The Reina Sofía is Spain’s national museum of modern and contemporary art – and the home of Guernica. It occupies Madrid’s former General Hospital, an 18th-century building at the end of the Paseo del Prado, with two glass lifts added on its façade and a red-roofed extension by Jean Nouvel.
What to see
Guernica
Picasso painted Guernica in 1937, after the bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War. The huge black, white and grey canvas – almost eight metres wide – is shown with the sketches he made while working on it. It is one of the most powerful paintings of the 20th century.
Dalí, Miró and the avant-garde
The collection continues with Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Juan Gris and the Spanish avant-garde, then moves on to art after 1945.
The building
Take a moment in the garden courtyard of the old hospital, and ride the glass lifts for views over the rooftops.
Tips
- The museum is closed on Tuesdays.
- Go straight to Guernica first if you are short of time: it is in the Sabatini building, on the second floor.
- Free entry at certain times attracts queues; check the hours on the official website.
- Combine with the Prado Museum, a ten-minute walk up the Paseo del Prado.
