The Reina Sofia museum belongs to the Paseo del Prado's artistic domain and is located near the Museo del Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza's. The institution, dedicated to contemporaneous art, was called before the Art Centre of Reina Sofia inaugurated in 1986 where only temporary exhibitions took place. It was then declared national museum in 1988 and its permanent collection was inaugurated in 1992. The museum's activity consists in displaying the collections, organizing temporary exhibitions, realizing contemporaneous art training and promotion programmes. The museum occupies the premises of the former Hospital General built by the architect Sabatini from 1776 and 1781. The restoration and the transformation into a museum started around 1980. The access is made easier by three transparent lifts placed on the building's façade. The French architect Jean Nouvel made the extension of the museum and it offers a spectacular contrast between the modern work of Nouvel and the edifice by Sabatini. The collections are divided into two sections: the historical vanguards and the contemporaneous. The first comprises Spanish art from the late XIXth century to the end of the Second Worl War. Are displayed paintings by Picasso, Dali, Miro and Solana. The second section is dedicated to the artistic panorama from the 1940's until today's latest fashion represented by Tàpies, Antonio Lopez and many others. The most significative masterpiece is Picasso's Guernica, emblematic work of painting's universal history.
To see: collections, Guernica, temporary exhibitions; Close to: the Paseo del Prado, Museo del Prado, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Parque del Retiro, la Cibeles.
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Reina Sofia Museum Address: 52, Calle Santa Isabel, Madrid, Spain 
Reina Sofia Museum Phone Number: 34917741000 
http://www.museoreinasofia.es 
Reina Sofia Museum Opening time: monday - saturday: 10h - 21h 
Reina Sofia Museum Price: 6,00 
