Overview
CaixaForum Madrid is No. 91 in The Art Newspaper's survey of the world's most visited art museums, with 852,345 visitors in 2025, down 10% on 2024. Run by the "la Caixa" Foundation, it opened in 2008 on the Paseo del Prado, close to the Prado and the Thyssen.
The architects Herzog & de Meuron turned an old power station into a building that seems to float above a covered plaza, topped by rusted cast iron. Beside it, a vertical garden by Patrick Blanc covers a neighbouring wall.
Best time to visit
Weekday mornings are the quietest. Check the official website for hours.
Highlights & collections
-
1
Vertical garden
A living wall of thousands of plants, 24 m high.
-
2
The building
Brick walls lifted off the ground, a covered plaza and a sculptural staircase.
-
3
Exhibitions
Changing exhibitions of art, history, science and photography.
-
4
Events
Talks, concerts, film screenings and family activities.
Getting there
CaixaForum is at Paseo del Prado 36. Atocha station is about 5 minutes' walk away.
Visiting tips
- Tickets & hours
- Buy tickets online or at the centre; prices are low. Check the official website for hours.
- Time needed
- One to two hours.
- Currency
- Euro (EUR). Cards, including contactless, are accepted almost everywhere.
- Visa & entry
- Spain is in the Schengen Area. Many visitors, including citizens of the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) now records non-EU travellers' entries and exits at the border, and the ETIAS travel authorisation is due to follow. Check the official EU site travel-europe.europa.eu and your own government's travel advice before you go.
Official information: CaixaForum Madrid (official website). Check opening hours, prices and entry rules there before you go.
Map
Open in Maps View larger map Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors