The Prado Museum ranks right up there with Paris's Louvre and London's National Gallery for the quality, breadth and renown of its collection. Just over 3,000 of the paintings in the Prado's possession were commissioned by Spanish royalty, but the collection totals over 8,500! The building is enormous by most measures - visitors tend to be overwhelmed by the size - yet it is only capable of holding about 14% of the museum's stock. Renovations are underway to enlarge the building and find a home for thousands of stowed away masterpieces.
The permanent collection is divided into 8 main categories on 2 floors: Spanish painting (1100-1850), Italian painting (1300-1800), Flemish painting (1430-1700), French painting (1600-1800), German painting (1450-1800), sculpture, decorative arts and drawings & prints.
If you're just going to visit the Prado once, it's a good idea to prioritize and plan ahead so you don't get lost in the plethora of paintings. Highlights include early Flemish works by Van der Weyden and Heronymous Bosch, enormous paintings from the Venetian Renaissance school and the amazing quantity of representations by El Greco, Velazquez and Goya.
Don't miss "Las Meninas," by Velazquez, Goya's series of "Pinturas Negras" and Bosch's "El Jardín de las Delicias."

MUSEO DEL PRADO
Address: Paseo del Prado (no number)
Tel: (+34) 91 330 28 00 or (+34) 902 10 70 77
Metro stops: Atocha (line 1), Banco de España (line 2)
Bus lines: 9, 10, 14, 19, 27, 34, 37, 45
Neighborhood: Huertas & Paseo del Prado
Open: 9am-8pm Tues-Sun
Holiday hours: 9am-2pm (Dec 24 & 31, Jan 6)
Closed: Mondays, Jan 1, May 1, Good Friday, Dec. 25
General admission: €6
Reduced admission: €3 under 18s, EU citizens over 65, EU students under 25.
Free admission: Sundays, October 12, December 6, May 2, May 18

While the Prado is Madrid's bastion of classical art, the Reina Sofia holds the country's most prized modern treasures. It picks up where the Prado leaves off - the second half of the 19th century - and boasts painting, sculpture and multimedia exhibits straight up through the 21st.
The museum's 2nd and 4th floors hold the permanent collection, accessible by exterior windowed elevators. You can enjoy views of the Atocha train station as you shoot up to the galleries. The building itself is a pleasure to roam, as it's characterized by wide open spaces and high ceilings centered around a spacious patio/ sculpture garden. An striking red addition designed by Jean Nouvel was completed in 2005 and holds an auditorium, library, bookstore, and space for temporary exhibits.
You'll find the earlier half of the permanent collection on the 2nd floor; this is where the turn of the century Spanish vanguard is concentrated. Cubism and surrealism are widely represented by works like Picasso's "Guernica," Dalí's "El gran masturbador," Buñuel's "El perro andaluz" and Juan Gris's paintings. Abstract and pop art can be found on the 4th floor.

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Address: c/ Santa Isabel, 52
Tel: (+34) 91 774 10 00
Metro stops: Atocha (line 1)
Bus lines: 6, 10, 14, 18,19, 26, 27, 32, 34, 36, 37, 41, 45, 46, 55, 57, 59, 68, 86, 119, Circular
Neighborhood: Lavapiés
Open: 10am-9pm, Mon-Sat; 10am-2:30pm Sun
Closed: Tuesdays; December 24, 25 and 31; January 1 and 6; May 1; Sept 9; Nov 9
General admission: €6
Reduced admission: €3 with student/youth card and for educational/cultural groups
Free admission: 2:30pm-9pm Saturdays; 10am-2:30pm Sundays; May 28, October 12, December 6. Always free for under 18s, over 65s, retirees, unemployed persons, cultural and educational volunteers.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum houses the Avenue of the Arts’ only private collection. Organized in chronological order from the 8th to 20th centuries, the Thyssen allows you to wander through the entire trajectory of Western art history from the top floor to the bottom. It's like an Art History lesson put into action! You’ll start on the 2nd floor with primitive Flemish and Italian art, see the evolution of perspective as you enter the Renaissance, move to the Italian Baroque, the German and Flemish masters and on to Rococo and Neoclassicism, phase into 19th century Romanticism and Realism, and make your way downstairs through Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, and finally Pop Art.

MUSEO THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA Address: Paseo del Prado 8 (Palacio de Villahermosa) Tel: (+34) 91 369 01 51 Metro stops: Banco de España (line 2), Atocha (line 1) Bus lines: 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 27, 34, 37, 45, 51, 52, 53, 74, 146 y 150 Neighborhood: Huertas Open: 10am-7pm, Tues-Sun Holiday hours: 10am-3pm (Dec 24 & 31) Closed: Mondays, Jan 1, May 1, Dec 25 General admission: €6 permanent collection; €5 temporary exhibit; €9 combined Reduced admission: €4 permanent collection; €3.50 temporary exhibit; €5 combined (for over 65s and students with ID) Free admission: under 12s with adult

