Prado Museum

Without a second thought I chose Madrid over Barcelona for one simple fact: the Prado museum, which contains two of the best paintings I've ever seen. Experiencing Las Meninas, the best of Velazquez's paintings and, according to many critics, the best painting ever made, did not disappoint. Unlike the Mona Lisa, flocked by tourists and shielded by panes of glass (upon my viewing at least), Meninas is right out in the open, stripped, raw, enormous, and ready to be properly appreciated. The highlight of the museum, however, is the collection of works by Hieronymous Bosch, the pre-Renaissance genius who created Surrealist dreamscapes through the lens of Christian apocolypse. The Garden of Earthly Delights--an enormous tryptich painted on both sides, something unknown to most art history students (myself included)--is the most vast, erudite, and mesmerizing attempt to psychologize the Christian tropes of good, evil, and redemption. Bosch takes imaginative leaps into territory that would remain unexplored for 500 years. Not until Surrealism, with Freud, Dali, and Disney at the helm, did artists and thinkers re-investigate and push this aesthetic into the modern age, where Bosch seems to have belonged. Go to Madrid! Shop the best in European fashions along the Cerrano, have afternoon cafe at the Ritz (located close to the Prado), and roam the expansive, pristine streets--among the cleanest in Europe--without fear of being robbed, as is not the case in Milan or Paris. Madrid is old-school Europe at its finest--art, food, fashion, and nightlife, served on a palette of history spanning 14 centuries. Oh, in the midst of your trip, don't forget to drop your postcards off to the local post office! This spired, majestically-lit palace--there is no other word for it--is laughably spectacular. Only in Europe! 5 STARS

One of the great museums. The Goya paintings are amazing. One can readily identify with the man, his arms outstreaching in an uncomprehending plea, as the guns are pointed at him, about to execute him. Really amazing. And then the Garden of Earthly delights, such a different painting obviously, with so much going on, it can take quite alog time to sort through all the different figures and scenes. The deposition of Christ by Roger van der Weyden and his teacher Robert Campin is incredible as well, simple, narrow, but so moving. Many delights await at the Prado!

It's the 3rd museum in the world after the Hermitage (St Petersburg) and Louvre (Paris). You can see Modern paintings from the 19th and 21C. You can see also the best collection of the Spanish painter: Velasquez, Goya...You can see Las Meninas painting by Velasquez which is one of the best paintings in the world. You must tour the museum with a guide to more appreciate these works.

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Beautiful and interesting works of art cover every inch of this museum. I love all the interesting tales that our guide told us about in relation to some of the paintings. A must see!

Fantastic paintings from Hieronymus Bosch and Francisco Goya. Great building with a good restaurant were you can have lunch. At least you will need a day to see Prado Museum properly.

Amazing museum. Large, but not enough to consume the entire day. Great works by Goya and El Greco. Over 1,300 pieces on display.

tiene obras como las meninas, de Velazques, la maja desnuda de Goya las tres gracias de Rubens y muchas esculturas.

Nice museum, try it with an audio-guide (it's worth it!) and then go for a walk in the retiro park nearby

fabuloso este museo,,, cuando estuve habia unas exposiciones de dali espectacular

Madrid’s Prado Museum has perhaps the finest collection of classical paintings in the world.

Even if you don't have time to go inside the museum, the outside is worth it!

Tis was a highlight for me as I was able to see paintings by Goya.

Allways perfect. collections allways surprising!!

Great Art, great building, great athomsophere!

If you love classic art, you´ll love it.

See Picasso's Guerrnica at the Prado!

Great Velazquez and Goyas.....

one of the greatest museums

greaaaaaaaaaaaat museum!!^^

I could spend days inside