How Madrid’s Prado Museum is trying to avoid becoming like ‘the Metro at rush-hour’

This article was first published by The Guardian.

On Wednesday, Miguel Falomir told a press conference that the museum, which welcomed a record 3.5 million visitors last year, felt a threshold had been reached.

“The Prado doesn’t need a single visitor more,” he said. “We feel comfortable with 3.5 million. A museum’s success can collapse it, like the Louvre, with some rooms becoming oversaturated. The important thing is not to collapse.”

With that in mind, Falomir added, the Prado was exploring how best to preserve – and preferably enhance – the visitor experience. Among the ideas for guaranteeing quality over quantity are optimising entrances to the museum, rethinking the size of visiting groups, and making sure people know they are not allowed to take photos in the galleries.