Prado Museum Online Tickets vs. Purchasing Ticket at Counter

Posted by amui753 on 09/11/24 03:25 AM

I want to clarify how buying the Prado Museum tickets work. If I buy my tickets online in advance, do I still need to exchange for the real paper ticket at the counter? If I need to line up to exchange does the line move fast. I saw some Youtube vlog saying the line for buying the ticket move faster than the exchange voucher line. Are there a lot of entrance where one can line up to exchange the voucher?

I going with an elder and read that they need to validate the senior ticket at the counter. If paying full price will speed up the access to museum I will just pay full price. But does buying online need to line up at the counter as well?

Posted by darkmist1

09/22/24 11:33 PM

107 posts

I bought my tickets online for the Prado Museum for this past April and I had to exchange them for the real paper tickets as well as show my passport. We went to the Jeronimo entrance to do so around 1 pm and there were only 2 people ahead of us in line.

Posted by jaimeelsabio

Mid-Atlantic area

09/22/24 11:53 PM

7157 posts

Unless something has changed, there’s only one entrance.

Posted by Plectrude

09/23/24 01:28 AM

53 posts

If you want to see the Prado with minimal people, go on Sunday at 10am. I was there a week ago with my National Museum pass (had to present that at the ticket counter to get a ticket). I was in a mostly empty Prado seeing all of the major highlights with 0-3 other patrons in the room (Bosch, Velázquez, Goya, Titian, etc). The ticket line was pretty minimal.

I did the same thing on Tuesday at 10am and the ticket line was 15 minutes or so.

In answer to your question, if you have an online timed ticket (not paseo del Arte card or museum pass), it will have a QR code to scan at the museum entrance. You won’t need to go to the ticket counter. There can be a line at the museum entrance though because you need your ticket scanned and there’s security/a metal detector.

My general thought is that the timed entry online ticket is smart, but during crowded times, it’s not some panacea that will avoid all waiting and crowding. I would try to go on Sunday morning if at all possible.

Posted by bwork

09/25/24 09:46 AM

5 posts

My wife and I went yesterday. Purchased tickets online yesterday morning. Tickets with a QR code came via email. Did not have to exchange for paper tickets. Go way around the ticket purchase line to the Jeronimos entrance. There is a long line for entry (moves quickly) but if you are over 65 or have a disability, go to the left of the line and there is a separate queue for you to use. Our tickets were not timed entry but that may have been because they were senior tickets.