The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, at Paseo del Prado 8 opposite the Neptune fountain, shows the former private collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza barons in the Villahermosa Palace, from the Italian primitives to Pop Art. From October to June it is open Tuesday to Friday and on Sundays from 10:00 to 19:00, on Saturdays from 10:00 to 23:00 and on Mondays from 12:00 to 16:00. A ticket costs €14; entry is free on Mondays from 12:00 to 16:00 and on Saturdays from 21:00 to 23:00. The museum estimates a visit to the collections at about 2 hours 30 minutes, plus 50 minutes for the ground-floor temporary exhibition.
Highlights
The Villahermosa Palace
This neoclassical brick and granite palace on the Paseo del Prado was remodelled to house the collection that Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza handed over to the Spanish State. You enter through the garden facing the Paseo del Prado.
The chronological route
From the large central hall lit by a glass roof, start your visit on the 2nd floor with the Italian primitives, then work your way down floor by floor, in chronological order, to Impressionism, German Expressionism and the 20th-century avant-gardes.
The Old Masters
Don't miss Domenico Ghirlandaio's portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni, Carpaccio's Young Knight in a Landscape, Jan van Eyck's Annunciation Diptych and Caravaggio's Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
Impressionists and modern painting
The collection brings together Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, Kirchner, Kandinsky, Hopper and Lichtenstein, as well as a group of 19th-century American paintings, a school little represented in European museums.
The extension and the Carmen Thyssen Collection
The white wing added in 2004 displays the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, lent by the baron's widow, with works by Canaletto, Courbet, Renoir and Matisse, and hosts the temporary exhibitions.
Opening hours and prices
From October to June (winter hours, 1 September to 30 June): Monday from 12:00 to 16:00, Tuesday to Friday and Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00, Saturday from 10:00 to 23:00. In July and August, closing at 21:00 Tuesday to Friday. On 24 and 31 December, open from 10:00 to 15:00; closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. The ticket desks close 30 minutes before the museum. General ticket: €14, covering the permanent collection, the Carmen Thyssen Collection and the temporary exhibitions; reduced rate €10 (over-65s, pensioners, students); groups of 7 or more €12; audio guide €5.50 extra. Free for under-18s, unemployed people and people with disabilities (33% or more). Free for everyone, with no ticket needed, on Mondays from 12:00 to 16:00 (collection) and on Saturdays from 21:00 to 23:00 (temporary exhibitions on level -1 and the ground floor). Paseo del Arte pass (Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen-Bornemisza): €32.80, not valid on Mondays at the Thyssen. Prices checked in October 2026.
Infos pratiques
Tips
The museum says the 14:00 to 16:00 slot is the least busy. There is no time slot for the collection: only the ground-floor temporary exhibition has timed entry. Photos without flash are allowed, except for a few marked works. On free Mondays, come at 12:00, as the museum closes at 16:00.
How to get there
Paseo del Prado 8, 28014 Madrid. Metro Banco de España (line 2); Cercanías Recoletos or Atocha; BiciMAD station no. 29, Calle del Marqués de Cubas 25. Buses 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 27, 34, 37, 41, 51, 52, 53, 74, 146 and 150; the Prado Museum is a 5-minute walk away.
Opening hours
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