Oct. 12, Prado & Palace closed, what to do?

Consider the Real Academia des Bellas Artes. It's the most overlooked museum in Madrid. Despite being #4 on the list, it is a lovely experience, with quiet galleries and hundreds of magnificent art works. Goya was a member of the society, and gave them several paintings. Their website is in Spanish, but it lists closing days that don't include Oct 12. Maybe you can check on that. They also have a print museum, but we didn't have time.

The Reina Sofia website says that museum is open and free all day on October 12. Guernica is there.

Jennie,

Actually, the Museo del Prado will be open on October 12th, but it has limited hours; 12:30pm- 7pm.

https://www.museodelprado.es/en/visit-the-museum

Happy Birthday on Wednesday! ;-)

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum will be open until 7 PM. It's up the street from the Prado as you walk away from the Atocha Station.

La Boqueria Market may well be open. I can't find confirmation on its website, but it's not far from your hotel.

I don't think Retiro Park ever closes. If you get a break with the weather, that would be an option. I don't know whether the nearby (4-euro entry charge) Botanical Garden will be open on the holiday. Both of those sites are near the Prado.

I believe La Boqueria market is in Barcelona, not Madrid. But it sounds like you can go ahead with your Prado plans, so have fun!

Thanks, Nancy, that would be an "oops". I meant the San Miguel Market. I've just checked the correct website, and I don't see anything about closure tomorrow, but I can give no guarantee. Normal Tuesday hours are 10 AM to midnight.

Thank you everyone, so friendly and helpful!
Priscilla, I had assumed It was closed that day because the site didn't let me buy tickets ahead of time. Now that I see it is open, but later, my guess is that it is a free day. Yay! We can go tomorrow and won't have to cram the Palace and Prado into our last day, Friday (Thursday is Segovia).
San Miguel market is on our list too, and I'll look into the others mentioned.
¡Muchas gracias!

Jennie,
I may be incorrect, but I don't think the museum will be free on the 12th... At least there's no indication of such on their website.

Please do let us know if it was free, thanks!

Enjoy your birthday tomorrow!

Actually, you may be right! ;-)

I wasn't able to "buy" tickets for October 12th.

The museums may only be free for Spanish citizens, as friends found out last week in Madrid when going to the Prado in the "free" evening.
I am in Madrid now, just got here, and it is indeed cold and rainy!

I hit several museums in Spain on free days, including the Prado on May 18, which is Museum Day or something like that. No one ever asked to see a passport, and the museum did not appear to be staffed to do that, so I'm surprised to hear about such a restriction. Nor does the "free museum entry times" sheet handed out by the tourist office say anything about a citizenship/residency requirement. Edited to add: I mis-rememberd; that "free museums" list was for Barcelona; I saw no equivalent for Madrid.

Most but not all the places (not just museums) that have lower entry fees for seniors (age cut-off often 65) do seem to limit the concession to EU residents.

I have never come across any citizenship requirement to go to free times at Madrid museums. That really surprises me. Could they have misunderstood?

I went to the Prado yesterday, and it was free for everyone on the public holiday.
I only waited in a line for about 20 minutes.