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19 April - 24 April, 2006
 
Madrid is home to three world-class art galleries: the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofia. These superb and varied collections will be the focus of our visit, but there will also be plenty of time to explore this exciting and interesting capital city.
 
As well as many marvellous Flemish, French, German and Italian paintings brought to Spain by the royal family, the Prado houses a magnificent collection of Spanish art. In particular the artistic careers of Velásquez and Goya are wonderfully represented. Velásquez’s ‘Las Meninas’, which provoked Manet to comment despairingly that ‘after this, I don’t know why the rest of us paint’, is just one of many masterpieces by this artist on display. The whole strange variety of Goya’s output can be seen, from the two Majas, naked and clothed, and his portraits of the royal family, to the war-time horrors of ‘The Third of May 1808’ depicting resistance to Napoleon’s invasion, and the ‘Black Paintings’ with which he decorated the walls of his house.
 
The private collections of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family were secured by Spain in 1993, and they are beautifully displayed in a remodelled eighteenth-century palace which must be one of the most satisfying and elegant art galleries to be visited anywhere. Here the art-lover can enjoy a superb range of European paintings from the fourteenth to the late twentieth century.
 
The Reina Sofia is devoted to modern Spanish art. Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, his iconic response to the Spanish Civil War and one of the most famous paintings of the twentieth century, is now exhibited in this gallery.

 
We will be using a three-star good value hotel in a quiet street at the northern edge of the Madrid de los Austrias, the oldest part of Madrid. It is close to the Gran Vía, and the city’s shopping centre, and within walking distance of attractive areas around the Opera and the Plaza Mayor. A metro station and innumerable bus routes are only a few minutes’ walk away, providing perfect access to Madrid’s clean and efficient transport system, which offers an excellent means of getting to know this busy and diverse city. Madrid is also said to have 15,500 taxis, more than any other city in the world except Cairo.
 
Evening lectures in the hotel’s excellent meeting room will prepare us for what we will see on the following day. Alice Foster will be the tutor on this study holiday. Her special interest is in introducing art to non-experts and revealing the pleasure of looking at images, so you need have no previous knowledge of these subjects to enjoy this holiday. She will concentrate on introducing Spanish painting, but also suggest other not-to-be-missed works of art in the collections.
 
 
 
Guideline prices, excluding flights:
Per person, single use of double room:   £750
Per person, sharing a double room:   £680
 

These prices include:
five nights bed and breakfast in a three-star hotel in Madrid;
lectures on the art and history of Madrid;
travel pass for Madrid’s transport system;
coach travel between Madrid airport and the hotel;
coach travel between Oxford and Heathrow (provided that enough people wish to depart from Oxford).
 
 
These prices do not include the flight to Spain. Return flights on British Airways between the UK and Madrid currently cost about £110. Tickets on a designated flight can be bought over the Internet or via our chosen travel agent, and the price will depend on when travellers make their purchase. Some group meals will be organised at cost price.
 

Please note that this is an archived holiday which has now passed. For our current holidays, please click here.

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