The Prado in 2 hours: the essential route, room by room

The route: 10 stops in 2 hours

Room numbers reflect the current layout; if a work is on loan or being restored, the free floor plan will say so. Timings are approximate and include walking.

1. 1

   0:00 · Room 9B · floor 1

   The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest (El Greco)

   Start with El Greco's most enigmatic portrait, an anonymous gentleman who became the archetype of the Spanish hidalgo. Nearby, his elongated figures and acid colours point towards modern painting.

2. 2

   0:10 · Rooms 24–29 · central gallery

   Titian and Rubens: royal taste

   Walk the central gallery without stopping at everything. Look for Titian's Charles V at Mühlberg, the equestrian portrait that defined imperial power, and Rubens' The Three Graces (room 29), which he kept until his death.

3. 3

   0:30 · Room 12 · floor 1

   Las Meninas (Velázquez)

   Give it 10 minutes. Stand a few metres back in the centre of the room: Velázquez composed the painting for that viewpoint. Spot the king and queen in the mirror, the painter himself and the dog.

4. 4

   0:40 · Rooms 10–15 · floor 1

   More Velázquez: The Spinners and the court jesters

   Around Las Meninas hang The Spinners, The Surrender of Breda and the portraits of court jesters, painted with a dignity that was unusual for the time.

5. 5

   0:55 · Room 32 · floor 1

   The Family of Charles IV (Goya)

   Goya paints the royal family without flattery and includes himself in the shadows on the left, a nod to Las Meninas.

6. 6

   1:05 · Room 64 · floor 0

   The Second and Third of May 1808 (Goya)

   Head down to floor 0. The two paintings of the uprising against Napoleon's troops hang together. The Third of May, with the man in the white shirt raising his arms, is one of the first modern images of war.

7. 7

   1:15 · Room 67 · floor 0

   The Black Paintings (Goya)

   Painted directly onto the walls of Goya's house and later transferred to canvas. Saturn Devouring His Son and The Dog are unmissable. The room is dark and quiet: take your time.

8. 8

   1:30 · Room 58 · floor 0

   The Descent from the Cross (Rogier van der Weyden)

   A masterpiece of 15th-century Flemish art: the figures look like sculptures in a gilded box, and the Virgin's swoon mirrors Christ's pose.

9. 9

   1:40 · Room 56A · floor 0

   The Garden of Earthly Delights (Bosch)

   Finish with the museum's most talked-about triptych. Read it left to right: paradise, the garden of pleasures and hell. Get close to the right panel to find musical instruments turned into instruments of torture.

10. 10

    1:55 · Room 55B · floor 0

    Adam and Eve (Dürer), if you have time

    A few steps away, Dürer's two panels are the first life-size nudes in German painting.

Tips to make the most of it

• Enter at 10am: the first hour is the quietest in the Velázquez rooms.
• If you go during the free hours (6pm–8pm), do the route in reverse starting on floor 0, which is less crowded late in the day.
• Leave coats and large backpacks in the free cloakroom; they aren't allowed in the galleries.
• Point the AnyArt camera at any painting not on this list to hear its story without hunting for the label.