Prado Museum Guided Tour and Optional Reina Sofia

Enlightening, educational, and enjoyable!

We had an amazing and intimate tour of both the Prado and the Reina Sofia museums with our wonderful guide Aurora Ferrari. Aurora is a graduate student of Spanish art history and her knowledge was phenomenal. She showed us the most important pieces in both museums and helped us to understand the history of not only the paintings, but the country of Spain itself. I went to the Prado over 10 years ago by myself and was overwhelmed. This tour made the museum accessible and so much more enjoyable. The photos I posted from the Reina Sofia are some of my favorites. I had no idea what a gem this important museum is. Everyone should see it! Thank you, Aurora, you were amazing!!!

Outstanding, memorable

My guide, Ana Christina, was very knowledgeable and an excellent communicator. We had a long tour and she was sensitive to the needs of individuals as well as the whole group. She asked what we most wanted to see and made sure that those items were covered in detail.

Wow

Ophelia was a fantastic tour guide. She answered everyone of our questions as she guided us through the proto and reina Sofia. She took us to the most important art and explained the impact of select pieces in this immense collection. She was well trained in the arts and spoke English very well. We would have been lost with out her

Prado museum in an understandable way!

Ana Cristina was a wonderful guide for our prado museum visit. We learned a lot and were entertained the whole time

Great way to see the Prado museum highlights

In a short 90 minutes, we were guided through the highlights of the museum by our guide, who was excellent and extremely knowledgeable. His interpretation and discussion of each piece was very interesting.

very good museum. Ok guide

Prado is a very good place to visit. I personally liked a lot Rafael, but I do have a childhood memory of it. The guide was ok. English can be a little improved so I do recommend her more for Spanish tours.

Maria makes the history fun and interesting

Maria was an amazing guide! She made the history so interesting, including analyzing select paintings. Fun and very interesting. The Prado tour a true 5. There were no directions for the Reina Sophia museum and the guide did not say anything about it at the end of the Prado tour so we missed the Reina Sophia. However we stayed longer at the Prado and really did enjoy the tour.

Guide was very...

Guide was very knowledgeable and took us to key paintings. The only downside was this was a bilingual experience which took more time to go through in two languages. However, Laura was a great guide.

Spanish artists at their best.

Just the opportunity to see one of the better known museums in Western Europe. Famous Spanish artists better pieces exhibited all under one roof!

Masterpieces at the Prado

Our tour guide, I believe his name was Pablo, although it has been a while now, was excellent. He gave us in depth analyses of about 6 or 7 masterpieces of the Prado. Fascinating observations on these works of art. It is an experience I will not forget.

Terrible management | awful experience | scamsters

We were at the location but there was no way to contact the tour operator. We dropped messages frantically to place the operator and as we were late by 5 mins - we also ended up buying tickets again. After entering the museum, we again hoped to join the group but there was absolutely zero response and support from the platform or the tour operator. Super pathetic management and worst experience to start the day. Get your guide is anyway far better !!!!

Interesting tour of the Spanish highlights of the Prado

Nice small group experience. The guide did an excellent job of moving us around the Prado to see some of the Spanish highlights, which can be especially tricky considering how crowded the Prado can get. Definitely ask to use a headset/mic setup so you can hear clearly - with all the tours going on, it's easy for tours to drown each other out.

Poor planning

Guide never showed for second half of the tour. We had to pay for tickets as well. Even though we already paid thru viator. Directions unclear and 6 of us in the same position.

Rushed and disappointed

The tour was over 30 minutes late while we waited for others to join. We were supposed to be on an English-speaking tour and out of the 6 that attended only me and my wife spoke English. So the tour guide spent half of the 1.5-hour tour explaining in Spanish and then English. We felt rushed and disappointed. I have satisfactorily used Viator several times in the past, but this was not a good tour.

If it happens to be in Madrid, Prado museum is a must.

Our guide,Saskia , was very knowledgeable, informative and very polite. Don't miss Bosh's paintings.He was ahead of his time.

Disappointing

We arrive at meeting point early, but our guide did not arrive - so no tour. We had to purchase tickets in the regular museum line for a tour instead. No idea what happened to our guide, and Viator was unable to reach them.

