It was constructed during the reign of Charles III in 1785 and it was directly assigned by the king to architect Juan de Villanueva. The Prado Museum has survived all sorts of changes and disputes, and has converted itself in one of most important art galleries in the world. The museum's expansion, designed by Rafael Moneo, has been recently opened up. This expansion makes excellent use of the attached Claustro de los Jerónimos that will hold exhibitions of works that up to now had been kept in the museum's basements, as well other activities.

Located in the heart of Madrid, since 1819 the Prado Museum has been at the centre of an extensive artistic network which includes works by masters from all over the world.

The works that are exhibited in the Villanueva building are both sumptuous and numerous (According to Finaldi, the museum's deputy director, the Prado has nearly 8,000 paintings, of which 1,000 are exhibited, 3,500 have been loaned to other Spanish museums and 3,500 are stored).

It is advisable to visit the museum more than once and choosing before hand the periods, artists and works that one wants to see. We consider that it is practically impossible to assimilate the huge amount of displayed works in only one day.  A recommendation regarding what collections to visit depends to great extent on the visitors' likes and the amount of available time, but we know that we would not be mistaken if we advise you to take a look at our spectacular collection of Spanish painting: El Greco, Zurbarán, Ribera, Murillo, Velázquez and Goya, distributed among several halls, confirm the importance of such a spectacular art gallery, that covers the history of art from the 12th century to Goya.

Its various rooms contain not only exceptional examples of paintings by Spanish artists (Goya, Velázquez, Zurbarán...), but also works by the great masters of other schools (Titian, Reubens and Hieronymous Bosch, for example), as well as outstanding sculptures and other forms of artistic expression.

The Museo del Prado, founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture, also has important collections of drawings (more than 5,000), prints (2,000), coins and medals (around 1,000), and almost 2,000 decorative objects and works of art. Sculpture is represented by more than 700 works and by a smaller number of sculptural fragments.

However, the picture collection, so rich both in terms of size (8,600 paintings) and quality, has eclipsed the other areas. Despite this and given the inevitable lack of space, the Museum can only exhibit in its two buildings the most important paintings (totalling around one seventh of the collection) and sculptures, a selection of furniture and decorative arts objects, including the entire Dauphin's Treasure.


Collections:

Spanish painting: In chronological order from 12th century Romanic murals to Goya (18th and 19th centuries), including Medieval and Renaissance painting, El Greco, Zurbarán, Ribera, Murillo and Velázquez.
Italian Painting: From the early Renaissance (Fra Angelico, Giovanni dal Ponte, Mantegna, Botticelli) to the 18th century (Tiépolo and Corrado Giaquinto). Also works of Raphael, Caravaggio, Guido Reni, Carracci... and the Venetian school (Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Bassano) as well as the Italian Quattrocento.
Flemish and Dutch Painting: Primitive Flemish artists (Weyden, Bouts, Memling) and Bosch.
French painting: Poussin, Claudio de Lorena, Ranc, van Loo, Georges de La Tour or Watteau.
German painting: Not very numerous but of great quality: Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, Baldung Grien y Anton Raphael Mengs.
Sculpture
Decorative arts. El Tesoro del Delfín.
Drawings and illustrations

The building, which was constructed between 1780 and 1790, is located in one of the most beautiful areas of Madrid. It was designed by neoclassical architect Juan de Villanueva, to hold the Natural Science Museum. The idea to turn it into an Art Museum was given by Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, who was crowned Joseph I of Spain during the French occupation. Later, Ferdinand VII supported this initiative.

Once you finish your visit we earnestly recommend you to rest your eyes at the nearby Botanical Garden or at the magnificent Buen Retiro Park, where one can rest and have a bite at one of its many kiosks. Or maybe you would prefer to try some tapas at the Taberna de Dolores or at the Cerveceria Cervantes in Plaza de Jesús numbers 4 and 7 respectively.

See all the events of the Museo del Prado: Click here

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Address: Pº. Prado s/n
City: MADRID
C.P: 28014
Area: RETIRO
Zone: Barrio Retiro - Los jerónimos
Tlf:+ 34 91 330 28 00
Web: http://museoprado.mcu.es/
How to get there: click

Tube:
Banco de España and Atocha stations
Buses
Lines 9, 10, 14, 19, 27, 34, 37 and 45
By rail
Atocha Station

Opening times:

From 9am to 8pm:
Tuesdays to Sundays and public holidays*
(closed on public holidays that fall on Mondays)

*From 9am to 2pm:
24 December
31 December
6 January

Closed
Every Monday of the year (including Mondays that are public holidays)
1 January
1 May
25 December
Easter Friday

(Last admission 30 minutes before closing time. Galleries emptied 10 minutes before closing time)

Entrance Charges:


The Permanent Collection

General ticket price - 6 Euros

Reduced entry price - 3 Euros
(with proof of status)
EU citizens with Large Family accreditation
Students from non-EU countries aged under 25
Young People's card holders
Members of cultural parties of 15 or more members with prior permission from the Director

Free entry
Visitors aged under 18
Visitors aged over 65 or retired or permanently disabled from EU countries
Unemployed visitors from EU countries
Students from EU countries aged under 25
Staff of Spanish State Museums run by the Ministry of Culture
National and local tourist guides
Teachers whose subjects are directly related to the contents of the Museum and who are engaged in teaching during the visit
Large families: One adult and at least three descedents, or two if one of the is disabled.

Free entry days:
Sundays (9am to 7pm)
12 October (Hispanidad Day)
6 December (Constitution Day)
2 May (Official Day, Region of Madrid)
18 May (International Museums Day)

Temporary exhibitions

General

The price of the entry ticket will be decided by the Director of the Museum in cases where the entry price is not included in the price of the general ticket to the Museum.

Free entry
Visitors aged under 18
Visitors aged over 65 or retired or permanently disabled
Unemployed visitors from EU countries
Students from EU countries aged under 25
Staff of Spanish State Museums run by the Ministry of Culture
National and local tourist guides
Members of:
FAMP (Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado)
APEME (Asociación Profesional de Museólogos de España)
ANABAD (Asociación Nacional de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Museólogos)
AEM (Asociación Española de Museólogos)
ICOM (International Council of Museums)
Large families: One adult and at least three descedents, or two if one of the is disabled.

Other services available at the museum

Gift shop: Design and decorative items, jewellery, stationery articles...
Bookshop: Specialising in art, catalogues raisonnées, informative guides, posters
Coffee shop: Open during museum hours
Restaurant: Check opening times
Group visits: Telephone for reservations: 90 240 04 22
Access and amenities: ramps and wheelchairs
Photography: Telephone for permits (Management): 91 330 28 94

Texts: Elías Zapata