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a museum in madrid After the number of tourists reached a peak last year, it planned to change the tourist strategy to avoid “rushing for the subway during rush hours”.
In 2025, the Prado attracted a record 3.5 million visitors, many hoping to see masterpieces such as Velázquez’s odalisque and Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights.
Due to its popularity, the gallery has announced major changes aimed at reducing overcrowding.
The Prado museum, dubbed “Plan Host,” will change the maximum group size, optimize entrances and enforce a no-photography policy in the galleries.
“The Prado no longer needs a tourist,” museum director Miguel Falomir said at a press conference on January 14.
“We are happy with 3.5 million people. The success of a museum can lead to its collapse, like the Louvre, where some rooms become oversaturated. The important thing is not to collapse,” The Guardian Report.
Striking staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris cited overcrowding as one of the reasons for their strike.
Meanwhile, the Prado museum has seen large crowds lining up to enter the museum, especially in the summer, but Mr Falomir has made it clear he wants to keep crowds under control as much as possible.
“It’s not like catching the subway during rush hour,” the director said at the conference. “You can’t judge a museum by the number of visitors. Quantity is not important, quality is more important; visitors should be diverse and inclusive.”
Mr Falomir said 65 per cent of visitors last year came from overseas and he hoped to see more Spaniards visiting.
The full list of changes that will be included in the Host Plan has not yet been announced, but once rolled out, they are expected to impact the museum’s plans for 2026.
independent The Prado Museum has been contacted for further comment.
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