oMuseo Thyssen-Bornemisza MUSEUM
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; 
%902 760511; www.museothyssen.org; Paseo del Prado 8; adult/child €12/free, Mon free; 
h10am-7pm Tue-Sun, noon-4pm Mon; 
mBanco de España)
The Thyssen is one of the most extraordinary private collections of predominantly European art in the world. Where the Prado or Reina Sofía enable you to study the body of work of a particular artist in depth, the Thyssen is the place to immerse yourself in a breathtaking breadth of artistic styles. Most of the big names are here, sometimes with just a single painting, but the Thyssen’s gift to Madrid and the art-loving public is to have them all under one roof. Begin on the top floor and work your way down.
Second Floor
The 2nd floor, which is home to medieval art, includes some real gems hidden among the mostly 13th- and 14th-century and predominantly Italian, German and Flemish religious paintings and triptychs. Unless you’ve got a specialist’s eye, pause in Room 5, where you’ll find one work by Italy’s Piero della Francesca (1410–92) and the instantly recognisable Portrait of King Henry VIII by Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), before continuing on to Room 10 for the evocative 1586 Massacre of the Innocents by Lucas Van Valckenborch. Room 11 is dedicated to El Greco (with three pieces) and his Venetian contemporaries Tintoretto and Titian, while Caravaggio and the Spaniard José de Ribera dominate Room 12. A single painting each by Murillo and Zurbarán add further Spanish flavour in the two rooms that follow, while the exceptionally rendered views of Venice by Canaletto (1697–1768) should on no account be missed.
Best of all on this floor is the extension (Rooms A to H) built to house the collection of Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza. Room C houses paintings by Canaletto, Constable and Van Gogh, while the stunning Room H includes works by Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Pissarro and Degas.
Before heading downstairs, a detour to Rooms 19 through 21 will satisfy those devoted to 17th-century Dutch and Flemish masters, such as Anton van Dyck, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Rubens and Rembrandt (one painting).
First Floor
If all that sounds impressive, the 1st floor is where the Thyssen really shines. There’s a Gainsborough in Room 28 and a Goya in Room 31, but if you’ve been skimming the surface of this overwhelming collection, Room 32 is the place to linger over each and every painting. The astonishing texture of Van Gogh’s Les Vessenots is a masterpiece, but the same could be said for Woman in Riding Habit by Manet, The Thaw at Véthueil by Monet, Renoir’s Woman with a Parasol in a Garden and Pissarro’s quintessentially Parisian Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon. Room 33 is also something special, with Cézanne, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas, while the big names continue in Room 34 (Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani) and 35 (Edvard Munch and Egon Schiele).
In the 1st floor’s extension (Rooms I to P), the names speak for themselves. Room K has works by Monet, Pissaro, Sorolla and Sisley, while Room L is the domain of Gauguin (including his iconic Mata Mua), Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. Rooms M (Munch), N (Kandinsky), O (Matisse and Georges Braque) and P (Picasso, Matisse, Edward Hopper and Juan Gris) round out an outrageously rich journey through the masters. On your way to the stairs there’s Edward Hopper’s Hotel Room.
Ground Floor
On the ground floor, the foray into the 20th century that you began in the 1st-floor extension takes over with a fine spread of paintings from cubism through to pop art.
In Room 41 you’ll see a nice mix of the big three of cubism, Picasso, Georges Braque and Madrid’s own Juan Gris, along with several other contemporaries. Kandinsky is the main drawcard in Room 43, while there’s an early Salvador Dalí alongside Max Ernst and Paul Klee in Room 44. Picasso appears again in Room 45, another one of the gallery’s standout rooms; its treasures include works by Marc Chagall and Dalí’s hallucinatory Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate, One Second Before Waking Up.
Room 46 is similarly rich, with Joan Miró’s Catalan Peasant with a Guitar, the splattered craziness of Jackson Pollock’s Brown and Silver I, and the deceptively simple but strangely pleasing Green on Maroon by Mark Rothko taking centre stage. In Rooms 47 and 48 the Thyssen builds to a stirring climax, with Francis Bacon, Roy Lichtenstein, Henry Moore and Lucian Freud, Sigmund’s Berlin-born grandson, all represented.
