Attraction: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

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Address:
Santa Isabel 52
Madrid
Spain

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Expert Review of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Family Review of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

By Away Travel Expert: Candyce H. Stapen

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Family Expert Rating

Recommended for:
Children aged 6 - 12 and 13 - 17

Family Expert Tips & Helpful Hints

Admire works by Miro, Dali, Calder, and Picasso.
Children under 18 free (with proof of age)

Visitor Information

Description:

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.

Contact Frommers

Telephone Number: 91-467-50-62

Website: http://museoreinasofia.mcu.es

Transportation: Metro: Atocha. Bus: 34, 41, or 55

Price Information: Admission 3€ ($3.75) adults, 1.50€ ($1.90) students, free after 2:30pm on Sat and all day Sun

Hours: Mon and Wed-Sat 10am-9pm; Sun 10am-2:30pm. Free guided tours Mon and Wed at 5pm, Sat at 11am

The details, dates, and prices mentioned here were accurate at the time of publication.