The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia Madrid is Spain's premier museum of modern art. The museum opened in 1990, but today is spread out over four venues. The main collection is in the Sabatini Building, formerly an 18th century hospital. However, there are exhibits, libraries, and events also at the nearby Nouvel Building, and the Palacios de Cristal and de Velazquez in the Parque del Buen Retiro.
A single 6 € ticket gets you into both the Sabatini and Nouvel buildings. The palacios in the park have free admission. If you're only interested in one of the museum's temporary exhibits, you can buy a reduced price ticket for 3 €. Staying in a Madrid apartment or hotel, one could make this a one day event or several days of leisure viewing.
The museum is home to works from all the greatest 20th century Spanish artists. However, without question the masterpiece of the museum is Picasso's famed anti-war mural, "Guernica." You'll also see works from Salvador Dali, Joann Miro, Juan Gris, Antoni Tapies, Pablo Serrano, and Jorge Oteiza. There are some modern works by non-Spanish artists including Man Ray, Georges Braque, and Julian Schnabel.
The Reina Sofia groups its works into three main chronological collections covering the years from 1900-1945 (Collection 1), 1945- 1968 (Collection 2), and 1968-1982 (Collection 3). Within each collection, the rooms are organized either by artist, theme or medium. For example, Collection 1 has a room dedicated to "Juan Gris. Reconfiguring the Modern Gaze." In the Collection 2 area of the museum, you can visit a room called "Neo-Realism in Spanish Photography," and Collection 3 has a room called "The Feminist Revolution."
The types of works included in the collections are paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs. In addition to the organized collections, a number of sculptures are placed throughout the walkways and common areas of the buildings.
The museum also has a significant library in the Nouvel Building. Its reading room is open to the public. You can also go up to the museum's rooftop terrace to enjoy panoramic views of the city and Retiro Park. The museum also runs a variety of arts, social, and education events.
One of the joys of spending some time in Madrid and living like a local in one of the many hotels or apartments in Madrid is that you can spend as much time or as little in a given day visiting the museum.
The museum is open every day except Tuesday. It opens each morning at 10 a.m. and closes most nights at 9 p.m. On Sunday, the museum closes at 2:30 p.m. From October to March, the palacios in Retiro Park are open every day except Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. From April to September, they're open every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. However, keep in mind that the Palacio de Cristal may be closed if it's raining.
