Museo Nacional del Prado — Attraction in Madrid

Madrid is worth visiting for many reasons, but the most important one, in my opinion, is the Prado Museum.

I was genuinely excited about going. We booked our tickets online two weeks in advance—though, honestly, that wasn’t really necessary. Near the entrance, there’s a bust of Francisco Goya, a subtle hint of what’s waiting for you inside. The museum is huge, so you need at least 4 hours just to see the highlights. It has three levels – ground floor, first and second.

To describe everything we saw, and to properly express how amazed I was, I’d probably need to write a whole novel. But instead, let me just give you a quick rundown of what to pay attention to.

In the section with Dutch art, you’ll first find the brilliant Bosch and his masterpieces: The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Adoration of the Magi, and The Haywain. Then come Van der Weyden and the timeless Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Anthony Van Dyck and Rubens complete this group of Dutch masters.

From the German Renaissance, there’s Albrecht Dürer with his famous self-portrait and the powerful paintings of Adam and Eve.

The Italian collection is beautifully represented by Renaissance masters: Fra Angelico, Mantegna, Botticelli, and Raphael with the stunning Holy Family with a Lamb and The Cardinal. Naturally, there’s also Titian, Tintoretto, and my personal favorite—Caravaggio, with David with the Head of Goliath.

And finally, the Spanish painters.

El Greco—real name Domenikos Theotokopoulos. I can’t decide what I like more: his religious works bursting with color, his striking portraits (like The Nobleman with His Hand on His Chest), or the mysterious Fable.

There’s also Jusepe de Ribera and Francisco de Zurbarán, who didn’t quite blow me away—maybe just because I wasn’t that familiar with his work before.

Diego Velázquez is probably the most represented artist in the Prado. I honestly don’t even know what to say—his works speak for themselves. Just look, ask questions, and enjoy. The Crucified Christ, Mars, Aesop, The Buffoon El Primo, and portraits of Philip IV spanning thirty years…

In front of The Surrender of Breda, we saw a group of kids with a teacher giving a lecture about the historical event and Velázquez himself. Beautiful moment.

And the painting that left me speechless: Las Meninas. I’d seen it countless times in reproductions and documentaries and was never particularly moved. I thought I "understood" it. But seeing it in person? A completely different experience. I was blown away—and still am. It’s a masterpiece you simply have to see with your own eyes. And finally, like the crown jewel of the entire collection – Francisco Goya!

A true genius, an artist ahead of his time. When the Prado Museum opened in 1819, Goya was still alive and actually witnessed three of his paintings being displayed at the grand opening.

Among his masterpieces, you’ll find The Naked Maja, The Execution of the Rebels, The Fight Against the Mamelukes, and his striking self-portrait.

But for me, the biggest impression came from the so-called "dark room" – where his late-period works, known as The Black Paintings, are displayed. Saturn Devouring His Son, Witches’ Sabbath, A Pilgrimage to San Isidro... and The Drowning Dog – what an incredible piece. It feels so modern, like something painted yesterday in a New York studio (and it’s much bigger than I expected!).

To wrap it up: if I ever return to Madrid and had just one day to spend, I wouldn't hesitate—I’d go straight back...

Fabulous art, no vegans please. So, the reason for going here is the art which is available to see there. For this, it is fabulous, stunning in every way. They ask for no photos to be taken, due to crowds and inevitable delays in front of the most popular exhibits, this is enforced by the staff in each room. The venue is large and we only saw a fraction of the art available in a full day. We did do a guided tour in English which was superb. The issue we had was with food there. We expected an international museum to cater for different dietary requirements, we are vegan and with expectations high we went to the main cafeteria after our guided tour. This was apparently our first mistake. The main cafeteria does not do any vegan meals. Although, we were informed that in their first hour or so each day it is possible to get hummus and bread but it sells out quickly. We tried the restaurant which looks fabulous and has an extensive menu but not one single vegan dish. We returned to the cafeteria to see if there was anything to at least nibble on and found some nuts, small pots of fresh fruit and a different member of staff. We tried our luck, and asked again, "Is there any vegan food?" This lady was very sympathetic to our plight, she told us of the bread & hummus, but that it was all gone, she confirmed that all the salads are pre made so no chance to make one which doesn't contain dairy. She did offer a bread roll and olive oil which we took. So that was the meal that the Museo Nacional del Prado was able to offer to sustain us for the rest of our visit. A bread roll with olive oil, a portion of nuts, a fruit salad. We asked at information if we could leave to get some food and then return and was told this was a decision for security. So off we went to the lady manning security. She was very polite but told us there were no circumstances that we could leave and return on the same tickets. We explained that we were hungry and there was no food offered that we could eat. She understood, but no exceptions could be made. Maybe we we should have taken some food with us, but no food or drink is allowed in to the museum. All bags containing food & drink needs to be left, for free, at security.

So, from our experience, I would advise any vegans going to Museo Nacional del Prado to book before going, eat a hearty breakfast and have somewhere planned for your evening meal. Hope that they have improved there offering but don't expect it. The art is exceptional so enjoy it as your hunger...

Avoid at all costs, by far, worst experience in our whole trip in Spain.

I have double checked this: both on their website and/or during the buying process they do not inform customers that they forbid you to take pictures. They know that if they are honest, they will lose sales, so they purposely do not inform you. Bait and switch.

There is also no signage whatsoever as you walk in. So I did what I do at every decent museum that has that name: I took a picture of the first statue.

Immediately, I was scolded violently by one of their security agents (who act like prison guards). I have never been talked this way my entire life. Completely unhinged. I was really taken aback by the aggressiveness, which it seems, is obviously supported by management. How are we supposed to know? And if knew, I would have never bought a ticket.

The museum itself is not great. It tends to have the same profile of dark pictures. Yeah, I understand these are “masters” but there are way better museum collection out there. And they all let you take pictures. Every museum in the world lets you take pictures. Except here.

Unless of course you want to force people to buy the pictures/books at the gift shop. Pretty evident this is the end game here.

The hostility of the prison guards as you go about your visit will be remarkable. Sometimes they stalk you very intently, there is a lot of hostility towards their customers. I have never seen so much aggressivity for such a benign act as taking a picture. Disproportionate.

At one point, someone started to play the piano and the sound was so loud (because it’s all hard surfaces), it reverberated all around the museum. Unbearably bad experience.

Not worth it. Move on. There is a better museum out there.

P.S.: please leave a ❤️ if this review was useful in avoiding this awful experience,...