Free Museums in Madrid: Up-to-Date Hours and Tricks to See the Prado and Reina Sofía Without a Ticket

Seeing Las Meninas, Guernica and the Thyssen collection in the same week without paying for a single ticket is possible, but you have to play the time slots. Each Madrid museum has put its free window at a different point on the clock, and anyone who doesn’t know them ends up queuing to pay. That is why the tricks come first, since they are what saves time, followed by the full opening hours.

The details have been checked on the museums’ official websites and on the list of free admissions from Madrid Tourism. Public holidays and summer can change the hours.

Six tricks to make the most of the free slots

• Arrive early. Queues form before the start time, and a two-hour slot leaves no margin.
• Pick three works before going in. At the Prado, for example, Las meninas, Bosch and Goya’s Black Paintings.
• Book the free ticket wherever it is required. The Reina Sofía does not let you in without one.
• Bring your ID. The palaces and monasteries run by Patrimonio Nacional require proof of nationality.
• Combine two nearby visits, not three far apart.
• Favour Mondays. It is the day with the most free options.

The full schedule for the big ones

The Prado is free from Monday to Saturday from 18:00 to 20:00 and on Sundays and public holidays from 17:00 to 19:00, for the permanent collection only. In addition, on the first Saturday of each month it opens from 20:30 to 23:30 with El Prado de Noche.

The Museo Reina Sofía is free on Mondays and from Wednesday to Saturday from 19:00 to 21:00, and on Sundays from 12:30 to 14:30, with a reserved ticket. It is closed on Tuesdays. The museum’s website also lists five dates with free access all day: 18 April, 18 and 22 May, 12 October and 6 December.

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza gives away the permanent collection on Mondays from 12:00 to 16:00 and the temporary exhibitions on Saturdays from 21:00 to 23:00, with no ticket. The details are on its visitor information page.

Palaces and collections: Patrimonio Nacional

For citizens of the European Union and Latin America:

• Royal Palace: Monday to Thursday, 17:00 to 19:00.
• Royal Collections Gallery: Monday to Thursday, 18:00 to 20:00.
• Descalzas Reales and Encarnación: Wednesday and Thursday, 16:00 to 18:30.
• Royal Palace of El Pardo: Wednesday and Sunday, 15:00 to 19:00.

Free access for everyone: the Mirador de la Cornisa, from 12:00 to 22:00 every day. The Palacio de Liria is free on non-holiday Mondays from 10:00.

Small museums: weekends and Thursdays

From 14:00 on Saturday and all day Sunday: the National Archaeological Museum, Sorolla, Romanticism, Anthropology and Costume. On Thursdays, the Costume Museum is added from 19:00 to 22:30, the Cerralbo from 17:00 to 20:00 and the Museo de América from 14:00. The Natural Sciences Museum has a slot on Sundays from 17:00 to 20:00, except on the eve of a public holiday.

The Romanticism Museum, at calle San Mateo, 13, is very convenient for anyone staying in Chueca or Malasaña, and the Museo de América, at avenida de los Reyes Católicos, 6, is close to Moncloa.

Weekday mornings

• Real Jardín Botánico, Tuesday from 10:00 to 13:00.
• Lázaro Galdiano, Tuesday to Friday from 14:00 to 15:00.
• Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, non-holiday Wednesdays, at calle de Alcalá, 13.
• Temple of Debod, Tuesday to Sunday, always free. It closes at 19:00 in summer and at 20:00 in winter.

A weekend of free museums

Saturday at 14:30, the Archaeological Museum: the Lady of Elche, the Iberian collection and the replica of the Altamira cave. At 21:00, if you have the energy left, Noches Thyssen. Sunday morning, the Reina Sofía from 12:30 to 14:30 with Guernica; then lunch and a stroll; and at 17:00, the Prado queue already sorted out.

With the same approach on weekdays, a Monday can be the Thyssen at midday and the Reina Sofía at night; a Wednesday, the San Fernando Academy in the morning; a Thursday, the Cerralbo and the Costume Museum in the afternoon.

What to see in ninety minutes at each one

A free slot rarely allows more than an hour and a half of real visiting, so the key is to have the route planned.

• Prado: Velázquez’s Las meninas, Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights and Goya’s Black Paintings. With those three stops the visit is already worthwhile.
• Reina Sofía: Picasso’s Guernica (room 206) and, on the same floor, the rooms of Dalí, Miró and Juan Gris.
• Thyssen: from the Italian primitives to the Impressionists and Hopper. It is better to go floor by floor, from top to bottom, than to jump between centuries.
• Royal Palace: the main staircase, the Armoury and the state rooms. In two hours you can do the essentials.
• Sorolla: the garden and the painter’s studio.
• Archaeological: the Lady of Elche and the Iberian room.

If something has to be left out, let it be whatever interests you least. A big museum seen halfway is quickly forgotten; a small one seen at leisure is not.

How to choose according to the type of trip

Couples who want art at an unhurried pace should organise their getaway around Monday, the day with the most free options. With children, Sunday afternoon offers the Natural Sciences Museum and the Temple of Debod, which needs no time slot. And anyone who comes to Madrid for work and has only one free evening has the Noches Thyssen on Saturdays or the Reina Sofía from 19:00 to 21:00, which fit well after an office day.

How much time to give each museum

As a rule, an hour and a half for the Thyssen or the Reina Sofía, two for the Prado and the Royal Palace, and an hour for the small ones: Romanticism, Costume, Sorolla. The Archaeological is the only one that asks for more. Packing in more than four hours of museums in a single day is the perfect recipe for not enjoying the last one.

When not to go

Avoid the holidays that coincide with fully free dates: 18 May, International Museum Day, and 12 October. Those are days with longer queues. Also avoid Tuesdays if your plan includes the Reina Sofía, which is closed. And do not count on the free Prado to see a temporary exhibition: the free admission is for the permanent collection.

Frequently asked questions

How many free hours does the Prado have?

Two hours every day: from 18:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Saturday and from 17:00 to 19:00 on Sundays and public holidays.

Do I need to book for the free Reina Sofía?

Yes. Even though it is free, a ticket is needed, and it is booked online. On Tuesdays the museum is closed.

When is the Museo del Traje free?

On Thursdays from 19:00 to 22:30, on Saturdays from 14:00 and on Sundays.

Can I enter the Royal Palace for free if I am from outside the EU?

Not in the free slot from Monday to Thursday, 17:00 to 19:00, which is only for citizens of the European Union and Latin America.

Which free museum is best with children?

The Natural Sciences Museum on Sundays from 17:00 to 20:00 and the Temple of Debod, which is always free.