The museums
Among many other masterpieces, the Prado has the largest Goya collection in Spain. It opened in 1819 when Goya was 73, and when only one of his paintings — The Family of Carlos IV — was on display. Now there are more than 140. As well as his fabulous portraits, be sure to visit the Black Paintings, retrieved from the wall of his home La Quinta del Sordo (House of the Deaf Man; Goya was left completely deaf after a serious illness in 1792). And take in the galleries devoted to his lively tapestry cartoons depicting the ordinary folk of Madrid, painted in the artist’s twenties to decorate the royal palaces El Escorial and El Pardo.
Also worth a look is the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, of which Goya was once a director. The collection comprises more than 1,400 paintings, 600 sculptures and 15,000 drawings, along with a fine collection of decorative arts. Of particular note is Goya’s extraordinary 1815 self-portrait, painted when the artist was 69, deaf, ailing and disillusioned with Spanish politics, as well as the horrifying Madhouse, depicting the horrors of an asylum where degradation reigns among those rejected by society.
The churches
When the Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande was built in the 1760s under King Carlos III, Goya was one of a number of Spanish artists invited to decorate the chapels. His painting, with its ingenious serpentine composition which keeps the eye travelling over the image, depicts San Bernardino of Siena, and was certainly instrumental in securing Goya his first portrait commission — of Count Floridablanca, the patron who instructed him at the basilica. You have to work a little harder to imagine its impact now, as the church’s interior, originally one of neoclassical austerity, was transformed in the 19th century and is now a sort of rave anthem of OTT decoration. It’s sort of wonderful and horrible at the same time.
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About a mile and a half away across the park that surrounds the royal palace (look out for the peacocks!), is the considerably more understated chapel of San Antonio de la Florida. It was built in 1798, under the instruction of King Carlos IV, and Goya was commissioned by the minister Gaspar de Jovellanos (whose portrait by Goya hangs in the Prado) to decorate the entire ceiling. The main focus of the fresco is an image of St Anthony raising to life a dead man to discover the truth about his murder, reflecting the reformist attitude of Jovellanos and his Enlightenment colleagues, who were determined to root out injustice and corruption. Although this benevolent regime lasted only one year (Jovellanos was sent into exile for a second time soon after), Goya’s frescoes remain fresh.
The paintings are full of humanity and populated by ordinary Madrileños, rendered with witty, everyday detail. The angels wear contemporary fashions and the putti are more like badly behaved toddlers. Look out for the half-concealed bottom of one defecating behind a curtain. The church is now a museum (an identical chapel next door is used for services) and is home to Goya’s remains, brought from Bordeaux in 1919 — try popping in late afternoon on a Friday, when most visitors have dispersed. On June 13 every year, there is a lively celebration when young unwed women make a pilgrimage here to ask St Anthony for a boyfriend, with a particularly odd ritual involving a font full of pins.
The stroll
Goya often painted the Manzanares river that winds through the city, and you can walk more than eight kilometres along its very pleasant banks, exploring a number of locations just off it that are related to the artist.
About 15 minutes’ walk south from San Antonio, near the Puente de Segovia, is the site of Goya’s country house, La Quinta del Sordo, built when this area was all fields and orchards. It was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century and the location is marked by an impressively disappointing plaque at Calle Saavedra Fajardo 32. The stroll is rather lovely, though.
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Another 20 minutes or so of noodling along the river will get you within spitting distance of the Ermita de San Isidro — this little church is dedicated to the city’s patron saint, and Goya painted the view from it down to the Palacio Real (which, incidentally, houses four important Goya portraits of Carlos IV and his wife Maria Luisa). If you decide to queue to drink the waters (Isidro is said to have caused the spring here to miraculously appear), take your own cup or you’ll find yourself sharing with the other pilgrims, which may or may not negate the healing properties associated with it.
It’s only a short walk from here to the baroque Puente de Toledo, a very grand pedestrianised bridge which was completed in 1732. It is particularly lovely to walk across at dusk, as the lights are reflected on the river’s surface.
Where to eat
If you want the best atmosphere, wherever you go in Madrid, you need to get into sync with the Spaniards. That means having a big lunch at 2pm (most places do a very affordable menú del día) and a lighter dinner or tapas at about 10pm.
Sobrino de Botín, Calle Cuchilleros, 17
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Madrid’s main square, the Plaza Mayor, is a grand vista, but the mediocre restaurants that line its edges are best avoided. Nearby however, is Sobrino de Botín, which was founded in 1725 and where, so the legend somehow has it, Goya worked washing dishes. As the restaurant freely states, there is absolutely no evidence for this. It was, however, already a decade old when Goya was born and it still has an old-fashioned, cramped interior. Both the food and service are excellent; the speciality is suckling pig at €23.45 (£17.35) — poke your head in to the kitchen to see them all lined up waiting to be roasted.
Details: (0034 913 664 217, botin.es)
Casa Alberto, Calle de Las Huertas, 18
This long, thin tapas bar was founded one year before Goya’s death in a building that was once home to the writer Miguel de Cervantes. Wood-panelled, with a tiled floor and marble counter, it is buzzy and atmospheric, hung with hams and staffed with stony-faced barmen — though they do eventually crack a smile if you keep beaming at them. The tapas, such as piquillo peppers stuffed with oxtail, is superb and starts at €3.25. Prop up the bar (it’s cheaper than sitting down) and try a glass of vermouth on tap, a Madrid favourite and an excellent foil to the saltiness of the tapas.
Details: (00 34 914 299 356, casaalberto.es)
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Where to stay
Westin Palace Madrid, Plaza de las Cortes, 7
About five minutes’ walk from the Prado and the Thyssen museum, this lavish 1912 edifice is in the heart of the historic Las Letras district, known for its literary associations. The Rotunda restaurant under the original stained glass dome is particularly splendid, and not just for its immense breakfast buffet.
Details: Doubles are from €169 (00 34 913 608 000, westinpalacemadrid.com)
Petit Palace Art Gallery Hotel, Calle Jorge Juan, 17
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This central hotel (they have others elsewhere in the city) in a refurbished 19th-century building offers excellent value for money, attractively decorated rooms and a welcoming family atmosphere with iPads and toys to borrow for the kids.
Details: Doubles are from €74 (00 34 914 355 411, petitpalace.co.uk). Goya: the Portraits is at the National Gallery, London WC2 (0800 912 6958) until January 10.