Today, in search of new experiences, we will go to the most famous museums in Madrid, in the halls of which the best examples of history and art, artifacts and items of national treasure are collected. We will tell you where they are located, how much you have to pay for entrance tickets and until what time the doors are open for visitors.
Exhibition Hall Prado
Let's start our excursion, perhaps, with a visit to the Prado Museum, which, in terms of the vastness and significance of the collected collections, is on a par with such giants as the Louvre and the Hermitage. It is easy to guess that the collection of paintings includes not only the results of the work of Spanish artists. Here you can see many creations created by the best representatives of the caste of painters from Italy, Holland and other European countries.
The exposition owes its name to the park of the same name, in which the first exhibition hall was opened in 1819.
Initially, only 300 paintings were kept in the halls, but this collection was replenished every year with new masterpieces and, as a result, grew to fabulous sizes! Today, more than 6 thousand canvases, over 400 sculptures of famous creators, as well as an impressive collection of jewelry items are collected here. Of particular value are the works of the Spanish artist Diego Velazquez, which amaze with their unusual combination of colors and realism.
Worthy competition for these works are the paintings of Francisco Jose de Goya, whose creative path can be divided into two main periods. You can get to the exhibition complex by metro (Banco de Espaсa station), visitors are welcome here every day from 10 to 20 hours, and a ticket will cost 4-8 euros (discounts are available for students and some other categories of visitors).
Madrid Maritime Crafts Hall
As a country with a rich maritime history, Spain is highly recommended to visit the exhibition halls of the capital's maritime museum. This place, without exaggeration, can be considered one of the most successful museums of this kind, which is still subordinate to the defense department.
The collection includes 7 thematic expositions, each of which is dedicated to a specific historical period, as well as to individual areas of maritime craft. Tourists will plunge into the world of modeling, study the nautical equipment and tools that at different times were in the service of the Spaniards, they will be able to look into real ship logs and even get acquainted with a collection of treasures raised from the seabed!
Of particular pride is the exposition, which tells about the famous discoverers of new lands, includes a collection of souvenirs, household items, art, etc. brought from distant shores. The unique map of America, compiled in 1500, is also kept here!
The exhibition is located at the address: Madrid, Paseo del Prado, 5. Entrance to the gallery is free. Day off Monday. On other days, the doors of the exhibition halls are open from 10 am to 7 pm.
Museum of America
This showroom is the most unusual in Spain. Of course, the United States can also get acquainted with similar exhibits and artifacts. But after all, not everyone wants to overcome thousands of kilometers for this, when all the most interesting can be seen without leaving the territory of Spain! The halls display many items from different historical eras, which were delivered to Spain from the very day of the discovery of the New World.
For example, there is an impressive collection of weapons of the aborigines, the first settlers and colonialists. You can see what deities the aborigines prayed to, get acquainted with the collection of musical instruments, cultural and household items, as well as national clothes of the inhabitants of Peru, Mexico, Colombia. In total, about 25 thousand exhibits have been collected, among which there are truly unique items, analogues and copies of which are not even in the national museums of Latin and North America.
You can get to the exhibition every day, except Monday, from 9.30 am to 3 pm (on Thursday the doors of the museum are open until 7 pm). The approximate cost of the ticket is 4 euros, and the building is located at Madrid, Avenida de los Reyes Catolicos, 6. Children enjoy free admission.
Queen Sophia Hall
The collection began its existence in 1992, incorporating paintings by famous Spanish artists. The exposition is aimed at connoisseurs of the fine arts of the last century. The pride is the paintings of such geniuses as Pablo Picasso (the most valuable of the available works is the painting "Guernica"), Juan Gris, Julio Gonzalez, Lucio Muñoz and many others.
You can find the museum at the address: Santa Isabel, 52. It is open daily from 10 am to 9 pm, with the exception of Tuesday, which is considered an official day off. Admission is free for children, while adults will have to pay between 4 and 8 euros for a ticket, depending on whether they want to visit only the periodical exhibitions or have access to the entire collection.
Private exhibition of Serralbo
The uniqueness of this exposition lies in the fact that it was collected within the walls of the most ordinary Madrid house by its owner, the Marquis of Cerralbo. This Spaniard spent most of his life traveling around Europe, which can be understood at the first glance at the collected collection of objects, artifacts, and values. At the moment, there are more than 50 thousand different exhibits and objects, many of which are of real historical value.
