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Madrid Map: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina SofíaMuseo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Frommer's Exceptional

Hours Mon and Wed-Sat 10am-9pm; Sun 10am-2:30pm. Free guided tours Mon and Wed at 5pm, Sat at 11am
Address
Santa Isabel 52
Transportation Metro: Atocha. Bus: 34, 41, or 55
Phone 91-467-50-62
Web site http://museoreinasofia.mcu.es
Prices Admission 3€ ($3.75) adults, 1.50€ ($1.90) students, free after 2:30pm on Sat and all day Sun

Frommer's Review

Filling for the world of modern art the role that the Prado has filled for traditional art, the "MoMA" of Madrid (its nickname) is the greatest repository of 20th-century art in Spain. Set within the echoing, futuristically renovated walls of the former General Hospital, originally built between 1776 and 1781, the museum is a sprawling, high-ceilinged showplace named after the Greek-born wife of Spain's present king. Once designated "the ugliest building in Spain" by Catalan architect Oriol Bohigas, the Reina Sofía has a design that hangs in limbo somewhere between the 18th and the 21st centuries. It incorporates a 50,000-volume art library and database, a cafe, a theater, a bookstore, Plexiglas-sided elevators, and systems that calibrate security, temperature, humidity, and the quality of light surrounding the exhibits.

Special emphasis is paid to the great artists of 20th-century Spain: Juan Gris, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso (the museum has been able to acquire a handful of his works). The work many critics feel is Picasso's masterpiece, Guernica, now rests at this museum after a long and troubling history of traveling. Banned in Spain during Franco's era (Picasso refused to have it displayed here anyway), it hung until 1980 at New York's Museum of Modern Art. The fiercely antiwar painting immortalizes the shameful blanket bombing of the town by the German Luftwaffe, fighting for Franco during the Spanish Civil War. Guernica was the cradle of the Basque nation, and Picasso's canvas made it a household name around the world.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.


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