Terrible tour operator

I was sent the incorrect meeting place and hence missed the tour altogether. I tried calling the tour operator who was difficult to understand and who hung up on me.

Great tour!

Juan Pablo did an amazing job guiding us through the museum and very knowledgeable. Very informative on the art work.

Wednesday Afternoon at the Prado

Our guide was very knowledgeable. Went over the paintings explaining everything about them. Great learning experience and plan to be back to see the rest of the 21k paintings.

Wonderful way to tour Prado Museum

Our guide was simply excellent - Diana was very informed about the history and details of the paintings and made it a very worthwhile tour. And our group was small and had a private feeling. Much better than wandering around by ourselves in the museum.

Great tour of one of the worlds greatest museums!

We had Sophia all to ourselves and she was delightful. She highlighted the collection with many important facts about the artists and their place in art history as well as Spanish history! Bonus: Hilary Rodham Clinton was on her own tour that day and we got to circle around her and her guide for the morning. Not an everyday occurrence.

Save Time & Money - Rent the Museum’s Audio Ghuide

This Viator item suffers greatly from multiple layers of reselling that resulted in a marginally useful experience. Our tour was supposedly an English tour, but 2 of 4 people on the tour spoke only Spanish - which was the guide’s native language. So, guess what language was used most? At the meeting point, we met another group whose tour operator was also supposedly De Paseo according to their reservation, but a guide with Amigo Tours turned-out to be their guide. He did not carry a white umbrella, which was the stated identifiers for both guides. Turns out that an umbrella is an inconvenient identifier. Umbrellas are not permitted in the museum. So, our guide left us standing in front of the museum while she went to her car to stash the umbrella. In the meantime, the Amigo Tours group whose guide bore guide credentials got in a short line for security screening, while our guide, who bore no credentials, instructed us to join a much longer line that wound from the Goya statue to the front of the museum. Our advice: Skip the guided tour, and just rent the audio guide. We learned way more from the audio guide that from the human guide . The experience was largely a waste of time and money. To be clear, the guide was a nice person, but the basic structure of the experience was highly flawed.

Disappointing

While our guide was a nice person, her English was very limited and we only speak and understand English. There was not a lot of information shared about the museum or any of the main attractions. Many of our questions went unanswered due to language and maybe a lack of knowledge. There was no option given for the optional Reina Sofia. We have taken many, many Viator tours and this was the first one we were unhappy with.

Worst tour ever!

The tour operator did not provide audio sets! Every other tour there had them. Was a big waste of $ as we couldn’t hear the guide as they’re not allowed to speak loudly. Have bought Viator tours before but this one was the worst!

Great tour once inside the museum but it certainly not skip the line as advertised.

I gave the overall tour 3 stars but I'll give 5 to our guide. There's was a lot of confusion when we arrived at the meeting point. The original guide didn't show up due to illness. The guide they finally had us go with was just as confused. Once we got in the museum it was great and she was very knowledgable and informative. However, coining this as a skip the line tour was inaccurate. There was a very long line that we stood in in order to go into the museum. The weather was great for us but later that day it started raining. I wouldn't have been happy at all if I paid for a 'skip the line' tour and had to stand in the rain.

Great visit of the Prado

Very nice experience with the knowledgeable guide through the most important sections of this huge museum. We received important tips for exploring the museum on our own and spent a wonderful time at the Prado.

The museum and the paintings are worth it.

Seeing the paintings. We had a last-minute change in the tour guide. She did her best. However, the crowds often overwhelmed her and it made it difficult to hear all the history of the paintings

Fabulous

Eugina was awesome and showed us the more famous paintings. So happy she waited for us as we were lost.

A good introduction to the Prado

Pablo was able to give us an introduction to the Prado in an enjoyable and entertaining way that made the remainder of our visit easier to both understand and navigate.

The Prado is a huge...

The Prado is a huge museum, so this tour is a great way to see highlights and bypass the ticket line

The Way to See the Prado

I guide, Christina, was knowledgeable, and delightful. She really made the art come to life with context and backstories.

Get Nacho as a guide if you want gold standard tour

Toured Prado with our guide Nacho who is an art expert and great communicator in English. I learned more about art in 1.5 hours than I did my whole previous life ( and I’m old) And Prado is a fantastic museum so a great experience overall.

