Discover the Prado Museum and enjoy a guided tour without queues. During the visit, you will see some of the most important artworks from renowned artist such as el Bosco, El Greco, Velazquez and Goya. At the end of the guided visit, you will be able to stay inside the museum as long as you like. The building that today houses the Prado National Art Museum was designed by the architect Juan de Villanueva in 1785. It was constructed to house the Natural History Cabinet, by orders of King Charles III. However, the building's final purpose - as the new Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures - was the decision of the monarch's grandson, King Ferdinand VII, encouraged by his wife Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza. The Prado National Art Museum opened to the public for the first time in November 1819. The Museum's first catalogue, published in 1819, included 311 paintings, although at that time its collection comprised just over 1,510 pictures from the various Reales Sitios (Royal Residences). The exceptionally important royal collection, which represents the foundation of the Museum's compilation as we know it today, increased significantly in the 16th century during the time of Charles V and continued to thrive under the succeeding Habsburg and Bourbon Monarchs. It is thanks to them that we can contemplate in the Museum masterpieces such as The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, The Nobleman with his hand on his Chest by El Greco, Las Meninas by Velázquez and The Family of Carlos IV by Goya.