CaixaForum Madrid

Herzog & de Meuron took a 1900 power station on the Paseo del Prado, sliced off its base so the brick mass floats, and hung a four-storey vertical garden on the wall next door. CaixaForum is Madrid’s architecture landmark of the century so far — and its rotating exhibitions (two or three at a time: photography, ancient civilisations, film, design) are consistently excellent for €6.

It fills the gap between the Prado and Reina Sofía, physically and programmatically: open every day including Mondays and Tuesdays, when its neighbours take turns closing.

The minimum you must see

Tips

Open Mondays — remember this when the Reina Sofía’s Tuesday closure or a holiday wrecks your plan.

The top-floor café has one of the Paseo del Prado’s quietest terraces.

Questions, answered