Madrid arts & culture

If you are looking to explore the cultural and artistic highlights of Madrid, then reward yourself with a vacation at any of the hotelbook® selected hotels.

The hotels listed below are all close to Madrid’s famous museums. Three of the most famous museums of Madrid are located within walking distance to each other on what is called “The Golden Triangle”. For instance, the Prado museum is considered one of the most important Art Galleries in the world and it only shows part of its collection -around 12,000 of its pieces of art are in storage. The Thyssen-Bornemisza covers primitive Flemmish to contemporary art, whereas the Reina Sofia showcases Spanish Contemporary Art including Dalí, and Miró. As well, step back in time in the nearby 16th century Jeronimos Church where kings and queens sought refuge in the days of old, and recently Juan Carlos I was proclaimed King of Spain in 1975.

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Gran Hotel Velazquez -Madrid, Spain
The 4 star Gran Hotel Velazquez is located in Madrid's Salamanca neighbourhood within the Golden Mile shopping district. The hotel offers generous sized guest rooms which are equipped with wifi internet access, satellite television, and private bathrooms featuring Hydro showers. The Gran Hotel Velazquez can be found minutes away from the renowned Puerta del Sol in the heart of Madrid and 14 kilometres from the Barajas International Airport.

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For those traveling to the “Golden Triangle of Art”, each museum has a little something different to offer. All three are home to world-famous pieces of art that are certainly not worth missing. For instance, the Prado holds works by famous artists like Diego Velazquez, Francisco Goya, El Greco, Peter Paul Reubens, Caravaggio, & Rembrandt. Established in 1819, this museum not only holds over 8,600 paintings but is also known for 5,000 drawings, 2,000 prints, 1,000 coins & medals, 2,000 decorative objects, and more than 700 works of sculpture. The best-known piece you can’t miss is Velazquez’s Las Meninas, a portrait of King Philip IV’s family that has been described as the “theology of painting” by Luca Giordano, the famous Baroque painter.

At the Reina Sofia, enjoy contemporary pieces from the 20th century from Joan Miró, Julio Gonzales, Pablo Gargallo, and most notably, Pablo Picasso & Salvador Dalí. Don’t forget to see one of Picasso’s most famous works “Guernica”, a huge mural depicting the bombing of the Guernica, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Apart from all of the great works on display, the museum also has a free-access art library that includes over 100,000 books, 3,500 sound recordings, and almost 1,000 videos on file. Plus, the central building of the museum was built from an 18th century hospital, and rumor has it the place is haunted!

On the other hand, the Thysssen-Bornemisza museum spans over eight centuries of European painting, offering glimpses of various art periods, including the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Plus, the museum covers artists outside of Spain from English, German, Dutch, Italian, Belgian, and English schools. The museum’s collection was started by the late Baron Hans Thyssen-Bornemisza, and to this day his wife, Carmen Cervera, carries out the running of the museum. Just recently in 2006, she made a public demonstration against the city’s plans to rebuild the Paseo del Prado, as she thought it would damage the museum’s collection and appearance.

Madrid arts & culture

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