Museo Reina Sofia

The Reina Sofia exists because of one painting: Picasso's Guernica. It is bigger and more devastating than any photo prepares you for, filling an entire wall in Room 205 on the second floor. The painting documents the 1937 bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by Nazi and Italian fascist warplanes at Franco's request. Picasso painted it in five weeks in Paris. The room is kept deliberately quiet, with benches for sitting and absorbing. There is no audio guide commentary here, just the painting and your response to it.

Around Guernica, Room 205 and the adjacent galleries display the studies and sketches Picasso made while working on the painting, plus photographs by Dora Maar documenting its creation. Seeing the process makes the finished work even more powerful. The rest of the second floor covers Spanish art from the early 20th century: Dali (including The Great Masturbator and The Enigma of Desire), Miro's colourful abstractions, and Juan Gris's cubist works that predate Picasso's more famous versions.

The building itself is a former hospital, with the original 18th-century structure connected to a striking glass elevator tower designed by Jean Nouvel. The contemporary holdings in the Nouvel building (floor 0 and floor 1) include video installations, conceptual art, and temporary exhibitions that are often outstanding. The rooftop terrace in the Nouvel building has views over the Madrid rooftops.

Entry EUR12. Free Monday and Wednesday to Saturday 7-9 PM. Free all day Sunday 1:30-7 PM. The back entrance on Ronda de Atocha is less crowded than the main entrance on Calle Santa Isabel.