Now that you´re here, where will you start? It is no accident that Madrid was named European capital of culture in 1992. You can spend months as a tourist here; the city is constantly changing… It is an endless source of stimulation, whatever your reason for coming and your interests.

One of the cultural highlights of Madrid is the Prado Museum, a veritable jewel in the crown of Spain´s national heritage. Here one can find works by artists such as Goya, Velázquez, El Bosco, Picasso...without doubt the most important names in the history of painting, with their unique styles and visions of life.
Also well worth a visit is the Reina Sofia Art Centre, which houses the famous Picasso masterpiece Gernika, as well as works by Dalí and Miró.
The National Archaeological Musuem is one of the most important and interesting museums in Madrid and is home to collections dating from the pre-historic era, and up to the XIXth century. Here one can marvel at the articles collected in Spanish digs as well as objects from the ancient Eygtpian, Greek and Etruscan civilizations.
In the gardens of the museum one can contemplate a reproduction of the cave paintings of Altamira.

Museum of America. Here we find important Pre-Columbine collections and American objects with a Spanish influence. Many of the pieces shown here were brought to the peninsula by the first Spanish explorers to return from New World.
Museum of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in San Fernando. This former school of Fine Arts, housed in an eighteenth century building designed by Churriguera, was attended by such important names as Dalí and Picasso. There is a wide collection of works by Rafael and Tiziano, and it also houses the National Engraving collection.

Last but not least is the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum which houses one of the most important private art collections in the world, donated to Spain in 1993. Here you will find masterpieces by, among others, Tiziano, Goya, Van Gogh and Picasso.