Prado Museum Madrid
The beautiful Museo el Prado is one of the definite must-see attractions in Madrid. This astounding museum houses one of the best art collections in the world, with paintings by many of Europe's masters. The Prado (meaning 'meadow' in Spanish) is housed in the lovely Villanueva building, which was developed around 1785, although construction was not completed for years. Originally planned as a Natural History museum, it was changed into an art and sculpture gallery years after construction had begun. It finally opened in 1819, and was one of the world's first public art galleries.

The building has seen numerous additions added to it in later years due to its huge collection, including courtyards, new rooms and entire wings. The finished building is awe-inspiring, and has been perfectly constructed and designed to show off the works of art housed inside, which number around 10 000.

The museum's crowning glory is its Royal Collection, a fine assembly of Spanish, Flemish and Italian works from the 15th to 19th centuries. The collection was begun in the 1500's by the Spanish royals, and was continued until the last century. A fire unfortunately destroyed many of the works in 1734, but despite this the collection is still outstanding. Spanish masters such as Goya, El Greco and Velazquez have extensive works displayed here, and visitors often flock to see Velazquez' beautiful Las Meninas.

The museum should be given at least a day to thoroughly explore, as it holds outstanding works by some of the best artists who ever lived. While wandering the halls works can be seen by such greats as Tintoretto, El Greco, Raphael, Bottecelli, Fra Angelico, Rembrandt, Titian and Bosch.