Reina Sofia Museum

The Reina Sofia occupies an eighteenth-century hospital converted in the 1980s, with glass lift towers added on the front and a red-panelled extension by Jean Nouvel opened in 2005. Its collection runs from the late nineteenth century to the present, and the room that draws most visitors holds Guernica, painted by Picasso in 1937 after the bombing of the Basque town, which hung in New York until 1981 and came to Spain only after Franco's death; the preparatory sketches hang around it. Beyond that are major holdings of Dali, Miro, Juan Gris, Julio Gonzalez and Antoni Tapies, along with photography, film and a large contemporary programme. The building has a garden courtyard with a Calder mobile.

What you actually see

• Guernica - Picasso's 1937 painting with its preparatory studies.
• The Dali and Miro rooms - major Surrealist holdings.
• The Nouvel extension - a red-panelled 2005 addition with a courtyard.
• The contemporary galleries - film, photography and recent Spanish art.

When to go

Year-round; the museum is indoors and closes on Tuesdays. Free entry in the last two hours most evenings and on Sunday afternoons brings long queues. The Guernica room is crowded at all times.

Honest expectations

Photography of Guernica is prohibited and enforced by guards. The building is confusing to navigate between the old hospital and the extension. Free entry periods mean queues that can exceed an hour.

Nearby

The Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza are a short walk north; Atocha station is next door.