WHERE ARE THEY BURIED?
While other countries have turned cemeteries and the graves of famous locals into tourist attractions, Spain has been slow to do the same. That may be because mystery surrounds the final resting places of some of Spain’s most towering historical figures.
Diego Velázquez (1599–1660) According to historical records, Spain’s master painter was buried in the Iglesia de San Juanito, but the church was destroyed in the early 19th century by Joseph Bonaparte to make way for what would later become the Plaza de Ramales (MAP GOOGLE MAP; mÓpera). Excavations in 2000 revealed the crypt of the former church, but Velázquez was nowhere to be found.
Francisco Goya (1746–1828) In 1919, 91 years after Goya’s death in Bordeaux, France, his remains were entombed in the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida, the small chapel still adorned by some of Goya’s most celebrate frescoes. But his head was never found.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616) Cervantes, the author of Don Quijote, lived much of his life in Madrid and upon his death his body was buried at the Convento de las Trinitarias, in the Barrio de las Letras. In the centuries that followed, his body was somehow misplaced until, in early 2015, forensic archaeologists announced that they had discovered the bones of Cervantes in a crypt in the convent. Still home to cloistered nuns, the convent is closed to the public except for Mass.
oCentro de Arte Reina Sofía MUSEUM
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %91 774 10 00; www.museoreinasofia.es; Calle de Santa Isabel 52; adult/concession €10/free, 1.30-7pm Sun, 7-9pm Mon & Wed-Sat free, tickets cheaper if purchased online; h10am-9pm Mon & Wed-Sat, to 7pm Sun; mAtocha)
Home to Picasso’s Guernica, arguably Spain’s most famous artwork, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is Madrid’s premier collection of contemporary art. In addition to plenty of paintings by Picasso, other major drawcards are works by Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. The collection principally spans the 20th century up to the 1980s. The occasional non-Spanish artist makes an appearance (including Francis Bacon’s Lying Figure; 1966), but most of the collection is strictly peninsular.
The permanent collection is displayed on the 2nd and 4th floors of the main wing of the museum, the Edificio Sabatini. Guernica’s location never changes – you’ll find it in Room 206 on the 2nd floor. Beyond that, the location of specific paintings can be a little confusing. The museum follows a theme-based approach, which ensures that you’ll find works by Picasso or Miró, for example, spread across the two floors. The only solution if you’re looking for something specific is to pick up the latest copy of the Planos de Museo (Museum Floorplans) from the information desk just outside the main entrance; it lists the rooms in which each artist appears (although not individual paintings).
In addition to Picasso’s Guernica, which is worth the admission fee on its own, don’t neglect the artist’s preparatory sketches in the rooms surrounding Room 206; they offer an intriguing insight into the development of this seminal work. If Picasso’s cubist style has captured your imagination, the work of the Madrid-born Juan Gris (1887–1927) or Georges Braque (1882–1963) may appeal.
The work of Joan Miró (1893–1983) is defined by often delightfully bright primary colours, but watch out also for a handful of his equally odd sculptures. Since his paintings became a symbol of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, his work has begun to receive the international acclaim it so richly deserves – the museum is a fine place to see a representative sample of his innovative work.
The Reina Sofía is also home to 20 or so canvases by Salvador Dalí (1904–89), of which the most famous is perhaps the surrealist extravaganza that is El gran masturbador (1929). Among his other works is a strange bust of a certain Joelle, which Dalí created with his friend Man Ray (1890–1976). Another well-known surrealist painter, Max Ernst (1891–1976), is also worth tracking down.
If you can tear yourself away from the big names, the Reina Sofía offers a terrific opportunity to learn more about sometimes lesser-known 20th-century Spanish artists. Among these are Miquel Barceló (b 1957); madrileño artist José Gutiérrez Solana (1886–1945); the renowned Basque painter Ignazio Zuloaga (1870–1945); Benjamín Palencia (1894–1980), whose paintings capture the turbulence of Spain in the 1930s; Barcelona painter Antoni Tàpies (1923–2012); pop artist Eduardo Arroyo (b 1937); and abstract painters such as Eusebio Sempere (1923–85) and members of the Equipo 57 group (founded in 1957 by a group of Spanish artists in exile in Paris), such as Pablo Palazuelo (1916–2007). Better known as a poet and playwright, Federico García Lorca (1898–1936) is represented by a number of his sketches.