A significant part of the subjects is devoted to history and politics, as well as books. You can find an extensive collection of archaeological finds, including artifacts from Ancient Rome and Greece, as well as the best examples of Chinese and Japanese ceramics. And also various types of edged weapons, paintings by Spanish artists, carpets (from the 16th century), many coins, medals, historical documents and watches (from the 18th century). And all this is in a private collection!
An unusual house is located at the address: C. Ventura Rodriguez, 17. The easiest way to get there is by metro, getting off at Ventura Rodriguez or Noviciado stations. Monday is a day off, and on other days guests will be welcome from 9.30 am to 3 pm. The approximate cost of the ticket is 4 euros, and at some hours on weekends, you can get inside for free.
Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando
The pompous 17th century Baroque palace located in the center of Madrid can be overlooked only by a blind man - so luxurious and magnificent its facades, noble architectural lines. Not only is it outwardly remarkable, the inner content is no less magnificent: now it houses the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. For more than 2 centuries, the great painters and sculptors of Spain studied within its walls to improve their skills and talent. Among the leaders of the Academy was the outstanding Goya. When the music department was opened here, some famous musicians and composers studied there.
In the halls and halls of the Academy, there is a large collection of art works of painting and sculpture, consisting of 1.5 thousand canvases and more than 500 sculptures of different masters and eras. Here you can contemplate the unique works of other great geniuses of fine art. A visit to this temple of arts leaves a lasting impression and strengthens the opinion that real art is eternal and enduring.
Address: Alcala, 13, 28014 Madrid
Open to the public: Tuesday - Sunday. - 08.30 - 17.00; Monday - day off.
Ticket price - 6 Є; on Wednesdays and May 18 - free
Monastery-Museum Las Descalzas
This is one of the many monasteries organized by the Catholic kings of Spain as a sign of deep religiosity. It is unique in that it is located as an addition to the royal palace, which is ranked fourth in importance in a series of other palaces.Considering the length of stay of the royals in it, in 1559 it was decided to open a monastery nearby for the Order of St. Poor Clara, which mainly included the highest nobility. The monastery began to quickly grow rich and prosperous, girls from aristocratic and royal families took the vow of monasticism in protest against unwanted marriages.
The territory of the monastery was constantly expanding, turning into a huge estate. The nobility of the court willingly donated to him jewelry, money and works of art, which later made up a rich collection of paintings, sculptures, jewelry and other valuable items. There are paintings by the greatest artists whose names are immortal: Titian, Coelho, Rubens, Murillo and other painting geniuses.
All this was carefully preserved by the nuns even in wartime. The buildings of the monastery were painstakingly restored after the destruction, and now it has retained in its appearance many of the original features, the luxurious splendor of the decoration of the altar. Its main parts are made of precious marble; bronze details are gilded. Magnificent sculptures and statues adorn the side vaults of the altar.
Now there is a functioning monastery and museum - the focus of rich luxury and many cultural and historical values. The interiors are decorated with extraordinary splendor and beauty. The decoration of the main staircase amazes with its chic splendor, the glitter of marble and gold; the ceilings above it are decorated with amazing frescoes - real masterpieces. And the entire monastery complex is a wonderful monument of the past and the abode of beauty in the present.
Address: Madrid, pl. de Las Descalas.
Open for visits: Tue. - Sat, 10.00 - 14.00; 16.00-18.30; Sunday And holidays - 11.00 - 15.00.
Weekends: Monday, 16.19. 04; 01.05; Dec 24, 25, 31
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
The history of this museum is a symbol of love for works of art and for the homeland. Only under such conditions could such a wonderful institution be created, keeping within its walls priceless rarities, carefully collected by generations of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family since the middle of the 19th century. Now the Museum is one of three similar institutions (the Reina Sofia Center for the Arts and the Prado Museum), successfully complementing their collections with their exhibits. Since 1993, the museum has had the official status of the State Picture Gallery, and before that it was the largest private collection in the world.
Here you can find works by artists of various directions: Italian primitivism, Russian constructivism, world abstractionism, impressionism. It presents paintings by German, English, Dutch masters, ranging from Rubens, Caravaggio, Gauguin, Van Gogh and ending with modern ultramodernists in painting. To become the owner of such a treasury, the Spanish government paid the descendants of August Thyssen (the founder of the collection) $ 350 million.
