CaixaForum Madrid

CaixaForum Madrid is the fourth corner of the city's art walk and the most striking modern building on the Paseo del Prado. Opened in 2008 by the La Caixa Foundation, it occupies the brick shell of the Central Eléctrica del Mediodía, an early twentieth-century power station. The Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron stripped away the stone base of the old building so that the heavy brick volume appears to hover above a shaded public plaza, and they crowned it with a rusted, perforated iron top that changes colour with the light. Next to it, filling the side wall of a neighbouring building, is the vertical garden designed by the French botanist Patrick Blanc, the first of its kind in Spain: more than fifteen thousand plants of hundreds of species covering about four hundred and sixty square metres, growing without soil, fed only by water and nutrients. It is one of the most photographed walls in Madrid and changes with the seasons, and it costs nothing to look at. Inside, CaixaForum has no permanent collection. Instead, it hosts several temporary exhibitions at once, often of a very high standard, ranging from ancient civilisations and archaeology, sometimes in partnership with the British Museum, to modern masters, photography, design, film and contemporary art. There is also an auditorium for lectures, concerts and film screenings, workshops and family activities, a shop, and a restaurant-café on the upper floor. The building itself is worth exploring: the sculptural steel staircase, the light in the upper galleries and the views over the Paseo del Prado. It is open every day from morning to evening, and the modest ticket makes it one of the best-value cultural visits in the city.

Planning your visit: CaixaForum is on the Paseo del Prado, a few minutes south of the Prado and across from the Real Jardín Botánico, and close to Atocha station. It opens daily from mid-morning until evening, including most public holidays, with shorter hours on a few dates around Christmas and New Year and closure on a handful of holidays. Tickets give access to all current exhibitions and are sold online and at the entrance; some days of the year, such as International Museum Day, offer free admission. Check the programme before you go, because the quality of a visit depends on what is showing: some exhibitions are blockbusters worth planning around, others are niche.

Making the most of it: start outside, with the vertical garden and the floating building seen from the plaza beneath; the best photos are from the opposite side of the square, especially in morning light. Inside, take the sculptural staircase rather than the lift at least once. Check the auditorium programme for talks or films, and the family workshops at weekends if you are travelling with children. The upper-floor café is a good place for a light lunch or a coffee between the bigger museums. Popular exhibitions can draw queues at weekends, so buying a timed ticket online for those shows is sensible, and the shop is a good stop for art books and design gifts. If you only have a few minutes, the plaza and garden alone are worth the detour from the Prado.

Who it suits: art lovers who have done the Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofía and want something different; architecture fans, who come for Herzog and de Meuron alone; families, thanks to the workshops and the garden; and anyone seeking a shorter, less demanding visit. Pair it with the Prado and the Real Jardín Botánico to the north, the Reina Sofía a few minutes south near Atocha, and the Barrio de las Letras just uphill for lunch or tapas.