Culture and music
Embrace Madrid's local culture
Madrid has been a cultural hub for centuries. It is impossible to decide where to experience it best, but we are going to try. Here you have three must-see spots and some local recommendations.
Madrid’s Paseo del Prado, one of the city’s main boulevards, is a place for the arts. The south end meets the Reina Sofía, it passes through the Museo del Prado, and it ends close to the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum, forming a golden triangle of painting and sculpture. The Thyssen houses a wide selection of works from the English, Dutch, and German schools, as well as Impressionism and Expressionism. Here you can find pieces ranging from the Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein to Cézanne’s Seated Man.
Find Thyssen museum
Spain’s main art museum with over 200 years of history, El Prado houses a great collection of European art from the 12th to the early 20th centuries, based on the former Spanish royal collection. It also has the single best collection of Spanish art, with numerous works by Francisco de Goya, like The Nude Maja, and Diego Velázquez, with his renowned Las Meninas. The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch and El Greco’s The Adoration of the Shepherds are also masterpieces you will not forget.
Find El Prado museum
Leaving Madrid without seeing Picasso’s Guernica could almost be considered a sin. The masterpiece of the Spanish painter has been housed by the Reina Sofía since 1992, but this is not the only must-see of this art museum. Inside its many galleries, it has the largest collection of Spain"s two greatest 20th-century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, in addition to pieces from Joan Miró, Eduardo Chillida, and Francis Bacon. The museum’s rooftop is also worth a visit: it has one of the best views of Madrid.
Find Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Do not expect a regular museum. La Casa Encendida is art and culture, but it is also science, environment, education, sustainability, and inclusion. It is a space created to foster creativity and professional development for artists and researchers in every field, so its program is always changing, opening up new cultural and social opportunities. You can check it out here, so you do not miss anything. The building of La Casa Encendida, a Neo-Mudéjar palace built in 1913, is also worth a visit.
Find La Casa Encendida
Madrid has plenty of small concert venues which have served as a hub for Spain’s growing music and theatre scene over the last 50 years. The sala Galileo Galilei has hosted renowned local artists such as Joaquín Sabina and Luz Casal, as well as international stars like Chet Baker and Chick Corea. Here you can hear anything from rock to flamenco, but this concert venue is well-known for hosting some of Madrid’s best jazz concerts. Check its programme here.
Find Galilleo Galilei
Have you heard of la movida madrileña, a countercultural movement during the Spanish transition to democracy in the 1980s? If not, this is a great opportunity to get to know it. Many of its leading voices met and performed at Honky Tonk, a concert venue that has been around since 1987. Today, it mainly hosts pop and rock concerts and has maintained its reputation in Madrid’s emerging musical scene. Check its programme here.
Find Honky Tonk
