It’s free on Saturdays 6-8 and Sundays 5-8 but my God you have to queue. Oh yes. You have to queue to get a ticket and then you have to queue to get in through security. Since the bombs there are metal detectors at every museum and cultural centre except Caixa Forum. The crowds of people made all the staff exhausted, I don’t think they had such huge numbers throughout the day, and I suppose some of them would have been there since 10 in the morning.
So, what do you see? I went for the Goyas and Velasquez, but Goya had been moved, so it was a bit of a tour to get them all. The Dark Pictures were wonderful, very surreal, Goya was a hundred years ahead of his time really, there was nobody like him until Picasso in the 20th century. And then, curiously, in an upstairs room, were some really pretty pastoral scenes, very sugary and light, that had been commissioned for the walls of some rich man’s palace, as the most expensive wallpaper ever. The May paintings as well, the riots, the blood, very spanish and very emotional. Lots of movement in the pictures.
Velasquez’s studies of the royals, the official portraits are simply magical, absolutely brilliant. You get a real sense of the people. Another artist i liked tremendously was Ribera, he was amazing, very shadowy, biblical images, you could really see the suffering of the models, roped in place 12 hours a day. I hadn’t heard of him before.
Unlike the superb Reine Sofia museum, the Prado is incredibly stuffy, particularly when there are a couple of thousand people racing around it. But it was nice afterwards to sit outside and listen to some english busker give his interpretation of spanish guitar pieces.

EL Museo del Prado is a long-time favorite of mine, even though the city of Madrid has pretty much fallen out of favor with me because of the pollution and noise problems. It is actually the best reason for going to the capital, and I still cannot forget the first time I actually saw the works of Goya up close. And of course there’s that other painter, Velázquez (!!) and another rather well-known one, El Greco…

More seriously, this museum, while less enticing in decor than others in Europe I’ve been to lately, has so many famous works and painters that it’s almost obligatory for an art-lover to go once in his or her life. My personal favorites are the pinturas negras by Goya, but many other works by this painter are not to be overlooked, such as the Maja desnuda and the maja vestida, the Lechera de Burdeos, and the 2 and 3 de mayo. As to Velázquez’ works, the most popular is Las meninas, for which a good preparation or follow-up to a long, leisurely viewing would be to read some of the poems dedicated to the painting. Did he really ‘paint the air’? I think so. And from so many perspectives. El Greco may blend in more with some of the other religious works (sorry, El Greco lovers), but is worth more time spent without hurrying through. And one would never want to overlook the fact that there are painters from other areas in El Prado: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Dürer, Botticelli, Veronese, Fra Angelico, etc. Oh, and El Bosco (Bosch), and many more.

There are other museums in the area which are also worthwhile.

A good list of works is here:
http://www.museumsyndicate.com/owner.php?owner=14

The Museo del Prado has seen service as a science museum and military barracks, but since 1814 has been a world-class museum of European art.

Though all the museum’s works can’t be on display all the time, the highlights have to be the Big Three of Spanish painters: Velazquez, Goya and El Greco. Each of them have several rooms dedicated to their famous works.

There are lots of other European works here, especially from other Spanish artists, plus a lot of Italian and Flemish. You can also find a bit of decorative arts. None of it comes from later than the 19th century (if you want 20th century art, check out the Museo Reina Sofía).

The museum underwent an expansion in 2007, but it’s still extremely popular and is likely to be packed anytime it’s open.

An essential museum for those interested in the Spanish masters or European painters in general.

This museum is easy to find, it is beautifully set out and has a great atmosphere. It is a must for any art lover visiting Madrid.

A bargain for those entitled to concessions, and fabulous to look round - even if you’re not usually a museum freak!

Uno de los must-goes de Madrid, junto con el museo Thyssen o el Reina Sofía. La entrada es gratuita de martes a sábados de 18.00 a 20.00 horas y todos los domingos de 17.00 a 20.00 horas. Si no, te cuesta 6 euros.