Spain, big numbers for museums in 2024: Prado breaks historic record

Important numbers for Spanish museums in the year that just ended, with several institutions hitting historic figures. The most visited museum in the country is confirmed to be the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid , which closed 2024 with the historic figure of 3,457,057 visitors to its premises. To this figure the museum adds the more than 530,000 who visited the Prado... outside Madrid: 327,663 did so in Shanghai on the occasion of the exhibition Ages of Splendor. A History of Spain in the Prado Museum; 100,622 for Telefónica’s nationwide El arte que conecta initiative; and 102,551 in the XIX. El siglo del retrato organized in collaboration with La Caixa that toured several Spanish cities. Which means that almost 4 million people have enjoyed the Prado Museum’s collections this year. For the Prado slight growth compared to 2023: just over 60 thousand more visitors.

Right after the Prado comes the Reina Sofía Museum: 1,960,249 visitors in 2024, down, however, from 2023. Bucking the trend, then, is Madrid’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which loses 22.53 percent from last year, when visitors exceeded two and a half million (the conspicuous decrease is probably due to the fact that one of the museum’s venues, the Palacio de Cristal, has been closed since April 2023). Minus sign also for Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum , which recorded a 9 percent drop to 951,821, down from 1.12 million visitors last year. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao recorded a -2% from 2023, setting the total number of visitors for 2024 at 1,301,343 (67% of whom, the institute points out, were foreigners).

Historic record for Patrimonio Nacional museums: more than 7 million visitors

Instead, those who set a historical record besides the Prado are Patrimonio Nacional, the public entity that manages all the museums that are part of the Spanish crown’s legacy. The palaces, monasteries, museums, and green spaces managed by the entity welcomed a total of 7,169,027 visitors in 2024. This figure represents an all-time record and a 12.52 percent increase over 2023, the year with the most visitors so far. The month with the highest number of visitors was December, with 555,722 visits to the monument complex managed by National Heritage. Among the palaces, monasteries, and museums, which alone totaled 4,003,704 visitors, Madrid’s Royal Palace (1,563,869 visitors) stands out, followed by the new Royal Collections Gallery (648,209, open only in 2023 but already a very popular one) and the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (435,543). The third centennial celebration of the Real Sitio de la Granja, with special tours of the palace and gardens and extraordinary illuminations during the fountain season, attracted a total of 680,845 tourists.

In contrast, the parks managed by the entity recorded 3,165,323 visits. May had the best figures: 11.23 percent of the total. The most popular with the public were the Jardín de la Isla and the Jardín del Príncipe of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, with a total of 1,270,190 visitors. They were followed by the gardens of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial with 651,968 and the gardens of Campo del Moro in the Royal Palace of Madrid with 636,639 visitors.

Returning to the Royal Collections Gallery, in its year and a half of existence it has established itself as a cultural and tourist landmark not only in Spain but also abroad. Of the nearly 650,000 people who have visited the new National Heritage Museum, according to the latest statistics, 45 percent are from outside Spain. Its origin is mainly from the United States, Europe (Italy, France and Germany) and Mexico. As for the autonomous communities, audiences from the Community of Madrid, Andalusia and Catalonia stand out .

The 16 state museums: more than 3 million visits and best figure since 2000

The 16 state museums that depend on Spain’s Ministry of Culture exceeded 3 million visits in 2024 and achieved the best figures since 2000. A total of 3,121,418 people visited the 16 museums, 10.53 percent more than in 2023. Not only does this figure represent a 10.53% increase over 2023, when 2,823,993 visits were obtained, but it leaves behind the pre-pandemic figures and represents the best attendance figures in State Museums so far of the century.

Among museums, the most visited was once again the National Archaeological Museum, with 627,334 visits. This is 23.36 percent more than in 2023 (508,544) and the best figure in 10 years since reopening, surpassed only by the record in 2014, when the Museum reopened its doors after a complete renovation of the building and received 768,836 visitors. In terms of visitor numbers, second was the National Museum of Altamira, in Santillana del Mar (Cantabria), with 292,780 (2.86 percent increase), followed by the Sephardic Museum in Toledo, with 259,211, a figure similar to that of 2023 (252,231), making the significant increase in visitors observed since 2022 (132,837) stable.

The largest percentage increase occurred at the National Museum of Romanticism, visited by 195,266 people, 70.18 percent more than in 2023 (114,739). The public thus recognized the importance of the Madrid museum on the centennial of its founding, and 2024 is the year with the best attendance since records began.

Other museums that also surpassed visitor statistics in 2024 since the turn of the century are the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid (144.704, 29.54 percent more than in 2023); the National Museum of Ceramics and Suntuary Arts “González Martí” in Valencia (236,947; 8.39 percent more); and the Casa de Cervantes in Valladolid (35,398; 51.63 percent more). Also notable were the increases in attendance, over 35 percent, at the ARQVA National Museum of Underwater Archaeology, in Cartagena, with 101,557 people (34.25 percent more), the CIPE Costume Museum, in Madrid, with 113,017 (40.30 percent more), and the National Museum of Sculpture, in Valladolid, with 170,736 (49.20 percent more). Regarding the latter museum, of note was the month of December, with more than 30,000 visitors, in conjunction with the exhibition on 17th-century sculptor Luisa Roldán that opened on November 28. In addition, the National Museum of Anthropology, in Madrid, welcomed 86,959 people, 11.42 percent more than in 2023, very close to the pre-pandemic figure of 2019 (92,804).

The public also supported the two State Museums that temporarily closed their doors in 2024 for expansion work: the National Museum of Roman Art, in Mérida, welcomed 184.388 visitors, down 1.47 percent, despite the fact that the main venue closed in September; and the Museo Sorolla, in Madrid: with 247,775 visitors, far from the record 2023 figure (346,194) in the Valencian painter’s Centennial, but very close to the full year 2022, when 246,219 people attended.

Finally, the El Greco Museum in Toledo recorded attendance numbers similar to the previous year, with 187,316 people (up 6.43 percent); the Museum of America, in Madrid, with 90,410 (up 3.82 percent); and the Cerralbo Museum, also in Madrid, with 147,620 (down 10.62 percent).

Spain, big numbers for museums in 2024: Prado breaks historic record

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.