Great Tour of The Prado Museum

Johnny is a superior art guide. He took us through The Prado from the Renaissance to Goya and made the artists and paintings come to life in a personal way. His knowledge is vast and his presentation is very entertaining. We enjoyed every moment.

Amazing experience

Great experience. We had a fantastic guide, fluent in English and with knowledge of art and history. We skipped the line, had 2 hours of personal tour, and then stayed for extra 1.5 hours in the museum after the lunch

Touring the Spanish Masters!

Our tour guide Amanda was excellent. Brought us around on a “highlight” as it was only 1 1/2 hours. Her knowledge of the paintings and artist gave much more meaning to the works. Strongly suggest you take a guide if this is your first trip to the Prado

Our guide was great!

Our guide was so knowledgeable and patient! She was incredibly kind and welcoming. We definitely recommend her to anyone who wants a detailed and interesting experience!

Very unreliable service

We arrived early. The guide did not show up. When we contaced Viator, they told us the guide was on his way. About half an hour later we received a message that since it was a free day at the Museum, guides were not allowed in, i.e, the guide was not on his way.

Wow! Beautiful Art, Super Knowledgeable Guide!

Wonderful tour of the Prado! Our guide provided exceptional insight into some of the key works of art at the museum as well as pointing out key details and small things easily overlooked. Pablo really knew the art and history and was passionate about it! He also gave a good overview of the museum which allowed us to explore on our own after the tour. Highly recommended!!

Prado is a jewel!

It was so helpful hearing explanations about the very important paintings. We cooks not have interpreted them on our own.

No show

Guide never showed up. Contact phone number they gave was a wrong number. No follow up or apology from them. We have demanded full refund but there should be an extra penalty for a no show.

Beatriz Colomer Penaranda (Tour Guide) makes the art come ALIVE!

I am not an art lover but going through this museum with this guide is a spectacular experience. Her love for the paintings is contagious and makes you truly appreciate everything you are seeing. Her knowledge about the works lets you understand what you are seeing. I strongly recommend you go through this amazing museum and try to get this tour guide!

Great experience

Very pleasant and knowledgeable guide, highly recommended! The group was very small, so it was easy to ask the guide questions.

Art come to life!

Our guide Beatrice was very knowledgeable and generous with information. She presented the art in such a way that brought it to life and made it so interesting. Super enjoyable!!!

Informative art and history tour of Prado

Roberto wove the history of Spain into a wonderful tour of the art at the Prado. He was informative, friendly and generously shared his knowledge and love of Spain. So glad we took this tour!

Enjoyed the tour!

Our tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. Learned a great deal about the paintings. The museum is huge and a bit overwhelming. The guided tour focused on important paintings and made it manageable.

Great time (mum and Teen)

Great tour guide who clearly loves her work. Better than just wandering round and we didn't have to stand in a que in the blazing heat

Great tour!

Eugenia was fantastic, and we really appreciated the explanations she gave on the paintings that we saw. We would definitely recommend this tour!

For art enthusiasts, I...

For art enthusiasts, I think this tour is likely a good option. At the beginning of the tour, she told us she will be going in depth on a few paintings vs spending a short time on many. This is the opposite of what my non-art educated family was hoping for. We saw about 8-10 paintings during the tour, spending about 10 min on each. We did have personal audio ear pieces so we could walk around to view the other pieces in the room while the guide gave details about the most important piece. Many people on our tour really appreciated the in depth knowledge of the guide, but if your more like my family, this tour may not be the best fit. The most disappointing thing was how late we started. After being told to arrive at 11:45 for a 12:00 start, the guide arrived at 12:03 without tickets. While buying our tickets, even later guests arrived, so she had to stand in line a second time for tickets. We eventually started after 12:30. During a heat wave. Not the time to keep guests waiting outside unnecessarily. The tour was extended, so we received the full tour in the end, but was a disappointing way to start.

Good family tour

Our family of four was supposed to be on the tour with two other people, but they didn’t show- so myself, my wife, and children had a private tour throughout the Prado- a great way to see all the important works with my kids who have a short attention span and wouldn’t be able to see things on their own. They were very engaged and the tour guide was great.

Tour guide excellent

Museum is sizeable and split over 3 floors. Reasonable selection of artwork. Tour guide was very good, and using a guide is by far the best way to see a gallery of this size