Madrid 's Golden Triangle
Art appreciation in Madrid is not merely a pastime for the rich. This city has three of the greatest art museums in the world, and visitors are expected to honor that as the Madrileños do. You may be coming to Madrid for business, for shopping, to see a futbol game, or to learn the flamenco, no matter what, you will still visit the city's "Golden Triangle of Art"...and if you weren't an art lover before, odds are you'll be one when your tour's complete.
The most famous of the three is El Prado, which is also—ready for this?—the world's largest gallery and probably largest classical painting collection, at least by Spain's estimation. It's definitely the largest in Spain. Only about a quarter of the 8000+ paintings in the collection are actually available for public viewing. Those, however, include the greatest works of the Spanish school, from El Greco to Diego de Velazquez to Goya—whose collection is the largest, numbering over a hundred works. Flemish, Italian, and some well respected 17th century French painters are also represented. That, of course, is just the beginning of the Prado collection; it also includes sculptures, coins, gold and silver works, and many more priceless objects.
