Museo Caixa Forum

An imaginative, if smaller, new rival to the "big three" museums, the Swiss designed Caixa Forum is the result of an ingenious transformation from a former industrial center (that supplied the city with its electricity) into a bright, avant-garde establishment specializing in exhibits by contemporary artists such as Miquel Barceló. Video displays and concerts are also part of the scene, and there's a small but well-stocked first-floor bookshop. If you feel like a drink or snack between viewings, you can visit their cozy, top-floor cafe. Offbeat exterior features include a striking orange-cum-rust-hued facade, a lushly verdant "vertical garden" which climbs the wall of a neighboring building, and a bizarre statue of an elephant balancing on its trunk located in a patio between the entrance and ever-busy Paseo del Prado.

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