Of the sculptors, watch in particular for Pablo Gargallo (1881–1934), whose work in bronze includes a bust of Picasso, and the renowned Basque sculptors Jorge Oteiza (1908–2003) and Eduardo Chillida (1924–2002).
oParque del Buen Retiro GARDENS
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; Plaza de la Independencia; h6am-midnight May-Sep, to 10pm Oct-Apr; mRetiro, Príncipe de Vergara, Ibiza, Atocha)
The glorious gardens of El Retiro are as beautiful as any you’ll find in a European city. Littered with marble monuments, landscaped lawns, the occasional elegant building (the Palacio de Cristal is especially worth seeking out) and abundant greenery, it’s quiet and contemplative during the week but comes to life on weekends. Put simply, this is one of our favourite places in Madrid.
Laid out in the 17th century by Felipe IV as the preserve of kings, queens and their intimates, the park was opened to the public in 1868, and ever since, when the weather’s fine and on weekends in particular, madrileños from all across the city gather here to stroll, read the Sunday papers in the shade, take a boat ride or nurse a cool drink at the numerous outdoor terrazas.
The focal point for so much of El Retiro’s life is the artificial estanque (lake), which is watched over by the massive ornamental structure of the Monument to Alfonso XII (Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Independencia; mRetiro) on the east side, complete with marble lions. As sunset approaches on a Sunday afternoon in summer, the crowd grows, bongos sound out across the park and people start to dance. Row boats (MAP GOOGLE MAP; per 45min weekdays/weekends €6/8; h10am-8.30pm Apr-Sep, to 5.45pm Oct-Mar; mRetiro) can be rented from the lake’s northern shore – an iconic Madrid experience. On the southern end of the lake, the odd structure decorated with sphinxes is the Fuente Egipcia (Egyptian Fountain; Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Independencia; h6am-midnight May-Sep, to 10pm Oct-Apr; mRetiro); legend has it that an enormous fortune buried in the park by Felipe IV in the mid-18th century rests here. Hidden among the trees south of the lake is the Palacio de Cristal (%91 574 66 14; www.museoreinasofia.es; Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Indepencia; h10am-10pm Apr-Sep, to 7pm Oct, to 6pm Nov-Mar; mRetiro), a magnificent metal-and-glass structure that is arguably El Retiro’s most beautiful architectural monument. It was built in 1887 as a winter garden for exotic flowers and is now used for temporary exhibitions organised by the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Just north of here, the 1883 Palacio de Velázquez (www.museoreinasofia.es; Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Independencia; admission varies; h10am-10pm May-Sep, to 7pm Oct, to 6pm Nov-Apr) is also used for temporary exhibitions.
At the southern end of the park, near La Rosaleda (Rose Garden; Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Independencia; mRetiro, Atocha) with its more than 4000 roses, is a statue of El Ángel Caído (Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Independencia; mRetiro) (The Fallen Angel). Strangely, it sits 666m above sea level… The Puerta de Dante (Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Independencia; mRetiro), in the extreme southeastern corner of the park, is watched over by a carved mural of Dante’s Inferno. Occupying much of the southwestern corner of the park is the Jardín de los Planteles (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Independencia; mRetiro), one of the least-visited sections of El Retiro, where quiet pathways lead beneath an overarching canopy of trees. West of here is the moving Bosque del Recuerdo (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Memorial Garden; Calle de Alfonso XII; h6am-10pm; mRetiro), an understated memorial to the 191 victims of the 11 March 2004 train bombings. For each victim stands an olive or cypress tree. To the north, just inside the Puerta de Felipe IV, stands what is thought to be Madrid’s oldest tree (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Parque del Buen Retiro, Plaza de la Indepencia; mRetiro), a Mexican conifer (ahuehuete) planted in 1633.
In the northeastern corner of the park is the Ermita de San Isidro (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Paseo del Quince de Mayo 62; mRetiro), a small country chapel noteworthy as one of the few, albeit modest, examples of Romanesque architecture in Madrid. When it was built, Madrid was a small village more than 2km away.
