Retiro Park Galleries
Palacio de Cristal and Palacio de Velázquez
External view of the Palacio de Cristal, 2023
Museo Reina Sofía
Open Every Day
Free admission all year round
The Palaces are exhibition spaces located inside Retiro Park. Both venues have been used for installations that make the most of the uniqueness of these spaces.
Both venues are less than thirty minutes from the Museo Reina Sofía’s main site, a ten-minute walk from the Puerta de Alcalá and seven from Avenida Menéndez Pelayo. By metro: Retiro (line 2), Ibiza (line 9), Estación del Arte (line 1). Find out how to get there by bus.
Visitors are asked to vacate the galleries 10 minutes before closing time.
Special Opening hours and Closing Days
Open every day, except January 1st and 6th, May 1st and December 25th, as well as during exhibitions installations. December 24th and 31st open until 5pm.
Palacio de Cristal would be closed on rainy or heat wave days.
Current Exhibitions
Servicios y recomendaciones
Permitted objects
Please bear in mind that access is only allowed with handbags and backpacks no larger than 40 x 30 x 10 cm, provided that they are used for their intended purpose and worn at the front of the body; small folding umbrellas (less than 30 cm), which must remain closed throughout the visit; and any other object whose use or carrying is duly justified and complies with the Museum's security and public policy.
Visitors cannot access with suitcases, scooters, skates, skateboards, bicycles, balls or games, or any other object or substance the security staff consider a risk to the artworks or other people (sharp objects, knives, scissors, tools, umbrellas that are either large and/or have sharp tips, etc.).
Minors
Children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Please stress the importance to children of not touching objects and running in the exhibition rooms to avoid damaging the artworks. Anyone between the age of 14 and 18 who wishes to visit the Museo without an adult must show his or her national ID document.
Opening times
Remember that the galleries must be vacated 10 minutes before the Museo closes its doors.
Photos and videos
Photographs may be taken without a flash, tripod, selfie stick or any other type of camera stand in all of the Museo’s sites, unless stated otherwise. Photo shoots for private events (weddings, communions, etc.) are not allowed.
Filming for informational and/or commercial purposes will require prior authorisation from the Press Department.
Animals
For security reasons, visitors cannot access the Museo with pets. With correct accreditation, only assistance dogs, in accordance with Law 2/2015, of 10 March, and emotional support dogs (duly justified) are allowed access.
WiFi
Feel free to connect to our Wi-Fi network.
Food and drink
Food and drink is not allowed inside the gallery. Accredited tourist guides, while carrying out their tours, pregnant women and people with illnesses or with duly justified special needs may take in a bottle of water.
Help to conserve heritage
Please keep a safe distance from the artworks and do not touch them — even the slightest touch may cause damage. When there is the possibility of touching or stepping on artworks, it will be indicated accordingly.
Please follow the instructions of the Museo’s staff at all times. Failure to comply with staff instructions means the Museo Reina Sofía reserves the right to deny entry or ensure visitors leave the site. In such cases, purchased tickets will not be reimbursed.
A Space of Coexistence
Please speak quietly, switch your phone to silent mode and take phone calls outside the exhibition rooms. If you find any lost property, please give it to the gallery security staff, who will ensure its safekeeping and return. Please bear in mind that the Museo is a smoke-free space and, therefore, smoking is strictly forbidden in all the Museo Reina Sofía’s sites and galleries (main site, Palacio de Cristal and Palacio de Velázquez). This also includes outdoor spaces.
Complaints and Suggestions
Complaints and suggestions can be submitted via the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía’s Digital Office or submitted by post, email or in-person. More information is available here.
Museo
The Museo Reina Sofía’s two sites in the Retiro Park were designed and realised at the end of the nineteenth century as exhibition spaces for the universal exhibitions, a purpose which remains today.
Museo