Museo Arqueológico - Archeological Museum

This marvellous collection traces the progression of civilizations that have inhabited Iberia from prehistoric times to the 19th century. Highlights include the "Dama de Elche," a beautiful bust of a woman dating to the 4th century BC, the only such peninsular artifact of its kind. You can also enter a partial reproduction of the fascinating Altamira Caves.
Address: Calle Serrano 13
Tel: (+34) 91 577 79 12
Metro stops: Colón (line 4), Serrano (line 4), Banco de España (line 2)
Bus lines: 1, 9, 19, 51, 74, 5, 14, 27, 45, 150, 21, 53
Neighborhood: Salamanca
Open: Tues.-Sat. from 9:30am-8pm
Sunday & holiday hours: 9:30am-3pm (Dec 24 & 31)
Closed: Mondays, Jan. 1 & 6, Nov. 9, Dec. 24, 25 & 31.
General admission: 3.01€
Free admission: Sat 2:30pm-closing; Sun 9:30am-2:30pm; Oct. 12, Dec. 6, May 18.

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando

The Royal Academy of Fine Arts remains a largely undiscovered gem despite its centric location just meters from Puerta del Sol. The academy's collection consists of thousands of paintings, drawings and sculptures, largely by former students and members like Goya, Ribera, Zurbarán, Rubens, Van Loo and Picasso.
Address: Calle de Alcalá, 13
Tel: (+34) 91 524 08 64
Metro stops: Sol (line 1, 2 or 3)
Neighborhood: Puerta del Sol
Bus lines: 3, 5, 15, 20, 51, 52, 53, 150
Open: Tues-Fri from 9am-7pm; Sat. from 9am-2pm & 5pm-9pm
Sunday & holiday hours: 9am-2:30pm.
Closed: Mondays, Jan. 1 & 6, May 1 & 30, Dec. 24, 25 & 31.
General admission: 3€
Reduced admission: 1.50€ for youth/students under 25.
Free admission: university students, university professors, under 18, over 65, Wednesdays, May 18, Oct 12, Dec 6.

Biblioteca Nacional/ Museo del Libro

Spain's grandiose National Library catalogues every book that has passed and will pass through the country. The building holds volumes upon volumes of stacks, reading rooms, historic manuscripts, maps and drawings and hosts temporary exhibits. Best of all, you can explore for free!
Address: Paseo de Recoletos, 20
Tel: (00 34) 91 580 78 23
Metro: Colón (line 4), Serrano (line 4), Banco de España (line 2)
Bus lines: 5, 14, 27, 45, 150, 21, 53
Neighborhood: Salamanca
Open: Monday-Friday from 9am-9pm; Saturdays from 9am-2pm
Closed: Sundays; January 5 & 6; Holy Thursday - Easter; May 1, 2 & 15; October 12; November 1 & 9; December 6, 8 & 25; other dates to be confirmed.
Free admission

Palacio Real

Madrid's Royal Palace is not just for gawking from the outside. Enter the building and you'll find the royal armory, historic apothecary, painting galleries, throne room and more. On a nice day, descend behind the hilltop palace and breathe the fresh air of the Campo del Moro, the monarchs' extensive gardens.
Address: Calle Bailen s/n
Tel: (00 34) 91 547 53 50
Metro stops: Ópera (line 5 or 2)
Bus lines: 1, 2, 3, 6, 17, 202, 17, 18, 23, 25, 26, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 39, 41, 44, 46, 50, C1, C2, 74, 75, 133, 138, 146, 147, 148
Neighborhood: Plaza Mayor (Los Austrias)
Open: October-March: Mon-Sat, 9:30am-5pm; Sun & holidays 9-2pm. April-Sept: Mon-Sat, 9:30am-6pm
Sunday & holiday hours: 9-3pm.
Closed: January 6, May 1 & 15, Oct 12, Nov 9, Dec 24, 25 & 31
General admission: 10€
Reduced admission: 7€ for tour groups. 4€ for 5-16 year olds, over 65, students, youth with proper ID.
Free admission: children under 5, Wednesdays for EU citizens, May 18.

Sorolla Museum

Vanguard Spanish artists like Dalí, Picasso and Miró may have dwarfed their stellar predecessor, Joaquín Sorolla Bastida, in fame. Nevertheless, this largely overlooked impressionist is well worth our consideration. Dozens of Sorolla's paintings and sculptured are on display in his old house in the bourgeois district of Chamberí. You're sure to be pleasantly surprised.
Address: General Martínez Campos, 37
Tel: (00 34) 91 3101584
Metro: Iglesia (line 1), Rubén Darío (line 4), Gregorio Marañón (line 10 or 7)
Bus lines: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 27, 37, 40, 45, 51, 61, 74, 147, 149, 150
Neighborhood: Chamberí (near Salamanca)
Open: Tues-Sat, 9:30am-3pm
Sunday & holiday hours: 10am-3pm
Closed: Mondays, Jan. 1 & 6, May 1, Dec. 24, 25 & 31 and two local holidays.
General admission: 2.40€
Reduced admission: 1.20€ for youth, students & groups.
Free admission: under 18 & over 65. Sundays, May 18, Oct 12, Dec 6.