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Museums in Madrid

20 agosto, 2018

: art | artistic works | Caixaforum | culture | Museo del Prado | museums | National Archaeological Museum | RABASF | Reina Sofia Museum | Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum | Wax Museum

Madrid is not only a major tourist centre in Spain, but also one of the most visited cities in Europe. This strong attraction is not surprising, as the city has a large and important museums proposal which offers visitors the opportunity to know its History and contemplate valuable works of great cultural content.
Therefore, to explore the city as a whole is essential to visit some of its many museums, where tourists lose track of time walking between works of art of great cultural and artistic quality. The galleries highlight, as they contain paintings by such renowned authors as Velázquez, Goya, Bernini, Caravaggio and Picasso, among others.
Definitely, one of the most emblematic places the tourist should visit is the Triangle of Art, whose vertices are three of the most important museums of Madrid: the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofia Museum. Located less than ten minutes from each other, are placed in the Paseo del Prado, the oldest historic garden declared Asset of Cultural Interest. This way, visiting the Triangle of Art will be like a journey through where you’ll be able to tour the world and the History of Art from the Middle Ages to the present. Because of their importance, these galleries are some of the most visited, growing to nearly six million tourists a year.
Less than ten minutes from them is also the CaixaForum, cultural center of the «Obra Social La Caixa» opened in 2008, where visitors can enjoy the interesting temporary exhibitions it offers. Notably vertical garden by Patrick Blanc, with its 24 meters high,  impress those who look at it. It is a green 460m² wall containing 15,000 plants of 250 different species. In addition, its 10,000 m² offers the public a wide range of proposals that can perform as topical debates, lectures, family workshops,…
After six years of work and a budget of 51.7 million euros, the National Archaeological Museum reopens its doors on March 31, 2014. Located next to the National Library and the National Palace Museum Library, at a neoclassical building of the nineteenth century. Covering his spacious sections may be known samples and archaeological finds from prehistoric times to the nineteenth century. These include the Dama de Elche, Lady of Baza, Egyptian mummies and sarcophagi and even a replica of the ceiling of the Altamira caves in a room on the exterior garden. After the renovation, the museum will offer a new much more attractive image, with the aim of bringing its more than 13000 works to everyone, from kids to adults.
Another gallery of great importance is the Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, known by its acronym: RABASF. It is situated at Alcala street, 13; Here visitors can enjoy a wonderful art walk through more than five centuries, from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century. It consists of three floors with a total of fifty-nine rooms comprising works of Spanish, Flemish and Italian art. Includes numerous works of renowned artists such as Picasso or Goya including: Fernando VII on horseback and The Burial of the Sardine. Other works worthy of mention for its high quality and represent the artistic background of the museum are ’Mercenaries Monks’ of Zurbarán, Arcimboldo ’Spring’ or ’Susanna and the Elders’ by Rubens, among many others.
One of the richest and most extensive museums is the National Museum of Decorative Arts, located near the Prado Museum, at Montalban street, 12. This museum has a clear purpose, make those who visit it to reflect on the development of artisanal and industrial techniques that have been lost over time. It will be appreciated by numerous relics of great interest of the ’minor arts’: textiles, furniture, ceramics and glass. These are original and unique works, because today most of this wealth has been lost, so this great collection will surprise who explore its 60 showrooms.
At the City University of Madrid is the Museo of America, created to show the relationship existing between Spain and America. In it, they are exposed about 2,500 pre-Columbian artifacts, colonial and ethnographic of its more than 25,000, dating from prehistory to the present and from all over the continent. This is a great opportunity for lovers of American culture, it is not necessary to make a long journey to contemplate, your trip to Madrid will be the ideal chance to discover it.
Most nature lovers should not miss the National Museum of Natural Sciences, one of the most important institutes of scientific research situated at José Gutiérrez Abascal street, 2. Their main goal is to show the public of all ages their scientific advances in an entertaining way, getting learning and fun at the same time. Achieving this goal is not easy, but it certainly gets this museum through its spectacular exhibitions, such as birds and mammals, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates.
Another museum to spend a good time is the Wax Museum, one of the most characteristic of the city. It’s located at ’Plaza Colón’ and houses different sections, from the smallest child one to terror to the bravest. Its more than 400 wax figures are framed in their typical environments, so there are a wide variety of scenarios such as sports, culture, entertainment…also has various attractions like Terror Train, by making it ideal for an entertaining day.
At Serrano street is the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, from private sources. It has an exceptional collection, which is four thousand eight hundred and twenty. Of these, highlight the works of Goya, Bosch, Murillo, Zurbarán and El Greco. One of the most representative works of the museum’s panel is The Young Salvador, whose style is similar to Leonardo Da Vinci.
There is also plenty of museums of great artistic interest in Madrid, as the city wastes art and culture through its streets. These include the Sorolla Museum, focused mainly on the works of this painter, but also includes other artists such as José de Ribera; or the Cerralbo Museum which is characterized by its vintage aesthetic, gets astonish the tourist by the large number of paintings, objects and sculptures including some famous authors such as Zurbarán, El Greco and Tintoretto.
Those who want to discover the history of Madrid should visit the Museum of History of Madrid, whose cover is one of the characteristics of the Spanish civil Baroque. Located in Calle Fuencarral, it highlights the ’Allegory of the town of Madrid’ by Goya.
Other museums in the capital are the Naval Museum, the National Museum of Anthropology, the Railway Museum, the Costume Museum, the National Museum of Romanticism or the Monastery of Barefoot Royals, with works by artists such as Rubens, Tiziano and Zurbarán.
As you can see, Madrid is characterized by its impressive artistic heritage that makes the city transport us to different times and places, from Egypt to America from prehistory to the twenty-first century. In short, a city that follows culture at every turn.