National Art Museum Madrid

The two glass elevators slide up and down the outside of what was an 18th century hospital. Two floors are devoted to the permanent collection of paintings and sculptures from the late 19th century to the present day; two more have temporary exhibitions along with Jean Nouvel's brand new 27, 000m2 annex which opened in 2004. Start up on the fourth floor. Rooms 34 and 35 are dominated by the gigantic canvases of Robert Motherwell and Antoni Tilpies. Pablo Palazuelo's geometric patterns make your eyes ache, while his fellow madrileño, Eduardo Arroyo, prefers a big, bright palette. A star of the contemporary sculpture scene is Eduardo Chillida, whose massive metal works fill Rooms 42 and 43.

The biggest crowds are on the second floor. As you approach Rooms 6 and 7, you can hear the hum of conversation in the rooms dedicated to Picasso. The main focus is Guernica Picasso's powerful work condemning the unjustifiable bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso's will stated that the painting could only be brought to Spain when democracy was restored. In 1981, six years after Franco's death, Guernica was finally shown in Spain.

It is not the only politically inspired painting on display here. Rooms 10 and 11 are devoted to Dali, whose Enigma of Hitler also reflects the uncertainty of those times. Nearby rooms feature works by Juan Miro, Juan Gris and the surrealist painters Max Ernst and Rene Magritte.