When I was abroad I took a Spanish and French art history class and it was by far my favorite class that semester (also a nice change from my usual tech classes). I already love art and Madrid is full of amazing art museums! I felt that I appreciated the art I saw in these museums a billion times more after learning so much about the artists and the story behind the pieces so do some research before you go!
There are several main art museums in Madrid - the Reina Sofia, Museo del Prado, the Thyssen (Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum), and the Sorolla Museum. If you are a student, GO TO ALL OF THEM. Because its either free or super cheap. I went to the Reina Sofia all the time just because it was free and also awesome. The Golden Triangle of Art, the Reina Sofia, the Prado and the Thyssen, are all on the same street, Paseo del Prado so you could go to two in one day if you want but I warn you, you could probably spend a whole day in one if you're really into art!
Reina Sofia
I am obsessed with this museum!! It is my favorite one in Madrid so definitely go to this one! It has a lot more recent art than the Prado, which has a lot of older traditional paintings. You can find paintings by artists like Dali, Picasso (the famous Guernica is here!!!!), Matisse, Gris and Serrano. The Dali paintings are insaneeeeee and they have so many cool Picasso sketches you can really see his thought process in creating the piece. Try to go at a time when there aren’t a lot of tourists (aka not on a weekend) so you can stare at Guernica without a crowd, its cray. I was in shock by how big it is in person. You can stare at it for a longggggg time.
Museo del Prado
It kind of feels like Louvre of Madrid but with just paintings. It's huge. You could go here several times and still not see everything. I recommend seeing Goya’s paintings in chronological order to see his emotional progression. He has these really beautiful paintings of the seasons and then by the time you get to the end of his life you see his black paintings and they are so dark and creepy and really show the depression he went through (read up on him he’s like a god to the Spanish). There’s also some famous Velazquez paintings there (Las Meninas!) and some El Greco paintings. Like I said before, do some research before you go! There is some interesting history behind a lot of these paintings.
The Thyssen
If I remember correctly this museum is actually a private owned collection or something like that and they decided to open it up to the public so there’s a really wide variety of styles in there. The artists I was excited to see included Degas, Dali, Cezanne, Gauguin, van Gogh and Monet. There was plenty of older traditional paintings as well. I remember liking a lot of the pieces so I think it’s worth checking out.
The Sorolla
The Sorolla museum is pretty small but its really beautiful. Not only are all Sorolla paintings so calming but the museum is set up to look like his house (since it actually used to be his house) which is really cute and the gardens are really picturesque. Get some pretty photos!
I really miss the art in Madrid so enjoy it while you are there! I have been to a lot of art museums in Europe and some of my favorite pieces are in these museums!
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