With some of the world’s most iconic artists hailing from Spain, narrowing down which museum to visit when in Madrid can be challenging. Often, the fun of visiting a museum goes away when feeling pressured to see absolutely every famous work of art in a museum. Instead of venturing to one of Madrid’s larger and more well-known museums, choose one of these lesser-known museums for an equally enriching (and less-crowded) experience:

Cerralbo Museum

This former mansion of the 17^th Marquis of Cerralbo showcases an extensive collection of 19^th-century works. Wandering through this museum sees visitors transported through the times when Neo-Baroque and Rococo designs were all the craze. Located next to the Plaza de España, this museum boasts more than 50,000 objects, including ceramics, paintings, sculptures, weapons and more.

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The Frick Collection

Located within Madrid’s Prado Museum, the Frick Collection welcomes guests through July 2023, in which visitors can explore nine emblematic works by influential artists like Goya, Murillo, Velazquez and El Greco. The Frick Collection comes from Henry Clay Frick, an American businessman who collected art in the early 20^th century, soon building a neo-Renaissance palace on New York City’s Fifth Avenue to fill with hundreds of masterpieces of European art from the Modern and Early Contemporary ages.

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Sorolla Museum

Considered one of Madrid’s most important house-museums, this former home of Joaquin Sorolla (Master of Light) retains the home’s original atmosphere while displaying Sorolla’s largest collection of works. Sorolla lived in this home until his death in 1923. The home was then donated to the Spanish government before transforming into a museum showcasing the its original décor and more than 1,200 paintings and drawings by Sorolla. Many pieces are also art pieces he collected throughout his life, including traditional clothes and jewelry, letters, photographs, sculptures and ceramics.

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Lázaro Galdiano Foundation Museum

Boasting 4,820 pieces of art, this museum sits within a stately mansion in the Salamanca neighborhood. These many works are divided across four floors, with works by Goya and El Greco featured. The museum was once home to José Lázaro Galdiano, a businessman and publisher known to host literary gatherings with some of Spain’s most influential writers, like Miguel de Unamuno.