Point of interest
Museo Nacional del Prado
in Madrid, Spain
Spain's great art museum: Velázquez ('Las Meninas'), Goya and Bosch under one roof. A must.
Where it is
The museum sits on the Paseo del Prado in the Retiro district, forming one corner of Madrid's celebrated 'Golden Triangle of Art' together with the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza.
Address: Paseo del Prado, 28014 Madrid
What it is
The Prado holds European art from the 12th to the early 20th century, with masterpieces by Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Titian, Rubens and Bosch. If time is short, head straight for 'Las Meninas', Goya's 'Black Paintings' and Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights'.
History
The building was designed by Juan de Villanueva in 1785 on the orders of Charles III and opened in 1819, under Ferdinand VII, as a royal museum of paintings and sculpture. Built around the former Spanish royal collection, it grew into the single finest collection of Spanish art in the world.