1 Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
2 Museo de América
3 Museo Lázaro Galdiano
4 Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
5 Museo Sorolla
6 Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
7 Palacio Real
8 Parque del Retiro
9 Plaza Mayor
10 El Prado
One of the largest buildings in Europe houses Spain's national museum of modern art, including the world-famous painting, Guernica by Picasso.
The two glass elevators that slide up and down the outside of what was an 18th-century hospital are typical of Spain's imaginative approach to building conversion. Two floors are devoted to the permanent collection of paintings and sculptures from the late 19th century to the present day; two more have temporary exhibitions.
Start up on the fourth floor. Rooms 34 and 35 are dominated by the gigantic canvases of Robert Motherwell (USA) and Antoni Tàpies (Spain). Pablo Palazuelo's geometric patterns make your eyes ache, while his fellow-madrileño Eduardo Arroyo prefers a big, bright palette. A star of the contemporary sculpture scene is Eduardo Chillida, whose massive metal works fill Rooms 42 and 43. But the biggest crowds are on the second floor. As you approach Rooms 6 and 7, you can hear the hum of conversation in the rooms dedicated to Picasso. The main focus is El Guernica (1937), Picasso's powerful work condemning the unjustifiable bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso's will stated that the painting could only be brought to Spain when democracy was restored. In 1981, six years after Franco's death, Guernica was finally shown in Spain. It is not the only politically inspired painting. Rooms 10 and 11 are devoted to Dalí, whose Enigma of Hitler (1939) also reflects the uncertainty of those times. Nearby rooms feature works by Juan Miró, Juan Gris and the surrealist painters Max Ernst and René Magritte.Address: Calle Santa Isabel 52
Phone: 91 467 50 62
Open: Mon, Wed-Sat 10-9, Sun 10-2:30
Restaurant: Restaurant/café (Inexpensive)
Bus: All routes to Atocha
Metro: Atocha
Accessible: Good
Admission: Cheap; free under-18, over-65; Sat 2:30-9, Sun
Other: Museo Nacional de Antropología, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Museo del Prado
Practical: The Bonoarte ticket is a reduced rate, combined ticket for the Prado, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and Museo Reina Sofía
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