Madrid Part 2 – Prado, Reina Sofia, Palacio Real

I thought the best way to cover what I actually did in Madrid would be to make a short list and include some basic information since I did so much there.

Reina Sofia

This is a fairly standard museum and one of the 2 major museums in Madrid. There’s a variety of paintings with a considerable amount of works from both Dalí and Picasso. They were both Spanish painters so naturally the Sofia has several of their respectable masterpieces. By far, the most famous painting in the museum is probably Picasso’s Guernica. This particular painting is famous not just because of who painted it but also because of its subject matter depicting the bombing of the city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. In any case, the museum is fairly straightforward, free for students, and you could expect to spend maybe 4 to 5 hours there.

The Prado

The Prado is the top-rated museum in Spain and one of the most famous in the world. I enjoyed it but having already went to the Reina Sofia the day before, I was honestly a  little tired of museums at that point so my opinion of it might be a little biased. The two major collections here are from Velázquez and Francisco de Goya. I enjoyed both of those exhibits but I thought the film section was a bit boring. Some people might take a liking to the short, artsy films but I honestly was bored after about 20 minutes. I much prefer the paintings there. Like the Reina Sofia, it’s free for students and just a few euros for everyone else. You could spend a few hours there as well depending on how much of a museum person you are. Even if you never go to the museum, the area surrounding it is definitely worth seeing.

El Palacio Real (The Royal Palace)

The Spanish Royal Palace is absolutely stunning and it’s one of the must-see things in Madrid. I’ve heard people say it’s one of the greatest palaces in Europe and I can’t argue with that. In my previous blog post, I posted a picture of the side of the palace as seen from the royal gardens. On the opposite side is a big church of which I’ll also add a photo somewhere in this post. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go inside because it’s randomly closed certain days of the year but I think it costs around 6 or 7 euros to enter and I’ve heard it’s extremely luxurious so it’s probably worth it.

Other Areas

Two other areas that are must-sees in Madrid (and that I frequently traveled to) are Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor. They’re both very close to each other and basically constitute the center of Madrid. The area is very touristy and there are several restaurants and tapas bars so if you’re planning to eat there like I did, you’ll probably have to search a bit to find a less expensive place. They’re not too difficult to find it’s just a matter of finding something different from everything else. Most of the tapas places and restaurants serve very similar food so they’re almost all indistinguishable from one another next to their respective names. The only real things to see in Puerta del Sol (other than any protests that are going on which are frequent) is the fish-shaped metro station and the famous bear/tree statue. This is the statue that is on the city seal and is most associated with Madrid. One last place that I went to kill some time was the Royal Botanical Gardens. It’s next to the Prado so if you’re into flowers and such, I highly recommend it. They have an extensive garden and it costs around 2 euros to enter. If for nothing else, it’s good to just relax and smell the roses.

That’s it for my blog on Madrid. I hope it didn’t feel too rushed because of my blog limitations so if anyone ever has a question, send me a message or something. I’m always happy to help!

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