Madrid has more than seventy museums. The big three on the Paseo del Prado, the Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen, have their own pages; here are the others, often just as fine and far less crowded. Many state museums are free at certain times, on Saturday afternoons or Sunday mornings, and on International Museum Day, 18 May, the National Day on 12 October and Constitution Day on 6 December. It is part of the Madrid guide.
House museums
- Sorolla Museum: the home and studio of the Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla, with its Andalusian garden, the Mediterranean light of his paintings and the intact atmosphere of the early 1900s. One of Madrid's best-loved museums, in Chamberí.
- Lázaro Galdiano Museum: the eclectic collection of a publisher and bibliophile, with paintings by Goya, El Greco and Bosch, enamels, jewellery and ivories, in a small mansion with a garden in Salamanca.
- Cerralbo Museum: the 19th-century palace of a collector marquis, preserved as it was, with ballroom, paintings, weapons and objets d'art. A plunge into aristocratic life of the time.
- Museum of Romanticism: a 19th-century bourgeois apartment recreated with furniture, paintings and objects, in Malasaña, with a lovely garden café.
- Casa de Lope de Vega: the great playwright's home in the Barrio de las Letras, seen on a short free guided tour.
Archaeology, history and science
- National Archaeological Museum: from prehistory to the Middle Ages, with the Lady of Elche, the Visigothic treasure of Guarrazar, Roman mosaics and a replica of the Altamira cave paintings. Excellent for understanding Spain's history.
- Museum of the Americas: the history and art of the pre-Columbian and colonial Americas, with the Mayan Tro-Cortesianus codex and the Quimbaya treasure.
- Madrid History Museum: the city's story in a baroque building with a spectacular portal, featuring the great 1830 scale model of Madrid; free entry.
- Naval Museum: ship models, nautical charts and the first map showing America, Juan de la Cosa's of 1500.
- National Museum of Natural Sciences: dinosaurs, minerals and animals, perfect with children.
- Railway Museum: historic locomotives in the old Delicias station.
Art and court
- Royal Collections Gallery: the new museum beside the Royal Palace, with the crown's treasures.
- Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando: on calle de Alcalá, a little-known gallery with works by Goya, who was its director, Zurbarán, Murillo, Rubens and Arcimboldo.
- Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida: a small neoclassical chapel near the Manzanares whose vault was entirely frescoed by Goya in 1798 with the miracle of St Anthony; the painter is buried beneath the altar. Free entry, one of Madrid's surprises. On 13 June young women come here to ask the saint for a boyfriend.
- Royal monasteries: the Descalzas Reales and the Encarnación, with their art collections, visited on guided tours.
Contemporary art and cultural centres
- CaixaForum: opposite the Botanical Garden, in an old power station remodelled by Herzog & de Meuron, with the famous vertical garden on its façade and high-quality exhibitions.
- Matadero Madrid: the former Legazpi slaughterhouse on Madrid Río, transformed into a large centre for contemporary arts, cinema, theatre and design.
- Fundación Mapfre and Fundación Juan March: top-level temporary exhibitions, often free.
- Conde Duque: the former baroque barracks in Malasaña, now a cultural centre with exhibitions and summer concerts.
Tips
- Many museums close on Mondays; the Reina Sofía closes on Tuesdays.
- Always check free hours on the official websites, as they change often.
- Museum Night in May opens many museums free until late.
- With little time, after the big three choose the Sorolla and the Archaeological Museum.
See also what to see in Madrid and itineraries.