Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

About the museum

The building now occupied by the museum began life as a hospital. Philip II brought together the city’s scattered court hospitals there and, in the 18th century, Charles III commissioned a new building designed by José de Hermosilla and Francisco Sabatini. Only part of the plan was built, but the Hospital de San Carlos began receiving patients in 1788. It closed in 1965, was saved from demolition and was declared a historic-artistic monument in 1977.

After the restoration directed by Antonio Fernández Alba, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía opened in April 1986; at first the first and second floors were used for temporary exhibitions. In 1988 a royal decree made it a museum, an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture, and glass-and-steel lift towers designed with Ian Ritchie were added. On 10 September 1992 the King and Queen opened the permanent collection.

Between 2001 and 2005 Jean Nouvel designed and built an extension that opened in September 2005. It added a public square and increased the built area by more than 60%, from about 51,300 to about 84,000 square metres.

The collection brings together some 25,000 works from the late 19th century to the present, with particular attention to Spanish and Latin American art. It originates in the former Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, founded in 1894, and in state holdings of modern and contemporary art. The route through the upper floors of the Sabatini building is being reorganised until 2028.

Highlights

• “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso
• Works by Dalí, Miró and other avant-garde artists
• Sabatini building of the former Hospital de San Carlos, with Ian Ritchie’s lift towers
• Nouvel building with its square and terraces
• Palacio de Velázquez and Palacio de Cristal in the Retiro park

Permanent exhibitions

• Territorios de vanguardia: ciudad, arquitectura y revistas – Presentation of the collection on the second floor of the Sabatini building, focusing on the city, architecture and avant-garde magazines.
• Colección. Arte Contemporáneo: 1975-Presente – Presentation of contemporary art from 1975 to the present on the fourth floor of the Sabatini building.
• Un orden distinto. Geometría utópica y arte cinético – Presentation of the collection on utopian geometry and kinetic art on the terraces of the Nouvel building.

Founded

1992

Operated by

Ministerio de Cultura (museo estatal)

Director

Manuel Segade Lodeiro

Visitors per year

approx. 1,643,108

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission with online booking, for individual visitors only: Mondays and Wednesdays to Saturdays 19:00–21:00 and Sundays 12:30–14:30. Free days: 18 April, 18 and 22 May, 12 October and 6 December.

General admission includes the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. Cultural volunteers and large families receive a 50% discount. The Bono Cultural Joven is accepted. Entry to the galleries of the Retiro palaces is free.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

Almost all public areas are accessible by wheelchair, although in the Sabatini building a specific route must sometimes be followed; the Sala Bóvedas is not accessible. Wheelchairs and folding seats are lent at the information desks (with identity document). Induction loops are available at the counters and at the Sabatini audio guide desk. Tactile tours are offered for blind or partially sighted people, and Spanish Sign Language interpreters are available with at least 15 days’ prior request. The audio guides include audio description of a selection of works, in Spanish only. Groups travelling in adapted vehicles can park free at the loading bay on Calle Argumosa, with prior request.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Baby changing facilities

Baby changing facilities are located in the Sabatini building (floors 2 and 4), the Nouvel building (mezzanine E0) and the NUBEL café. Two baby buggies are available on loan. The website has a section on activities for visitors with children.

Getting there & parking

Sabatini building: Calle de Santa Isabel, 52. Nouvel building: Ronda de Atocha, corner of Plaza del Emperador Carlos V. Bicycle parking is available at both buildings, and BiciMAD stations are nearby (no. 50 and no. 51).

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Café-restaurant NUBEL and El Jardín de Arzábal restaurant; La Tienda del Reina shop and La Central bookshop. Visitor Wi-Fi on floors 1 to 3 of the Sabatini building and in the NUBEL café. Left-luggage and lockers at both entrances; suitcases and backpacks or bags larger than 50 cm are not admitted. Eating and drinking are not permitted in the galleries.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Spaces for corporate and institutional events, conferences, cocktail receptions and gala dinners, as well as film shoots: auditoria with 400 and 200 seats and other rooms in the Nouvel building; cinema, cloisters and garden in the Sabatini building.

Plan your visit