The Prado: Velazquez and Goya's Dining Room

Spain's national art museum. Las Meninas in Room 12 watches you watching it, recursion never resolving. Goya's Black Paintings on the ground floor are the most disturbing room — Saturn Devouring His Son was painted by a man who hung it in his dining room. Think about that.

Free daily 6-8 PM (Mon-Sat) and 5-7 PM (Sunday). Evening crowd smaller. The paintings at dusk have a warmth morning fluorescents don't provide.