Global museum attendance in 2023 climbed to new heights, with multiple institutions reporting record numbers and solid interest from both local and international visitors. The year underscored a sustained rebound in public engagement with mainstream galleries and heritage sites, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in several cases and contributing to national heritage records as visitor totals exceeded six million across the sector.
Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum disclosed a total of 1,012,660 visits for the seventh consecutive year, marking a strong year for Madrid’s cultural landscape. More than sixty percent of attendees were domestic, with 60.9 percent from Spain overall, including 40.3 percent from Madrid and 20.6 percent from other Spanish regions. International visitors accounted for 39.1 percent of total visits.
Visits to the permanent collection rose by 17.6 percent, climbing from 608,356 in 2022 to 715,395 in 2023. Among the most popular exhibitions were Lucian Freud: New Perspectives (180,014), In the Eye of the Hurricane: Avant-garde in Ukraine, 1900-1930 (158,241), and Picasso: Holy and Profane (117,200).
Reina Sofía National Museum and Reina Sofía Housing, commonly known as the central hub, welcomed 2,530,560 visitors in 2023, with 1,409,113 at the main center, a 20 percent rise over the previous year. The institution continues to be a major draw in the national network, illustrating how enlarged access and diverse programming attract broad audiences.
At the Retiro Park complex, Velázquez Palace, which underwent facility improvements since April, hosted 479,281 visitors in 2023 compared with 1,318,823 in 2022; Velázquez Palace itself drew 536,425 visitors (vs. 491,086 in 2022). The year overall saw a 29 percent uplift in collection engagement compared with 2022 figures, signaling stronger public interest in curated experiences across Madrid’s heritage sites.
National Heritage noted a historical record in visits for its network, reaching 6,370,770 across locations. Among the most visited monuments were the Royal Palace with 1,421,428 visitors, the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial with 445,166, and the Royal Collections Gallery, which, despite only six months in operation, ranked third with 336,058 visits. In green spaces, the historic gardens at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Madrid drew 1,224,545 visitors, followed by the Royal Palace itself with 469,746 and La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia with 449,471.
The Guggenheim Bilbao reported what was described as the best year in its history, hosting 1,324,221 visitors, up 35,074 from 2022. The museum also recovered pre-pandemic levels of foreign visitors, reaching 60 percent of the total and marking a notable recovery in international tourism, with foreign audiences now at levels closer to the peak years. Exhibitions such as Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Present, Oskar Kokoschka: A Vienna Rebel, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye remained highly popular among guests.
la Caixa Foundation saw a broad uplift in attendance, recording an 13.19 percent increase to about 8.1 million visitors in 2023 across CaixaForum centers, the CosmoCaixa Science Museum, and related traveling exhibitions. CosmoCaixa in Barcelona set a historic attendance record with 1,266,989 visitors, followed by CaixaForum Valencia with 899,339 and CaixaForum Madrid with 655,422.
Mapfre Foundation also reported strong footfall, increasing visitors to its Madrid and Barcelona venues by 67 percent to 344,627. Seven Mapfre exhibitions took place in Madrid drawing 276,446 attendees, while six exhibitions in Barcelona attracted 68,181. The standout show featured the prolific artist, writer, and sculptor Leonora Carrington: Revelation.
Prado Museum highlighted a record year in 2023 with total visitors reaching 3,209,285, surpassing the 2019 figure, the last pre-pandemic year, and signaling a robust rebound in one of the world’s great collections. These numbers collectively illustrate how Spain’s cultural ecosystem rebounded strongly in 2023, reflecting renewed public interest in national heritage and modern art alike.