Madrid

The capital of Spain is also one of Europe’s greatest art capitals. First of all, there’s the gigantic, neo-classical Museo del Prado, overwhelmingly named the city’s best venue by locals in our survey, which houses a vast and spectacular collection of Spanish and European art. Follow that up with the Thyssen and shrine to twentieth-century art the Reina Sofía and you’ll have experienced the city’s Golden Triangle of Art. More into theatre? Madrid won’t disappoint you there, either – Teatro Real was the second-most shouted-about venue in our survey, and is one of Europe’s most esteemed venues for opera and the performing arts. 

‘Culture in Madrid is more alive than ever,’ says Marta Bac, editor of Time Out Madrid. ‘The closure of venues due to the pandemic and the capacity restrictions that followed are a thing of the past. Now the theatres are full again, new cultural spaces are opening – such as Cines Embajadores, opening next to Madrid Río – and new festivals are coming to the city, like the arrival of Primavera Sound this past summer. In fact, this year Madrid opened the most important museum project in Europe, the Galleries of the Royal Collections.’