Reina Sofía Museum

At one end of the Paseo del Arte (Art Walk), you'll find this museum, which houses an important collection of modern and contemporary art (mainly Spanish) of international renown. It features works by Dalí, Miró, and Juan Gris, as well as the museum's star painting, Guernica, Pablo Picasso's masterpiece, which commemorates the suffering of the victims of the bombing of Guernica on April 27, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.

The Reina Sofía Museum is located in a neoclassical building in Atocha, which served as a hospital (Hospital San Carlos) from the 16th century, when Philip II decided to centralize all the hospitals scattered throughout the Court.

In the 18th century, Charles III expanded the facilities, resulting in the current building, for which he enlisted the architects José de Hermosilla and, above all, Francisco Sabatini. The building underwent several modifications and additions until the hospital closed in 1965. After being declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1977, its restoration began in 1980. In 1986, the Reina Sofía Art Centre opened, using the first and second floors to house temporary exhibition galleries. The final modifications were carried out at the end of 1988, most notably the construction of the three glass and steel elevator towers designed by the British architect Ian Ritchie. The Permanent Collection was inaugurated on September 10, 1992, thus establishing the museum. The museum's expansion, carried out between 2001 and 2005 by the architect Jean Nouvel, provided it with more exhibition space, as well as the creation of a library and an auditorium. The museum also has two other venues in Madrid, the Velázquez Palace and the Crystal Palace, both in the Retiro Park, which host temporary exhibitions and art installations created specifically for these spaces. Following the completion of the renovations, the former Auditorium of the museum's Sabatini Building will become the Reina Sofía Museum Cinema in April 2025, a new The auditorium, with a capacity of 133 spectators, is fully accessible to people with reduced mobility. It features a new digital cinema sound and image system with an integrated server, which will coexist with a film projection system for both 35mm and 16mm film, and a 5.1 surround sound system. This space is also equipped for events, presentations, and conferences, with simultaneous translation and a support system for people with hearing impairments.