To mark World Museum Day, here is a selection of the best museums to visit in Spain. In anticipation of your forthcoming summer holiday, here is some information about sights, classical and contemporary artists, and a list of museums to worth visiting.
If you live and breathe art and are spellbound by paintings, then this post is for you. Check out the top ten museums you should visit at least once in your life. Now is the time to take a summer trip to Spain’s main cities while listening to your favourite music.
The ultimate in museums. This world-famous museum is one of the ones tourists flock to at this time of year. If you’re planning a weekend break in Madrid, set aside a couple of hours to visit the Prado Museum. It houses the most complete collection of works by Spanish painters. Works like “Las Meninas” ("The Maids of Honour") by Velázquez, “Los fusilamientos del dos de mayo” by Goya, along with works by masters such as Rubens and El Greco are waiting.
We recommend to take plenty of time, since the queues are usually long and you will need time to see the main works displayed in the Prado Museum.
Also in Madrid, you’ll find another of the capital’s main museums. The Reina Sofía Museum features a combination of classical and contemporary art, with a look at the avant-garde of each period. It houses “Guernica” by Picasso, which you can take your time to enjoy.
The Guggenheim Museum’s avant-garde design is the most recognisable in Spain. Frank O. Gehry’s creation is Bilbao’s main museum, and has enraptured millions of tourists visiting this Basque city every year. It features a permanent collection entitled “The Matter of Time”, a series of seven sculptures by Richard Serra. There is space outside the museum to take photos of the fascinating sculptures that sit alongside the building: the spider, “Maman”, by Louise Bourgeois, and the dog, “Puppy”, by Jeff Koons.
The Buenavista Palace, located in the city centre, offers a look at the works of Málaga native, Pablo Picasso. The Picasso Museum, which is near the Alcazaba and Larios Street, houses 155 unique works by the artist, and examines his work from classical art through to the cubism for which he is best known.
We round off with a trip to the Mediterranean coast and a visit to one of the most avant-garde complexes. Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences (“Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències”) was created by Santiago Calatrava y Félix Candela. It is located at the end of what used to be the riverbed of the Turia, and a must-see if you’re travelling to Valencia this summer. There you will find the Prince Philip Science Museum (“Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe”), an interactive science museum, and the Hemisferic (“L’Hemisfèric”), an IMAX cinema projection hall and a planetarium. You can also spend time visiting the Aquarium (“L’Oceanogràfic”), whose 110,000 m 3 make it Europe’s largest.
With these five recommendations, everything’s ready for your adventure and start planning for the summer. If you’re visiting any of these cities in the next few months, be sure to visit one of Spain’s most important museums. We wish you a pleasant stay!
If you live and breathe art and are spellbound by paintings, then this post is for you. Check out the top ten museums you should visit at least once in your life. Now is the time to take a summer trip to Spain’s main cities while listening to your favourite music.
Prado Museum (Madrid)
The ultimate in museums. This world-famous museum is one of the ones tourists flock to at this time of year. If you’re planning a weekend break in Madrid, set aside a couple of hours to visit the Prado Museum. It houses the most complete collection of works by Spanish painters. Works like “Las Meninas” ("The Maids of Honour") by Velázquez, “Los fusilamientos del dos de mayo” by Goya, along with works by masters such as Rubens and El Greco are waiting.
We recommend to take plenty of time, since the queues are usually long and you will need time to see the main works displayed in the Prado Museum.
Reina Sofía Museum (Madrid)
Also in Madrid, you’ll find another of the capital’s main museums. The Reina Sofía Museum features a combination of classical and contemporary art, with a look at the avant-garde of each period. It houses “Guernica” by Picasso, which you can take your time to enjoy.
Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao)
The Guggenheim Museum’s avant-garde design is the most recognisable in Spain. Frank O. Gehry’s creation is Bilbao’s main museum, and has enraptured millions of tourists visiting this Basque city every year. It features a permanent collection entitled “The Matter of Time”, a series of seven sculptures by Richard Serra. There is space outside the museum to take photos of the fascinating sculptures that sit alongside the building: the spider, “Maman”, by Louise Bourgeois, and the dog, “Puppy”, by Jeff Koons.
Picasso Museum (Málaga)
The Buenavista Palace, located in the city centre, offers a look at the works of Málaga native, Pablo Picasso. The Picasso Museum, which is near the Alcazaba and Larios Street, houses 155 unique works by the artist, and examines his work from classical art through to the cubism for which he is best known.
City of Arts and Sciences (Valencia)
We round off with a trip to the Mediterranean coast and a visit to one of the most avant-garde complexes. Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences (“Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències”) was created by Santiago Calatrava y Félix Candela. It is located at the end of what used to be the riverbed of the Turia, and a must-see if you’re travelling to Valencia this summer. There you will find the Prince Philip Science Museum (“Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe”), an interactive science museum, and the Hemisferic (“L’Hemisfèric”), an IMAX cinema projection hall and a planetarium. You can also spend time visiting the Aquarium (“L’Oceanogràfic”), whose 110,000 m 3 make it Europe’s largest.
With these five recommendations, everything’s ready for your adventure and start planning for the summer. If you’re visiting any of these cities in the next few months, be sure to visit one of Spain’s most important museums. We wish you a pleasant stay!