The top 10 museums in Spain

Spain boasts a diverse cultural heritage with influences from Roman, Moorish, and Christian civilizations, resulting in a unique blend of traditions, arts, and cuisine. Spain is a vibrant and culturally rich country in southwestern Europe, known for its diverse history, stunning landscapes, and impressive museums. Here's a list of the top 10 museums along with a brief summary to give you an idea of what they may be like:

 

1. The Prado Museum, Mardid (Museo Nacional del Prado)

2. Queen Sofia National Museum Art Centre, Madrid (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía)

3. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (Museo Guggenheim Bilbao; Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa)

4. Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid (Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza)

5. Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Bilbao (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao; Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa)

6. Museum of Fine Arts of Seville (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla)

7. City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias,Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències)

8. Picasso Musem, Barcelona (Museo Picasso; Museu Picasso)

9. Dalí Theatre and Museum, Figueres (Teatro-Museo Dalí; Teatre-Museu Dalí)

10. National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña; Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya)

 

 

1. The Prado Museum, Mardid (Museo Nacional del Prado)

 

The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to possess one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based largely on the former Spanish Royal Collection and other personal collections. There you can enjoy the fine artworks by Spanish and other European artists such as Goya, Rubens, and Velazquez.

 

 

2. Queen Sofia National Museum Art Centre, Madrid (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía)

 

This museum is dedicated to Spanish art. It offers a mixture of national and international temporary exhibitions in its many galleries, making it one of the world's largest museums for modern and contemporary art. The most important highlights of the collections are the masterpieces of Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Here, you can appreciate the Guernica of Picasso from a close distance.

 

 

3. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (Museo Guggenheim Bilbao; Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa)

 

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian American architect Frank Gehry. The museum is located in one of the richest regions in Spain, Bilbao of Basque Country. This museum is admired as one of the most important works of contemporary architecture. Like the building, the exhibitions are usually about modern art as well.

 

 

 

4. Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid (Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza)

 

Following the Prado and the Reina Sofía national galleries, the Thyssen is the last one of the “Golden Triangle of Art”.  The Thyssen fills the historical gaps in its counterparts´ collections. With over 1,600 paintings, it was once the second-largest private collection in the world after the British Royal Collection. This museum contains several important masterpieces from Rubens, Vincente van Gogh, and Picasso.  

 

 

 

5. Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Bilbao (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao; Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa)

 

The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum is located in the Doña Casilda Iturrizar park in Bilbao, with beautiful views and a peaceful environment. It is the second-largest and most visited museum in the Basque Country because it houses a quite comprehensive collection of Spanish and European art from the Middle Ages to the contemporary. This collection includes paintings of Greco, Goya, and Sorolla.

 

 

 

6. Museum of Fine Arts of Seville (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla)

 

The museum of fine arts is a museum located in Seville, which contains a collection of Spanish visual art from the medieval period to the early 20^th century. The highlight of the paintings is a collection of paintings by artists from the “Golden Age“ painting in the 17^th century, such as Murillo, Zurbarán, and Francisco de Herrera.

 

 

 

7. City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias,Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències)

 

This ¨city¨ is a magnificent mix of culture and architecture in Valencia, with several different buildings of different functions. There is a science museum resembling a whale's skeleton among the buildings, called Prince Felipe Science Museum. Apart from the museum, there is also an IMAX cinema, an opera house, the largest open-air oceanographic park, a bridge, a covered plaza, and towers. As the name indicated, it is like a futuristic and cultural “city”.

 

 

8. Picasso Musem, Barcelona (Museo Picasso; Museu Picasso)

 

With over 4,000 works of Pablo Picasso, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona houses one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the great Spanish modernism master. This museum is a combination of 5 adjacent medieval palaces in the old city center. This is the first museum dedicated to the works of Picasso and the only one created before the artist passed away. If you are a great fan of Picasso, make sure not to miss this one!

 

 

 

9. Dalí Theatre and Museum, Figueres (Teatro-Museo Dalí; Teatre-Museu Dalí)

 

The Dalí Theatre and Museum is a museum dedicated to the artist Salvador Dalí in his hometown, Figueres, situated in the Catalonian region. The museum was chosen and constructed following the wish of Dalí:

 

“I want my museum to be a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be a theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream.”

 

The heart of the museum is the town´s theatre, where one of the first public exhibitions of young Dalí was shown. And he is buried in a crypt below the stage. The museum displays the single largest and most diverse collection of works by Salvador Dalí, the core of which was from the artist's collection.

 

 

 

10. National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña; Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya)

 

The National Art Museum of Catalonia, also known as the MNAC, is a national visual art museum in Barcelona. It is situated on the picturesque Montjuic hill. This museum is famous for its outstanding collection of Romanesque church paintings and Catalan art from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The museum is housed in the Palau Nacional, a huge, Italian-style building dating to 1929. 

 

 

 

Getting to know the cultural aspects of a country is the best part for many expats. Here at Adeslas, we not only want to offer you service and guidance, but we also want to care for your health and well-being by offering our medical insurance and ensuring you a carefree trip across Spain as you visit these amazing museums.

 

If you would like to know more about Spain, check out one of these blogs:

• Top Spanish food that you cannot miss
• The best places to live in Spain for Expats with different needs
• Curious facts you need to know before moving to Spain
• Cost of living: Is it cheap to live in Spain?
• Reside in Spain: live a unique Mediterranean life

 

 

Our content will be updated according to the most recent legislation. Last update: 18/07/2023