Traveling to Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona In June

[Veigus]

Hello, me and my wife are going to Spain in June. Were going to spend about two days in each city. What are the must see places in these cities? Im an Artist and im interested in the local art scene, bookstore, galleries builidings, Graffiti Murals(etc..). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[tomc52]

Try to see the Dali museum in Figueres. I was not a big fan of Dali until I visited the museum.

[Juanjo]

Hello, me and my wife are going to Spain in June. Were going to spend about two days in each city. What are the must see places in these cities? Im an Artist and im interested in the local art scene, bookstore, galleries builidings, Graffiti Murals(etc..). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.


Madrid- El Prado y La Reina Sofia galleries, of course. You might need to queue for the Goya exhibition in El Prado.

Sevilla- Museo de Bellas Artes, Museo de Arte Contempráneo- also visit Hospital de la Caridad to see some of the most sombre Murillo painitngs among others. Check out the Cathedral for its paintings and the Alcázar for its wall decorations.

Juanjo

[JohnRoss]

Hello, me and my wife are going to Spain in June. Were going to spend about two days in each city. What are the must see places in these cities? Im an Artist and im interested in the local art scene, bookstore, galleries builidings, Graffiti Murals(etc..). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Madrid is paradise for an art lover with stamina. As well as the Prado and the Reina Sofia, the Thyssen is unmissable, and I would add the Sorolla house/museum and the Real Academia de San Fernando. Hard going, though - even the most dedicated art fan can museum-out in Madrid. Plus, there's a cute little Picasso Museum up in the mountains, in Buitrago del Lozoya, which contains his barber's collection, though I don't suppose you'll have time for it.

Juanjo has summed up Seville very nicely and I second his choice of the Hospital de Caridad, which is also interesting because its benefactor, Migual Mañara, is strongly identified with Don Juan/Don Giovanni.

Barcelona is easier, you've got the MACBA, the Contemporary Art Museum, which I haven't seen recently, but I understand it has become much more 'relevant' in the last few years. And another Picasso Museum which I have never seen at all, sorry.

Overall, you may find Spain more respectful towards art and artists than the UK. Artists are respectable members of society here (it's musicians who are considered bums).

[Chris White]

Barcelona:
I'm told that that the Picasso Museum is excellent. Unfortunately, the line has always been too long whenever I visited. The best-known landmark of Barcelona is La Rambla (http://www.barcelona-on-line.es/eng/turisme/bcn_rambla.htm) and you will definitely want to plan a casual stroll down this charming path. Also, no trip to Barcelona is complete without a visit to Sagrada Familia (http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Sagrada_Familia.html), one of Gaudi's most amazing accomplishments. It's in permanent construction mode of course (what famous church in Europe isn't?), but still definitely worth a visit. If you're feeling really adventurous, there's a restaurant named Matilda located in a little town approximately halfway between Barcelona and Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (about 3 train stops?). I'm sorry I can't give you more explicit directions, but it should be easy to find. This hidden jewel is a fabulous 4-star restaurant that I highly recommend.

[Veigus]

Really cool suggestions. Im sure, I too will become a fan of these artist's work. We will try are hardest to hit most of them on each city. Much Appreciated for your feedback.

Since, were going to spend some time in Spain. Any recommendations on best foods and beer to try out?

[Veigus]

Thanks again guys. All of you are being very helpfull in planning our trip to Spain.

[Legazpi]

I did make it into the main Picasso museum in Barcelona 6 years ago. It had a lot of early work from his Malaga days, and an impressive portrait of his sister's first communion (impressive because he painted it when he was about 14). I'm not a Picasso connoisseur, in fact I've seen so much stuff which I don't think was intended for display, that I my mind goes numb when I try to think about it. There was also a museum across the road which has some of his sculptures. I think there is some kind of Miro foundation around Barcelona as well.

If you have an extra few days around Madrid, it might be worth a day trip to Toledo, where El Greco lived. There is a small church, I can't remember its name, which has a famous mural by him, and also the cathedral has many paintings by him, along with quite a few paintings by the likes of Rubens and Titian.

