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Casa
de Lope de Vega
The house where the sixteenth-century poet-playwright lived,
curiously located in Calle Cervantes. It has been restored
so many of the rooms are as they would have been when Lope
de Vega lived there, and the "patio" (garden)
is faithful to the gardening concepts of the time.
Casa/Museo
Sorolla
The thoroughly pleasing house/museum of the Spanish impressionist
painter Joaquín Sorolla, whose work is much used for greetings
cards and the like but is much better than that.
Convento
de las Descalzas Reales
This convent is easy to miss if you are not looking for it,
being slap-bang in the middle of Madrid. It belongs to the
"Barefoot Royals" (actually the "Poor
Clares" in English, a Franciscan order of nuns) and
was founded in 1557, It can be tricky to visit, as it is still
a working convent and its visiting
hours are limited, but is very worthwhile.
Ermita
de San Antonio de la Florida
This "hermitage" is most notable for its ceiling
frescos by Goya.
Museo
de America
Almost anywhere else, this would be considered a major attraction.
To Spaniards, of course, "America" mainly means
Central and South America, though North America is covered
as well, and a visit here is most illuminating. It is divided
into three groups of collections: precolumbine, ethnographic
and colonial, each of which would deserve a building to itself.
The museum is also often the location for scholarly or political
events. The link above is to the Spanish-only official website,
which really does not do justice to the place.
Museo
Arqueológico Nacional
One of the main reasons for visiting this museum would be
to see the replica of the Altamira cave in Santander, as you
cannot see the real cave without applying at least a year
ahead, and even the reproduction next to it attracts enormous
queues. The website is well constructed, slightly dull, and
the English version has now disappeared altogether.
Museo
Casa de la Moneda
The Museo de la Casa de la Moneda was completely renovated
in the nineties and is now almost completely admirable. Its
collection of coins, banknotes and other objects such as lottery
tickets is enormous, claimed to be the most important of its
kind in the world, and nearly impeccably presented, everything
being placed faultlessly in context. The visit begins with
pre-coin currencies: shells, pressed tea leaves, cereals...
and continues through Greek, Carthaginian, Roman, indeed,
all the great eras of Spanish and world history, ending, naturally,
with plastic money and the euro. The only real gripe I have
with this museum is that absolutely no concessions are made
to non-Spanish speakers, all the explanatory panels being
exclusively in Spanish (though the website has an English-language
version - odd priorities). But it will appeal to the casually
interested and numismatically expert alike, and is unmonetarily
priced, i.e., free.
Museo
de Cera
The wax museum. You can learn quite a lot about a country's
popular culture in this kind of place.
Museo
Cerralbo
The late nineteenth century palace/town house of the Marquis
of Cerralbo, evidently built with an eye to keeping within
court circles: the Royal Palace is just around the corner.
The Marquis and his offspring were great collectors in the
Victorian tradition, and this museum makes a most enjoyable
visit, which I thoroughly recommend.
Museo
del Ferrocarril
This railway museum is not one of Madrid's great attractions,
to be honest, but train enthusiasts will love it. Housed in
a disused station, it is inexplicably undiscovered and you
are quite likely to have the whole place to yourself.
Museo
Imaginado
This is nice: a virtual musem based in a non-existent building,
but since the construction in question is (or isn't) in Madrid,
it belongs on this page. The central idea is a collection
of Spanish painting which cannot be found in Spain, being
in museums in other parts of the world. The Real Alcázar,
which once existed on the site of the present Palacio Real,
has been chosen to house the collection.
Museo
Lázaro-Galdiano
This recently renovated museum in a turn-of-the-century (nineteenth
to twentieth century, that is) mansion also houses a number
of important collections of the kind popular with leisurely
Victorian/Edwardian gentlemen: art, jewels, archeological
artefacts...
Museo
Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
The Natural Science Museum has also been renovated (though
not a lot), with a little financial assistance from the private
sector. The website is a little chaotic and not all that informative,
but at least the English-language version is now in place.
Museo
Romántico
Furniture, objects, but above all pictures from the Romantic
period. The link goes to the Spanish-only official website.
Museo
Tiflológico
Owned by the ONCE, the Spanish foundation for the blind, this
museum is designed to be seen with the fingers.
Palacio
Real
The Royal Palace was built in the middle of the eighteenth
century on the site of the old Alcázar, fortress. It
is now a purely state affair, the royal family residing in
the non-visitable Palacio de la Zarzuela in the outskirts
of Madrid. The Palacio Real is enormous, and well worth the
visit, though there tends to be a generally musty feeling
in the air: the Throne Room is especially impressive. Its
outhouses are also open to the public when they are not being
restored, and contain the Royal Armoury, the Royal Library
and a curious, eighteenth-century Pharmacy (royal, of course).
As well as the official site linked to above, you might like
to look around the hi-tech virtual visit offered by Ars
Virtual.
Real
Academia de San Fernando
This institution corresponds to the British Royal Academy
and has had many of the most illustrious names in Spanish
art as members. Unfortunately, this web site is more dedicated
to internal matters and does not reflect how enjoyable it
is to visit, but some of its most interesting works are included
in the "Historia de la Academia."
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