The Paseo del Prado is a major street in Madrid, Spain. It goes from north to south between the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V (also called Plaza de Atocha). The Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, which is where the Fuente de Neptuno fountain and the Ritz and Palace hotels are located, is in the middle area of the Paseo del Prado. The Paseo del Prado is the southern part of Madrid’s central axis. This axis continues north from the Plaza de Cibeles as the Paseo de Recoletos and then as the Paseo de la Castellana. The Paseo del Prado has the status of Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC). It is also part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes Buen Retiro Park.

Etymology

Paseo del Prado is named after the Prado de los Jerónimos, which were fields around the Monastery of San Jerónimo El Real. The boulevard was built on these fields.

Description

This wide, central avenue is lined with many trees and is an important landmark for city residents. It is home to several cultural and tourist attractions, including the Golden Triangle of Art, which includes three museums: the Prado Museum (featuring artworks such as Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas and Francisco de Goya's La maja vestida and La maja desnuda), the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (showcasing European paintings from eight centuries), and the Reina Sofia Museum (housing Pablo Picasso's Guernica and other 20th-century art). Nearby are the Parque del Buen Retiro, the Casón del Buen Retiro (which holds the Prado Museum's 19th-century collection), 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).

The Paseo del Prado boulevard includes several monuments and areas of historical and artistic interest, built in the 18th century as part of the Hall of Prado urban project. Decorative and landscaped areas were created for this project. Key features include the Villanueva Building (the main building of the Prado Museum), the Royal Botanical Gardens, and three sculptural water fountains designed by Ventura Rodriguez, which depict Neptune, Cibeles, and Apollo.

A plan to reform and improve the Paseo del Prado and Paseo de Recoletos, called the Plan Especial Recoletos-Prado, was approved by the city council on June 23, 2005. This plan, led by an international team of architects including Álvaro Siza, is controversial. As of December 2010, the environmental impact study for the plan is still ongoing, and reconstruction has not yet begun.

• Paseo del Prado, Madrid
• Paseo del Prado with Palacio de los Alcañices
• Museo del Prado