Tour in Madrid Landscape of Light Art Science and Museum Thyssen

Enjoy a morning in the heart of Madrid, exploring the history of the Enlightenment period in Spain. Our tour will begin on the iconic Paseo del Prado, a place full of history that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Along the promenade, we will encounter buildings of great historical and cultural relevance, the fountain of Neptune, Monument to the Fallen, the Stock Exchange. Next stop will be the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, an artistic gem that houses one of the most impressive art collections in Europe. Here, we can admire masterpieces by renowned artists such as Van Eyck, Dürer, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Monet, among others. We will visit in Cibeles building. To cap off the experience, we will enjoy a refreshing drink on the roof of one of Madrid’s most imposing buildings, with incomparable panoramic views that will allow us to contemplate the city from the top.

It was built on the land occupied by the Tivoli Theatre and the Hippodrome Circus by the English hotel chain “Ritz Development”, who commissioned the project from the French architect Mewes, author of the chain’s namesakes in Paris and London. The facades are French, neo-Baroque lines. Although the whole set enjoys unity and great compositional balance, it stands out in it the elevation to the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, today semi-hidden by a garden, well proportioned and symmetrical, flanked by curved towers topped by domes.

The fountain of Neptune represents the god of the sea, son of Saturn and Rea, brother of Zeus, riding in his shell-shaped cart and pulled by two hippocampuses, guided by four dolphins. The entire carving was made of white marble from Montesclaros (Toledo). Even lacking Madrid sea, it is one of the most popular gods in the city. Neptune is associated with the rulers representing their rule over the seas, especially the Spanish kings, who had possessions in all corners of the world; it also reflects the Spanish economic power in the 18th century, focused on trade and its relations with overseas possessions.

The museum is located in the old palace of Pico de la Mirandola, which in 1771 was acquired by the Duke of Villahermosa as a private residence. In 1805 a profound reform commissioned by López Aguado was carried out. In 1973 it was acquired by the López Quesada Bank, which commissioned Fernando Moreno Barberá to restructure it, in which the interior was emptied leaving only the perimeter walls and three floors of basements were added. Rafael Moneo later restructured it to house the Thyssen-Bornemisza art collection.
The museum houses in its rooms one of the richest and most varied collections of Western painting. Van Eyck, Dürer, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Monet, Degas, Morisot, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Kirchner, Kandinsky, Goncharova, O’Keeffe, Hopper, Dali and Pollock are just a few of the names on the extensive list of great masters that make up his holdings.

Great architectural, urban and sculptural landmark, originally dedicated to the memory of the Heroes of May Day 1808, erected in the same place, the then called Camp of Loyalty, where many of those who rebelled against the French invasion were shot by order of General Murat.

It is a unique building built on the plot left by the theater El Dorado and as a result of the national competition called by the Board of Works of the Exchange of Trade in 1884, in which Repullés won the first prize. Its proposal adapts to the irregular shape of the plot, with its main curvilinear front defined by the alignment of the Loyalty Square

Official representative building designed by Espelius and completed by De Luque. Very ornamentally recharged facades and mix of Elizabethan Gothic elements, in honor of the impulse of the Navy during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, but also classic, within an eclectic general tone, which the latter justified in the search for a national architecture, so in vogue in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Lifted by Royal Order of 22 July 1915 to host the Ministry of the Navy

Work on the building began in 1884, according to a project by Eduardo de Adaro and Severiano Sainz de la Lastra. Once the works began, it was decided to extend it along the Paseo del Prado incorporating a second door that gives access to the staircase of honor, covered with a very large stained glass window. In 1927, José Yarnoz Larrosa was commissioned to extend it along Calle de Alcalá, repeating the composition of the initial facade, and he broke the previous composition, building a new operating yard that became the center of the new distribution. In 1944 Luis Menéndez Pidal renovated the Commission Room and the Council Hall. Later it underwent a second extension that had nothing to do with what had been built previously. The magnificent stained glass windows made by the firms Mayer and Maumejean stand out. Its facades are inspired by Italian mannerism. In 1979, a contest of ideas was held, in which Rafael Moneo’s proposal was chosen.

It was opened on 8 November 1926 by King Alfonso XIII. The project was carried out by Antonio Palacios. . The building conforms to a rectangular plot, in which the different uses of each floor fit perfectly because this is a multidisciplinary center where activities of the field of arts, sciences, or philosophy are developed. The building is decorated with sculptures by Capuz and Adsuara on its facades and topped by a Minerva by Juan Luis Vassallo. It stands out for its urban and monumental image, its eclectic volumetrics and the treatment of its facades. The roof of the building has one of the most beautiful views of the city.

The fountain of Cibeles was designed in 1777 by the Major Master of the Village – Ventura Rodríguez Tizon (1717–1785), commissioned by the Council of Castile. The source depicts the mother goddess Cybele, identified in the Greek pantheon with Rea, mother of the Olympian gods and symbol of earth and fertility, on a wagon drawn by lions (Atalanta and Hippomenes). The goddess and the lions were sculpted in blue marble from the town of Montesclaros (Toledo), and the rest in stone from Redueña, a town located 53 km north of Madrid, near the mountain range of La Cabrera. King Charles III will come from Italy strongly influenced by the Enlightenment, undertaking a series of urban reforms in Madrid, the aim is to bring the capital of Spain, Madrid, to the aesthetic level of European cities such as Paris or Saint Petersburg. Other emblematic projects such as the Puerta de Alcalá or the Fountain of Neptune are included in this aesthetic renovation plan.

Appetizer in cafeteria

In 1903 the Government used part of the land of the Buen Retiro Gardens for mail and telecommunications. A national competition was called for its implementation, resulting in the winner of the project submitted by Palacios and Otamendi, perfectly adapted to the irregularity and extent of the plot. From the whole stands out the main body, open towards the Plaza de la Cibeles, where the cruciform and symmetrical lobby is located, accessed from the outside by a grandiose triple-height staircase, with iron and glass walkways on the upper levels. The six floors of the building are distinguished by their rationality, functionality and innovative facilities. The installation of the Madrid City Council has been respectful of its values. The works are the result of the international competition won by the Association of Architects Arquimatic in 2005 who achieved the harmonious introduction of new institutional, administrative and cultural uses.

Framed within the beautification reforms of the city promoted by Charles III, and the great urban operation of the Salon del Prado, this new Puerta de Alcalá or main entrance to the Court was made, in order to replace the old one, built in 1599 on the occasion of the arrival of Queen Margaret of Austria, wife of Philip III. The proposal of Ventura Rodríguez and Sabatini, were chosen. Conceived as a large triumphal arch within the Classicist Baroque, it is organized by a body of five arches, the three central ones being half-point, and the two sides smaller and indented, for pedestrian use. On the central arch is an attic crowned by a triangular pediment on one facade and semicircular on the other, split with the royal weapons. , it was built with traditional materials such as Segovia granite for architecture and Colmenar stone for decorative motifs by sculptors Roberto Michel and Francisco Gutiérrez.

• Wheelchair accessible
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
• All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

• Tour Madrid Landscape of Light Art & Science and Thyssen Museum
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• Guides Face to face: English, Spanish
• Entrance to Thyssen Museum and Rooftop Visit to Cibeles Palace

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The guide will facilitate museum entrances.

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• This Tour is Provided by Enjoy Madrid Tours.
• Tour Timezone & Starts at Europe/Madrid.
• Mobile or paper ticket accepted.
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
• Minimum 1 Travelers is required to book.
• Maximum 10 Travelers is accepted for booking.