The Paseo del Prado is a boulevard in Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain. It runs along a north-south axis, from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, popularly known as Glorieta de Atocha. Halfway along its route it meets Plaza de la Lealtad and Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, where the Neptune fountain is located.
Together with Paseo de la Castellana and Paseo de Recoletos, which extend to the north, it forms one of the main road axes of the city, known as the Prado-Recoletos axis, connecting the northern part of the city with the southern part.
In the cultural field, Paseo del Prado is home to one of the main museum centres in the world. The Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums are located here, and the Reina Sofía Art Centre is located nearby, promoted for tourism under the name of Paseo or Triangle of Art.
This promenade also contains various monuments and sites of historical and artistic interest, built in the 18th century as part of the urban development project for the Salón del Prado, as well as numerous ornamental and landscape motifs.
Notable among these are the Villanueva Building, the main headquarters of the Museo del Prado, the Royal Botanical Garden and the sculptural ensembles of the fountains of Neptune, Cibeles and Apollo.
The Paseo del Prado is part of the so-called Landscape of Light, a cultural landscape declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 25 July 2021, along with the Retiro Park and the Jerónimos neighbourhood.
Among other attractions are CaixaForum Madrid, the headquarters of the Real Academia Española (the Spanish language academy), the Bolsa de Madrid (the city’s stock exchange), and the Congreso de los Diputados (the national congress).
Madrid: full guide
- Administrative structure
- Architecture
- Churches and Cathedrals
- Entertainment
- Museums
- Parks and gardens
- Restaurants
- Shopping and markets
- Squares
- Streets
- Transport
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