Los 16 State Museums dependent on the Ministry of Culture have increased the number of their visitors by 12.6% during the months of June, July and August compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 1,000 774.717, according to data provided to Europa Press by Ernest Urtasun’s department.
The number of visitors recorded in the same period in 2023 reached 687,686 people. However, this data is provisional and there may be some slight variation in the final count.
Thus, during the summer of 2024, in June, state museums welcomed 257,675 people (compared to 222,292 people in the previous June); in July 2024, visitors reached 240,226 (compared to 205,853 in the previous July), while in August, the figure was 276,816 (a total of 259,541 people in August 2023).
The 16 State Museums are the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology (ARQVA) (Cartagena); National Archaeological Museum (Madrid); Cerralbo Museum (Madrid); Museum of America (Madrid); Costume Museum (Madrid); National Museum of Anthropology (Madrid); National Museum of Decorative Arts (Madrid); National Museum of Romanticism (Madrid); Sorolla Museum (Madrid); National Museum of Roman Art (Mérida); National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira (Santillana del Mar); El Greco Museum (Toledo); Sephardic Museum (Toledo); National Museum of Ceramics and Sumptuary Arts (Valencia); Casa de Cervantes Museum (Valladolid) and National Museum of Sculpture (Valladolid).
These figures are added to those provided by the Museo Nacional del Prado, the Museo Reina Sofía and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, which have recorded a total of 1,374,963 visitors during the months of June, July and August 2024.which represents an increase of 5% compared to the same dates last summer, when visits reached 1,309,384, according to data provided to Europa Press by the three art galleries.
While visits to the Prado have remained stable (there has been an increase of 3.7%) in the months of June, July and August, those at the Thyssen Museum have grown by 7% and the Reina Sofía has recorded a 6.5% increase in visitors to its headquarters.
Specifically, 832,144 people have visited the Prado Museum this summer, 315,958 in June, 274,460 in July and 241,726 in August – until Thursday 29 August – which represents an increase in attendance of 3.7% after receiving 802,654 visitors in the same period last year – 298,274 in June, 265,207 in July and 239,173 in August. According to sources from the Prado, the art gallery expects to receive around 16,000 visitors between Friday 30 and Saturday 31 August.
For its part, the Thyssen Museum has recorded a total of 189,306 visits in the summer of 2024 – until August 29 – since it received 66,605 visitors in June, 62,701 in June and approximately 60,000 in August. Thus, the museum has recorded an increase in attendance of 7%, according to “the approximate average for the summer,” they explain.
Finally, the Reina Sofía Museum has received a total of 353,513 visitors at its headquarters between June (130,678), July (115,509) and August (107,326), which has meant an increase of 6.5%, since on the same dates in 2023 it received 330,675.
In addition, the free-of-charge space at the Palacio de Velázquez has seen a total of 155,155 visitors, specifically 55,143 in June, 45,728 in July and 54,284 in August. The Palacio de Cristal, also free of charge, has been closed since April 2023.