain’s present day Queen Sofia. It houses a great collection of mostly 20th century art pieces. The museum shows mainly works from Spanish artist like Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece “Guernica” and many works from Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. You can also find pieces from Georges Braque, Jacques Lipchitz and Francis Bacon.

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Last, but not least is the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. This collection started as the private collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family. The late Baron married a former Miss Spain who convinced him to bring his collection to Spain. It features great works from the second half of the 20th century mostly pieces from the Impressionism and Expressionism movements. Paintings from Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir,Vincent Van Gogh and many others can be found here.
So go and enjoy these great museums, you won’t regret it!

Photo by Laura Padgett

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