The heirs to this day continue to replenish the museum's funds with new masterpieces. The patriotic Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza (widow of Hans' eldest son), given the economic crisis in the country, transferred her inherited share of the collection to the museum. A special building was built for these exhibits in 2004 next to the main building.
Address: 28014 Madrid, Villahermosa Palace, Paseo del Prado, 8.
Open for visits: Tue - Sun, 10.00 - 19.00, closed. - Monday.
Jamon museum
Hearing for the first time the word "jamon", which is exotic for a Russian, one might think that this is something connected with the history of the ancient world. But every Spaniard knows well that "jamon" - dried pork ham - is a favorite national dish of the people of Spain. Such attention is paid to him here that 5 peculiar museums have been opened in Madrid, where you can not only see a variety of meat delicacies, but also treat yourself to them and buy them.
The 1st floor of such a museum is presented in the form of a market, on the shelves of which a dazzling selection of sausages, cheeses, bread and the main product - jamon, is displayed. The latter is of 2 types - "Serrano" and "Iberico". The first grade is made from the meat of ordinary white pigs, it costs less (from 8 to 15 Є per kg). And "Iberico" is made from a rare breed of black pigs, fed with acorns of a special kind of stone oak, therefore jamon from the meat of such pigs is considered an expensive delicacy (150 Є per 1 kg).
Tourists visiting the Jamon Museum can taste any kind of delicacy in the form of sandwiches at the counter on the 1st floor. If funds permit, you can go up to the 2nd floor, where they offer various specialties for tasting and serve as in a restaurant. For gourmets, a visit to the Jamon Museum will be an unforgettable experience.
Address: Calle Mayor, 7
Joaquin Sorolla Museum
For those who are not familiar with the work of the Spanish impressionist painter Sorolla, a visit to the museum named after him will be a pleasant aesthetic discovery. The paintings of this remarkable painter (2 thousand), who had an extraordinary talent and incredible diligence, evoke admiration. Joaquin has been awarded several prestigious awards.
Here everything that is included in the space of the museum is worthy of admiration: a light three-storey building with graceful columns, a shady garden that surrounds it; a fountain with crystal streams, beautiful halls with many unique exhibits. This house is a witness to the entire life and work of the famous artist, which became the property of the Spanish people as a museum opened by the painter's widow.
The main exhibitions show the works of Sorolla: portraits, still lifes, subject-genre canvases. The artist's landscapes are irresistibly beautiful with his unique style of depiction with a light veil of haze. The provincial corners of Spain appear in many pictures: the life of fishing villages, mountains, sea distances, the work of fishermen, merchants.
There are works by other famous creators of the brush and chisel - Ribeira, Fortuny, Rodin. A touch of the secrets of the beautiful art captured in the paintings of Joaquin Sorolla will enrich the soul and heart.
Address: Paseo del General Martines Campos, 37
Open for visits: Tue - Sat, 09.30 - 20.00; Sun and Holidays - 10.00 - 15.00; closed: Monday, January 1, 6; 24, 25, 31.12.
National Museum of Natural Sciences
The huge museum, located in a 5-storey building, "grew" from the small Royal Cabinet of Natural History, opened in 1771 as a place to house exhibits of living and dead nature. Over the centuries, it has collected so many copies that some of them were sent to other museums in Madrid. But only here are the rarest exhibits of fauna, such as a rare stuffed elephant of the 18th century, endangered species of amphibians, skeletons of prehistoric mammals.
The basis of the museum was the collection of the first director of the Royal Cabinet, Pedro Davila, who collected many insects, stuffed exotic animals and birds, rare copies of books by ancient scientists on natural sciences. In the vicinity of the museum, there is a "Rock Garden", a corner of the Mediterranean and other amazing places. Seminars and conferences are regularly held here for everyone.
Address: Jose Gutierrez Abascal, 2.
Open: weekdays, except Mondays, and Sundays, 10.00 - 17.00; on Sat and Holidays - 10.00 - 20.00.
Closed - Mon, 01, 06 Jan, 01.05; 25.12.
These are not all the exhibitions in Madrid that are worth visiting for all connoisseurs of history and art! There are many more interesting exhibitions in the capital, each of which deserves special attention!
