Prado Museum Madrid

We bought the one "General + Exhibition Pass" which let us go everywhere. It's the same price as the one that just says "General" (€15). The other two options include the purchase of a book, which you could just buy at the bookstore which is near the entrance "Present your ticket at the Museum store to pick up “The Prado Guide” (478 pages)"

If you buy the "General + Exhibition Pass" go through the Puerta de los Jerónimos entrance.

Here's the audio guide to listen to on your phone https://www.museodelprado.es/en/apps/the-prado-guide

So, if you are on the same web page as I found, there are explanations for each. Just click on each ticket category and it drops down. Recreated here for everyone's use....

• General + Exhibitions time pass (€15.00) = Collection and temporary exhibitions with capacity control. Access the Museum without going through the ticket office. (i.e. entry to the general/permanent collection and timed access to the temporary exhibition. You don't say when you are visiting the Prado, but that would determine which temporary exhibition is running).
• General = Collection (€15.00). It does not include temporary exhibitions with capacity control. Access the Museum without going through the ticket office (i.e. the permanent collection and you have no interest in the temporary exhibition and don't want to see it)
• General + Exhibitions time pass + Guide Book (€24.00) = Collection and temporary exhibitions with capacity control. Access the Museum without going through the ticket office. Show the ticket at the museum shop to pick your copy of The Prado Guide (478 pp.). (Wow, that's a hefty souvenir. Be sure to allow room in your luggage!)
• General + Guide Book (€24.00) = Collection. It does not include temporary exhibitions with capacity control. Access the Museum without going through the ticket office. Show the ticket at the museum shop to pick your copy of The Prado Guide (478 pp.).

As you see, they are admirably not charging extra for the temporary exhibitions. They are only using tickets to stage crowd control. If only all art museums were as generous...

There are audio guides, after you select the main product you will have the option to add an audio guide.

The time pass is a bit confusing, in the context you see, they are talking about timed entry to the special exhibition(s) which oddly may, or may not have an extra cost (the current one does not). If you do not choose the exhibition, you will later be asked for an entry time to the general collection. However, if you pick a time for the exhibition, you do not select a time for the general collection. I guess the assumption is, you go see the exhibition at the appointed time, then the general collection after at your leisure.

You can walk through the purchase several times, choosing different things, to see how what you select changes things.

By the way, another thing offered in the checkout process is a guided tour, in English. It is a 90 minute tour of the main pieces, but only offered at 11:00 and 1:00. At 10 euro, that's a bargain if it works for your schedule.

As for the Prado or the Palace, it comes down to interest. I would certainly recommend the Prado...but my Wife for example would choose the Palace.

Another option is visit the palace and visit the Prado during its free hours. Not being huge art, crowd, or museum people, my wife and I found the free hours sufficient to see what we wanted to see. Same for the Reina Sofía museum.

The museum gets very crowded especially in the galleries of the more popular artists. The fact that no photographs are allowed helps keep people from lingering trying to get the perfect selfie.

Where can you find the free times for the museums?

That will be on the museum website, usually in the same general area as the info on entry fees.

See "Admission during Free Access Hours" here: https://www.museodelprado.es/en/visit/opening-times-and-prices

Prado free hours: Monday to Saturday, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and Sundays and holidays, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Reina Sofía free hours: Monday, Wednesday-Saturday 7pm-9pm, Sundays 12:30pm-2:30pm.

Believe you can get tickets for the free hours online, since it’s supposedly timed entry. For each museum, we just got in line about 30 minutes before the entry time, were handed a ticket with a time on it, and went in when it opened. Nobody seemed to care what time was on the ticket.

Our trips are generally May or September so not at the height of tourist season.

Thank you all for the wonderful responses. Appreciate it.