Plaza de la Cibeles SQUARE
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; mBanco de España)
Of all the grand roundabouts that punctuate the Paseo del Prado, Plaza de la Cibeles most evokes the splendour of imperial Madrid. The jewel in the crown is the astonishing Palacio de Comunicaciones. Other landmark buildings around the plaza’s perimeter include the Palacio de Linares and Casa de América (MAP GOOGLE MAP; %91 595 48 00, ticket reservations 902 221424; www.casamerica.es; Plaza de la Cibeles 2; adult/student & senior/child €8/5/free; hguided tours 11am, noon & 1pm Sat & Sun Sep-Jul, shorter hours Aug, ticket office 10am-3pm & 4-8pm Mon-Fri; mBanco de España), the Palacio Buenavista (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Plaza de la Cibeles; mBanco de España) and the national Banco de España (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Calle de Alcalá 48). The spectacular fountain of the goddess Cybele at the centre of the plaza is one of Madrid’s most beautiful.
Ever since it was erected by Ventura Rodríguez in 1780, the fountain has been a Madrid favourite. Carlos III liked it so much he tried to have it moved to the royal gardens of the Granja de San Ildefonso, on the road to Segovia, but madrileños kicked up such a fuss that he let it be.
There are fine views east from Plaza de la Cibeles towards the Puerta de Alcalá or, even better, west towards the Edificio Metrópolis.
CentroCentro ARTS CENTRE
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %91 480 00 08; www.centrocentro.org; Plaza de la Cibeles 1; h10am-8pm Tue-Sun; mPlaza de España) 
F
One of Madrid’s more surprising and diverse cultural spaces, CentroCentro is housed in the grand Palacio de Comunicaciones. It has cutting-edge exhibitions covering 5000 sq metres over four floors (floors 1, 3, 4 and 5), as well as quiet reading rooms and some stunning architecture, especially in the soaring Antiguo Patio de Operaciones on the 2nd floor. On the 8th floor is the Mirador de Madrid.
Mirador de Madrid VIEWPOINT
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; www.centrocentro.org; 8th fl, Palacio de Comunicaciones, Plaza de la Cibeles; adult/child €2/0.50; h10.30am-1.30pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sun; mBanco de España)
The views from the summit of the Palacio de Comunicaciones are among Madrid’s best, sweeping out over Plaza de la Cibeles, up the hill towards the sublime Edificio Metrópolis and out to the mountains. Buy your ticket up the stairs then take the lift to the 6th floor, from where the gates are opened every half hour. You can either take another lift or climb the stairs up to the 8th floor.
Puerta de Alcalá MONUMENT
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; Plaza de la Independencia; mRetiro)
This imposing triumphal gate was once the main entrance to the city (its name derives from the fact that the road that passed under it led to Alcalá de Henares) and was surrounded by the city’s walls. It was here that the city authorities controlled access to the capital and levied customs duties.
Caixa Forum MUSEUM, ARCHITECTURE
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %91 330 73 00; https://obrasociallacaixa.org/en/cultura/caixaforum-madrid/que-hacemos; Paseo del Prado 36; adult/child €4/free; h10am-8pm; mAtocha)
This extraordinary structure is one of Madrid’s most eye-catching landmarks. Seeming to hover above the ground, the brick edifice is topped by an intriguing summit of rusted iron. On an adjacent wall is the jardín colgante (hanging garden), a lush (if thinning) vertical wall of greenery almost four storeys high. Inside there are four floors of exhibition space awash in stainless steel and with soaring ceilings. The exhibitions here are always worth checking out and include photography, contemporary painting and multimedia shows.
Caixa Forum’s shop (mostly books) is outstanding. You can visit the shop without paying the entrance fee.
Real Jardín Botánico GARDENS
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; Royal Botanical Garden; %91 420 04 38; www.rjb.csic.es; Plaza de Bravo Murillo 2; adult/child €4/free; h10am-9pm May-Aug, to 8pm Apr & Sep, to 7pm Mar & Oct, to 6pm Nov-Feb; mAtocha)
Madrid’s botanical gardens are a leafy oasis in the centre of town, though they’re not as expansive or as popular as the Parque del Buen Retiro. With some 30,000 species crammed into a relatively small 8-hectare area, it’s more a place to wander at leisure than laze under a tree, although there are benches dotted throughout the gardens where you can sit.