If you're around the south then I recommend checking out Zurbarán. I saw some impressive paintings of various religious people by him in Cadiz, and I imagine there is some of his work in Seville (although I still haven't got round to actually visiting Seville yet, so I'm not too sure)

[rod]

Barcelona is easier, you've got the MACBA, the Contemporary Art Museum, which I haven't seen recently, but I understand it has become much more 'relevant' in the last few years.

I visited new year 2005 and if it has become more relevant recently, I dread to think what it was like before. It made my head hurt. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against conceptual art at all, but whoever was let loose with the cheque book seems to have thought it their brief to buy works that would bore visitors senseless. The most interesting thing about the museum is the building itself and the skateboarders outside.

Barcelona:
I'm told that that the Picasso Museum is excellent.

I did make it into the main Picasso museum in Barcelona 6 years ago. It had a lot of early work from his Malaga days, and an impressive portrait of his sister's first communion (impressive because he painted it when he was about 14). I'm not a Picasso connoisseur, in fact I've seen so much stuff which I don't think was intended for display, that I my mind goes numb when I try to think about it. There was also a museum across the road which has some of his sculptures. I think there is some kind of Miro foundation around Barcelona as well.

I did get into see the Picasso museum and I think it's alright as long as you go without too high expectations; it's all peripheral stuff really, early works before his cubist breakthrough, juvenilia, sketchbooks, etc.

So I didn't have a great time with art museums in Barcelona! The Miro Foundation did look very interesting, but unfortunately I didn't get to see it as being around New Year it was closed.

And of course the Gaudi houses, the Sagrada and the Park Guell are all essential

[gary]

Try to see the Dali museum in Figueres. I was not a big fan of Dali until I visited the museum.

will take more or less the whole day getting there and back...


Try to see the musical fountains at Mont Juic (Metro España)
Lunch at Quatre Gatos - step back in time
Eat at Maians - C. Carles 28, Barceloneta - simple well prepared food
Parc Guell is a good afternoon out.
Try to find Plaza San Felipe Nuri and see the bullet holes in the wall
Go to the Ramblas if you absolutely have to - the Boqueria market's a good half hour.
Sitges is a pleasant seaside place
Maybe up the funicular railway from Paral-lel to Mont Juic see the Olympic stadium - maybe the olympic museum is finished now - you could take the cable car up to the top - great views & a so-so military museum
On the way down take the gondola to the harbour or walk down and call in Poble Español
Start at Cataluña and walk up Passeig de Gracia to see how the other half shop - see La Pedrera and the building with the skull balconies (whos name escapes me) - Gaudi stuff. - Wonder about the price if the single tiny handbag that occupies a massive window in Coco Channels place, Get an icecream next door - really goodShould be enough for two days...;D

[jonas20]

There is a real hidden (from tourists) gem across the river that offers Flamenco dancing, we absolutely loved it and even saw a few famous bull fighters there. I believe it was free (or cheap) but they don't start until everyone has a drink in their hands... really cool place - maybe someone can help with the name/location

[Veigus]

Thanks again for the suggestions. We leave in a couple of days and we are really excited and look forward to our journey in Spain.

I will post our experience of our trip, once we get back home.

[spain_lover]

Hi Veigus,With the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, Spain has the largest collection of paintings in Europe. The main museums in Spain are the Prado Museum in Madrid, with romanesque, gothic, renaissance and baroque art mainly Spanish but also big european masters like Rubens, Rembrandt, Tiziano, etc. Here you will find Velazquez, Goya, El Bosco, Murillo, etc. The Thyssen-Bornemisza displaying from romanic religious art to impressionism, mainly european masters. The Centro de Arte Contemporaneo Reina Sofia with contemporary art from the XX century, Picasso´s Guernica is here. Other cities like Barcelona have interesting museums too, like the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. Bilbao´s Guggenheim museum is a recent addition. And so is also the new Picasso Museum in Malaga.
Also, do take care about the accommodation in Spain so that you wont land in trouble with difficulties in getting a nice stay there.:)


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Photo Gallery - Montserrat, Spain