As at the beginning of each year, most of the museums and large Spanish cultural centers have published their visitor figures for the last year. In general, 2024 has been a very good year, with numerous attendance records, with the exception of the Thyssen Museum in Madrid and the Guggenheim Bilbao, which slightly decreased their numbers. Of the great museums, the meadowwhich already announced on December 9 that it had broken its record, with 3,258,328 visitors, has finally closed the year with 3,457,057 visitors, about 62,000 more than in 2023, the art gallery has informed Europa Press.
The Reina Sofia It received 1,960,249 visitors, almost 600,000 less than in 2023, when there were 2,530,560, a decrease that is explained by the closure for restoration works since April of one of its headquarters, the Palacio de Cristal, in Retiro Park. Madrid, which is free access, this center has reported. If we stick to the main headquarters, in 2024 1,537,105 people passed through (1,409,113 in 2023), an increase of 9%. The day of the year with the most visitors was May 18, International Museum Day, with 9,677 at the main headquarters. The third venue, the Velázquez Palace, also in the Retiro, has also closed for works since the beginning of September, which has meant that 319,706 visitors have passed through there this year (536,425 in 2023). The museum also reports that ticket revenue increased by more than 15%. Other data are that 62% of visitors to the main headquarters accessed the museum during the free access time slot (Monday, Wednesday to Saturday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.) either because they were under 18 years of age or over 65.
He Thyssenlocated on the so-called cultural golden mile in the capital, received 951,821 people, a figure slightly lower than that registered in 2023, when there were 1,012,660 (-6%), despite the novelty of free opening on Saturdays the night. 57.6% of these people are of national origin (41.1% from Madrid and 16.4% from the rest of Spain) and 42.4% are international. The Thyssen highlights that the most viewed exhibition was The intimate realism of Isabel Quintanillawith 159,122 visitors, open from February 27 to June 2. Visits to the permanent collection reached 704,563, 1.5% less than in 2023, when 715,395 were registered. While the Carmen Thyssen Museum in Malaga had more than 202,000 visits, a record since its opening in 2011. In 2023 there were 185,918. Also in Malaga, the Picasso Museum achieved 792,353 visitors during 2024, almost 13,000 more than in 2023.
The other large national center that has decreased its numbers somewhat is the Guggenheim Bilbaowith 1,301,343 million visitors, 2% less than the previous year, according to its own data, when there were 1,324,221 visitors, its record. What has grown in 2024 is the percentage of the foreign audience, up to 67%. Of the Spanish visitors, 11% were from the Basque Country and Catalonia and the Community of Madrid contributed 4% each. The most viewed exhibition was Symbols and objects. Pop art from the Guggenheim collectionwith 882,658 people, between February and September, the most viewed in the history of the museum.
National Heritage It broke its visitor record last year. A total of 7,169,027 people attended the monuments, museums and natural spaces managed by this institution, 12.52% more than in 2023, which was also a record year. The month with the most tourists in these centers was December, 555,722. The most visited was the Royal Palace of Madrid, with more than one and a half million tourists. It was followed by the Real Sitio de la Granja, which celebrated its tercentenary, with 680,845. While the Gallery of the Royal Collections, which is a few meters from the palace, received 648,209, 45% of them foreigners. Fourth was the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (435,543).
As for the 16 state museumsdependent on the Ministry of Culture, received 3,121,418 people. This figure represents an increase of 10.53% compared to 2023, when 2,823,993 visits were obtained, and represents the best figure for public attendance in the State Museums so far this century. Among these, the National Archaeological Site stands out, with 627,334 visits (23.36% more than in 2023, when there were 506,873). It is the second best figure since its reopening in 2014, the year in which it received 768,836 people. The second in number of visitors was the National Museum of Altamira, in Santillana del Mar (Cantabria), with 292,780 (2.86% more), followed by the Sephardic Museum in Toledo, with 259,211, a figure similar to that of 2023. .
However, the largest percentage increase fell on the National Museum of Romanticism, which in the year of its centenary was visited by 195,266 people, 70.18% more than in 2023 (114,739). Likewise, the increases in the Casa Cervantes Museum in Valladolid (51.63% more), the National Museum of Sculpture of Valladolid (49.20% more), the National Museum of Underwater Archeology (ARQUA), in Cartagena (34 .25% more) and the Costume Museum, in Madrid, (40.30% more). The National Museum of Anthropology received 86,959 people (11.42% more).
Also the la Caixa Foundation This Thursday, it took stock of the attendance at its centers and its cultural and scientific exhibitions during 2024. A total of 4,455,555 visitors went to the CaixaForum centers in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Palma, Girona, Tarragona and Lleida , as well as the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona. This is the most visited, with more than 1,181,600 people. The second most visited was CaixaForum Madrid, with 947,642. In both, the most viewed exhibition was Dinosaurs of Patagonia.
In Barcelona, as to According to data from municipal museums, during 2024 they received 4,754,500 visitors, 6% more than the previous year and very close to the 4,824,376 in 2019. The Barcelona City Council has made public the figures for the city’s museums and exhibition centers managed by the Barcelona Institute of Culture (Icub) and with municipal contributions. As in the previous year, the Museu Picasso led the classification, with 1,130,500 people, followed by the Born Center de Cultura i Memòria (with 973,000).
Lastly, the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturiasin Oviedo, also closed 2024 with a record of 145,900 visitors.
Quique Garcia (EFE)