Iglesia de San Jerónimo El Real CHURCH
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %91 420 35 78; Calle de Ruiz de Alarcón; h10am-1pm & 5-8.30pm; mAtocha, Banco de España) F
Tucked away behind Museo del Prado, this chapel was traditionally favoured by the Spanish royal family, and King Juan Carlos I was crowned here in 1975 upon the death of Franco. The sometimes-sober, sometimes-splendid mock-Isabelline interior is actually a 19th-century reconstruction that took its cues from Iglesia de San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo; the original was largely destroyed during the Peninsular War. What remained of the former cloisters has been incorporated into Museo del Prado.
Antigua Estación de Atocha NOTABLE BUILDING
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; Old Atocha Train Station; Plaza del Emperador Carlos V; mAtocha Renfe)
In 1992 the northwestern wing of the Antigua Estación de Atocha was given a stunning overhaul. The structure of this grand iron-and-glass relic from the 19th century was preserved, while its interior was artfully converted into a light-filled tropical garden with more than 500 plant species. The project was the work of architect Rafael Moneo, and his landmark achievement was to create a thoroughly modern space that resonates with the stately European train stations of another age.
Real Fábrica de Tapices LANDMARK
(Royal Tapestry Workshop; %91 434 05 50; www.realfabricadetapices.com; Calle de Fuenterrabía 2; adult/child €5/3.50; h10am-2pm Mon-Fri Sep-Jul, guided tours hourly; mAtocha Renfe, Menéndez Pelayo)
If a wealthy Madrid nobleman ever wanted to impress, he went to the Real Fábrica de Tapices, where royalty commissioned the pieces that adorned their palaces and private residences. The Spanish government, Spanish royal family and the Vatican were the biggest patrons of the tapestry business: Spain alone is said to have collected four million tapestries. With such an exclusive clientele, it was a lucrative business and remains so, 300 years after the factory was founded.
WORTH A TRIP
CASA DE CAMPO
Sometimes called the ‘lungs of Madrid’, Casa de Campo (mBatán) is a 17-sq-km stand of greenery stretches west of the Río Manzanares. There are prettier and more central parks in Madrid but its scope is such that there are plenty of reasons to visit. And visit the madrileños do, nearly half a million of them every weekend, celebrating the fact that the short-lived Republican government of the 1930s opened the park to the public (it was previously the exclusive domain of royalty).
For city-bound madrileños with neither the time nor the inclination to go further afield, it has become the closest they get to nature, despite the fact that cyclists, walkers and picnickers overwhelm the byways and trails that criss-cross the park. There are tennis courts and a swimming pool, as well as the Zoo Aquarium de Madrid (%902 345014; www.zoomadrid.com; Casa de Campo; adult/child €23/19; h10.30am-10pm Sun-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat Jul & Aug, shorter hours Sep-Jun; 
g37 from Intercambiador de Príncipe Pío, mCasa de Campo) and the Parque de Atracciones (%91 463 29 00; www.parquedeatracciones.es; Casa de Campo; adult/child €32/25; hnoon-midnight Jul & Aug, hours vary Sep-Jun). The Teleférico (%91 541 11 18; www.teleferico.com; cnr Paseo del Pintor Rosales & Calle de Marqués de Urquijo; one-way/return €4.20/5.90; hnoon-9pm May-Aug, reduced hours Sep-Apr; mArgüelles) also takes you here with good views en route. At Casa de Campo’s southern end, restaurants specialise in wedding receptions, ensuring plenty of bridal parties roaming the grounds in search of an unoccupied patch of greenery where they can take photos. Also in the park, the Andalucian-style ranch known as Batán is used to house the bulls destined to do bloody battle in the Fiestas de San Isidro Labrador.
