Reviews by jjmhtp

The cafe is a great place to have coffee of fresh pressed orange juice and work a bit in the shadow of the Alameda trees. At the street tables the wifi is quite weak. There are sockets inside and a couple of books.

Beyond question, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza holds an extraordinary collection. The objects are well lit, object descriptions are available online via QR codes on the museum labels. Information on the objects feels like well finished.

That said, the collection is advertised as “Un paseo por la historia del arte” and indeed it is “a walk through the history of art” if we count only European and Western art from medieval times and mainly paintings though the collections has a couple of sculptures and objects of decorative arts as well. The paintings feel like a who’s who of this history without too many surprises of less known names.

For many of the works the visit is worthwhile of course. The compilation of objects is one not too fruitful for me. Of two days off in Madrid, I’d rather spend both in the Prado than one here.

The museum shows art from all times, places and genres. One can spend several days in it. In that case the annual membership might be an at least less expensive way to get in.

Unfortunately, it takes quite a while to get to the objects. The museum isn’t in the city center and once arrived at the site the security check, the way through the entrance and the vast area take their time. This and the high entrance fee make the museum less suitable for one-hour evening strolls than the big state museums of London, Paris, Berlin or New York.

The museum gives a very interesting insight into Bethlehemite living in past centuries and its material culture. I’ve been twice to the museum and both times I got a tour through the museum by an old native of Bethlehem who could tell a lot also beyond the exposed objects and showed how they were used.

The museum isn’t very big, it is possible to go through all rooms in much less than an hour. If you ask a lot it can easily take longer.

I got the charger on time for 30 euros. Unfortunately, after a few weeks it stopped to charge my MacBook.