Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
The private haul of a baron who bought everything the Prado left out.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Madrid offline.
The Thyssen was assembled to fill the exact gaps in Madrid's other two national museums — Italian primitives and Northern European schools missing from the Prado, plus Impressionists, Expressionists, and 20th-century American and European work that the Reina Sofía skips. Over 1,600 paintings, once ranked second only to the British Royal Collection.
What to look for
- Ghirlandaio's portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni — acquired from the Morgan Library collection during Depression-era sales
- Carpaccio's Knight — picked up from American collector Otto Kahn under the same circumstances
- The full arc from Gothic art to Lucian Freud under one roof
Sits on the same main boulevard as the Prado — pair both museums in a single afternoon.
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum 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.
- Museo del PradoThe Spanish royal collection — 7,600 paintings accumulated over centuries — opened to the public in November 1819 and never looked back.
- 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.