Museo del Prado
The Spanish royal collection — 7,600 paintings accumulated over centuries — opened to the public in November 1819 and never looked back.
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The Prado holds the world's finest collection of Spanish art and one of the largest collections of Italian masters outside Italy, the latter assembled largely by Velázquez himself on behalf of the Crown. The building was originally designed in 1785 to house a Natural History Cabinet; it became a painting museum only when Ferdinand VII, urged by Queen María Isabel de Braganza, repurposed it.
What to look for
- Goya — the single most extensively represented artist in the entire collection
- Velázquez's own paintings alongside the Italian masters he personally brought to Spain
- Hieronymus Bosch — named by the museum among its collection highlights
Sits on Paseo del Prado, added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2021; the Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía museums are a short walk away, forming Madrid's Golden Triangle of Art.
Museo del Prado is one of 31 sights worth the detour in Madrid, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Madrid pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Madrid
- BernabéuThe only stadium on earth to host both a UEFA Champions League final and a Copa Libertadores final — and the first in Europe to crown both a World Cup and a Euro.
- Metropolitano StadiumThe pitch that staged the 2019 Champions League final will host another in 2027 — and is shortlisted for the 2030 World Cup.
- Royal Palace of MadridThe original Alcázar burned to the ground on Christmas Eve 1734 — what the Bourbons built in its place is the largest palace in Western Europe.
- Museo Reina SofíaGuernica — Picasso's 1937 painting of wartime devastation — hangs here at full scale, in person.
- Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy)A duke's private library meeting in 1711 grew into the institution that still rules what counts as correct Spanish — for Spain and 22 other Spanish-speaking nations.
- Almudena CathedralMadrid became Spain's capital in 1561 and waited over 300 years for a cathedral — then took another 110 years to finish it.