Royal Palace Madrid

I think it is missing some sort of punctuation. I don't have my RS book with me, but I am pretty sure that EU residents, etc is free admission always, and the << Would general tourist be be free Mon-Friday 4-6 October -March>> is correct. Do know that admission varies depends on if there are events, so check on line whether you can buy tickets on your date of visit. If not, chances are it is closed. I believe Oc 11 & 12 are closed due to events and Oct 12 being Spain's national holiday.

Depends on the venue. Reina Sofia is free for everybody during certain hours. Some places say free to EU residents, but let you in free even if from North America, and others are more strict. Send the palace an email and ask it directly. I doubt it's free all the time for EU residents; only during the specified free hours.

I can’t answer your question about free admission in the evenings because the lines were ridiculously long the two days we walked by last month. When we asked about reduced price admission for my father who is over 65, we were told it was for citizens of EU and Latin America.

We have often found that "free days" are the worse times to go. Unless, of course, you want to rub shoulders and more with local residents.

We are currently in Madrid. We went to the Palace yesterday during the free time but US citizens pay 5e and you can only see art rooms and some exhibits, not the inside of the Palace or grand rooms, so not that great a deal. But we enjoyed it.
Today we went to the Sophia and it was free for US citizens after 7pm. Lots of little tapas bars on the square to eat . We got in line about 6:45 , the line was long and went pretty quick. We really only wanted to see Guernica and a few Dali's so that was perfect for us.

Jhen thank you so much we will most likely pay the full amount to see. We too, plan on the Sofia for that reason only. Need to see the Guernica. Would you be able to message me regarding sites you have done and suggestions We also will be in Seville, Malaga and of course for us Barcelona. Thank you so much

At the Reina Sofia, a couple years ago when I visited, photographs were permitted in most rooms, but not all. No photos allowed in the Guernica room.

Be sure to check online that the Palace is open on the day you plan to go. We arrived a bit before 10 on Thursday and waited in line about 1/2 hour only to be told it was closed for an event that day. It was really frustrating, and I wished I had checked as RS advises.

You can save a lot of time by purchasing your tickets on-line before your trip starts. I brought on-line tickets for the Madrid Royal Palace, Prado museum, at Sevilla for the Alcazar and we literally walked right in for all of them! Usually there's a left queue line for pre-purchased tickets at each location. For the Prado, we entered on the Jeranimo side of the museum as RS suggests.

I should add that when we were exiting the Royal Museum, people were beginning to come for the free entry time - lots of people! I was glad we could enjoy it with just a few people in the same rooms. I really appreciate that there's no photos allowed in the palace and Prado - just to enjoy the experience!

I agree with the above comments on "free." It's usually the most expensive time to go because it takes longer to get through and you don't have the time to really enjoy what you've spent the big bucks to get over there to see. Of course, museum cards that let you skip the lines are great but you need to do the math on whether it's worth the price.

How busy is in the room where Guernica is? Can one actually get a few unobstructed moments in front of it?
Thank you.

There is luck involved. I have read a suggestion that visiting the top sights around lunchtime might provide some less crowded moments. Perhaps from 1:30 or 2 PM until 3:30 or 4 PM?? I would definitely not expect to be the only person in the room.

It is a big work so, unlike the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, it is possible to get a valuable experience even when the gallery is crowded. It is powerful, so standing back, imagining the chaos of the scene depicted was for me not lessened by other people. Visitors are usually considerate in these situations. I went late morning from memory, but it was 10 years ago.

We visited the Reina Sofia the day before yesterday. The crowd around Guernica reminded me of the crowd around David at the Academia in Florence. If you're patient, you can work your way to the front and get a good look.