1Salamanca
In the barrio of Salamanca, the unmistakeable whiff of old money mingles comfortably with the aspirations of Spain’s nouveau riche. In short, it’s the sort of place to put on your finest clothes, regardless of your errand, and simply be seen. Sights are thinly spread but worth tracking down, with a focus on the arts, architecture and the very Spanish passion of bullfighting.
oPlaza de Toros STADIUM
(%91 356 22 00; www.las-ventas.com; Calle de Alcalá 237; h10am-5.30pm; mVentas) F
East of central Madrid, the Plaza de Toros Monumental de Las Ventas (Las Ventas) is the most important and prestigious bullring in the world, and a visit here is a good way to gain an insight into this very Spanish tradition. The fine Museo Taurino (%91 725 18 57; www.las-ventas.com; Calle de Alcalá 237; h10am-5.30pm; mVentas) F is also here, and the architecture will be of interest even to those with no interest in la corridas (bullfights). Bullfights are still held regularly here during the season, which runs roughly mid-May to September.
One of the largest rings in the bullfighting world, Las Ventas has a grand Mudéjar exterior and a suitably coliseum-like arena surrounding the broad sandy ring. It was opened in 1931 and hosted its first fight three years later; its four storeys can seat 25,000 spectators. Like all bullrings, it evokes more a sense of a theatre than a sports stadium. It also hosts concerts.
To be carried high on the shoulders of aficionados out through the grand and decidedly Moorish Puerta de Madrid is the ultimate dream of any torero (bullfighter) – if you’ve made it at Las Ventas, you’ve reached the pinnacle of the bullfighting world. The gate is suitably known more colloquially as the ‘Gate of Glory’. Guided visits (in English and Spanish) take you out onto the sand and into the royal box; tours must be booked in advance through Las Ventas Tour (%687 739032; www.lasventastour.com; adult/child €13/10; h10am-5.30pm, days of bullfight 10am-1.30pm; mVentas).
The Museo Taurino was closed for renovations and expansion at the time of research. When it reopens, expect a new space dedicated to bullfighting legend Manolete, as well as a curious collection of paraphernalia, costumes (the traje de luces, or suit of lights, is one of bullfighting’s most recognisable props), photos and other bullfighting memorabilia up on the top floor above one of the two courtyards by the ring. It’s a fascinating insight into the whole subculture that surrounds bullfighting.
The area where the Plaza de Toros is located is known as Las Ventas because, in times gone by, several wayside taverns (ventas), along with houses of ill repute, were to be found here.
oMuseo Lázaro Galdiano MUSEUM
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %91 561 60 84; www.flg.es; Calle de Serrano 122; adult/concession/child €6/3/free, last hour free; h10am-4.30pm Tue-Sat, to 3pm Sun; mGregorio Marañón)
This imposing early 20th-century Italianate stone mansion, set discreetly back from the street, belonged to Don José Lázaro Galdiano (1862–1947), a successful businessman and passionate patron of the arts. His astonishing private collection, which he bequeathed to the city upon his death, includes 13,000 works of art and objets d’art, a quarter of which are on show at any time.
Museo al Aire Libre SCULPTURE
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; Paseo de la Castellana; h24hr; mRubén Darío) F
This fascinating open-air collection of 17 abstract sculptures includes works by renowned Basque artist Eduardo Chillida, Catalan master Joan Miró, as well as Eusebio Sempere and Alberto Sánchez, among Spain’s foremost sculptors of the 20th century. The sculptures are beneath the overpass where Paseo de Eduardo Dato crosses Paseo de la Castellana, but somehow the hint of traffic grime and pigeon shit only adds to the appeal. All but one are on the eastern side of Paseo de la Castellana.
Museo Arqueológico Nacional MUSEUM
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %91 577 79 12; www.man.es; Calle de Serrano 13; admission €3, 2-8pm Sat & 9.30am-noon Sun free; h9.30am-8pm Tue-Sat, to 3pm Sun; mSerrano)
The showpiece National Archaeology Museum contains a sweeping accumulation of artefacts behind its towering facade. Daringly redesigned within, the museum ranges across Spain’s ancient history and the large collection includes stunning mosaics taken from Roman villas across Spain, intricate Muslim-era and Mudéjar handiwork, sculpted figures such as the Dama de Ibiza and Dama de Elche, examples of Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles and a partial copy of the prehistoric cave paintings of Altamira (Cantabria).
GOYA IN MADRID
Madrid has the best collection of Goyas on earth. Here’s where to find them:
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida