Museo del Prado
I have been somewhat dreading writing this blog post -- I am worried that I am not going to the Prado and Thyssen (the next post I have to do) justice!
I booked tickets for my mom and I in advance for Saturday, which I highly recommend. We still have a line to get in, but it was nowhere near as bad as the other line. Our line was mostly due to people arriving before the museum opened. I also think we got a slight discount for booking online. I also bought the museum guide with our ticket. I was expecting some sort of small-ish book; the book was ~20 EUR bought separately in the bookshop. It was only ~9 EUR with the ticket. While heavy to carry through the galleries, it was a nice reference for some of the other masterpieces.
Also, worth noting, you can get your ticket stamped as you leave and you can come back.
Our hotel was basically across the street from the museum, which was also fantastic. The Prado does have free entrance times as well, but every time we walked by during that period (5-8 pm, I believe) the lines snaked around the building!
The collection at the Prado is fantastic. It has 20 paintings on the "must see" list putting it solidly in the top ten museums worldwide. My mom and I could have spent days in the museum. We ended up following a combination of the guidebook and the museum map highlighting the top masterpieces in the collection since we had a limited time available.
I was mostly impressed with the quality of the Goya, el Greco and Valazquez art collections. All three of these painters require seeing the art in person to fully appreciate the skill, quality and revolutionary qualities. Seeing them 4x6 in a textbook does not do them justice. I saw the evolution of their artwork and more than one or two of their works in a museum. I enjoyed seeing rooms -- sort of like going to the Van Gogh Museum to see the evolution of him as an artist; the Prado's collection provides that perspective.
Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to go into the special exhibit on El Bosco.
I would also give the museum props for a great gift shop!
There is a reason that this museum is often listed with the Met, the Louvre, the Uffizi and the National Gallery. Priceless collection!
Time in museum: 4+ hrs
Times visited: 1
Overall: A
I booked tickets for my mom and I in advance for Saturday, which I highly recommend. We still have a line to get in, but it was nowhere near as bad as the other line. Our line was mostly due to people arriving before the museum opened. I also think we got a slight discount for booking online. I also bought the museum guide with our ticket. I was expecting some sort of small-ish book; the book was ~20 EUR bought separately in the bookshop. It was only ~9 EUR with the ticket. While heavy to carry through the galleries, it was a nice reference for some of the other masterpieces.
Also, worth noting, you can get your ticket stamped as you leave and you can come back.
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| Our line a few minutes before it opened |
The collection at the Prado is fantastic. It has 20 paintings on the "must see" list putting it solidly in the top ten museums worldwide. My mom and I could have spent days in the museum. We ended up following a combination of the guidebook and the museum map highlighting the top masterpieces in the collection since we had a limited time available.
I was mostly impressed with the quality of the Goya, el Greco and Valazquez art collections. All three of these painters require seeing the art in person to fully appreciate the skill, quality and revolutionary qualities. Seeing them 4x6 in a textbook does not do them justice. I saw the evolution of their artwork and more than one or two of their works in a museum. I enjoyed seeing rooms -- sort of like going to the Van Gogh Museum to see the evolution of him as an artist; the Prado's collection provides that perspective.
Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to go into the special exhibit on El Bosco.
I would also give the museum props for a great gift shop!
There is a reason that this museum is often listed with the Met, the Louvre, the Uffizi and the National Gallery. Priceless collection!
Time in museum: 4+ hrs
Times visited: 1
Overall: A
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