Do you want to experience an unforgettable holiday with your children? Madrid is a perfect city from visit with children because it is vital, sunny, extravagant, modern and full of things to do and see.
Take them with you to see the great attractions of the Spanish capital, such as the presigious Museo del Prado or the magnificent Royal Palace, but also save some time for more child-friendly attractions.
Stroll through the streets and squares of the center, perhaps in search of historical or curious toy shops, and do not miss the most traditional Spanish pastime: a snack based on tasty tapas. For children, however, no cerveza!
Tips for visiting Madrid with children
Here is some practical information for those traveling to Madrid with children:
- Madrid is a city suitable to be visited with children but being very large and crowded it is good to never lose sight of them.
- I children up to 4 years of age travel for free on public transport, while up to 11 years there is a 50% discount. Many metro stations have lifts and escalators and are therefore easily accessible even if you have a stroller with you.
- A more comfortable and safe solution than public transport are the hop on hop off tourist buses that stop near the main tourist attractions and allow you to explore the city in freedom. Your children will have a lot of fun admiring the city from the top floor of the bus, under the open sky!
- If you want to save money or if you want to avoid waiting for dinner at Madrid time, a bit late for Italian standards, consider staying in an apartment instead of a hotel. There is a great choice of apartments in Madrid, for all budgets.
Family-friendly Madrid attractions
Madrid is a city rich in history and culture, but also modern and lively, with attractions for all tastes and all ages. For a list of Madrid's most popular attractions take a look at the page What to see in Madrid: below are the most suitable attractions for children.
Teleferico
Children are amazed by the wonder as they fly over Madrid safely inside the cabins of the Cableway. The journey from Rosales station or Casa de Campo station is 2 km long, takes about eleven minutes and allows you to admire historic buildings, parks, streets and squares from 5 meters above the ground.
Once you get off the Teleférico, you can take a look at the digital planetarium or have a snack in the bar-restaurant with a lookout terrace.
Retiro Park
Visiting museums and monuments is tiring and in every holiday it is time to take a break. The right place for relaxation in Madrid is the gigantic Retiro Park, the green oasis of the city.
For some healthy family fun you could hire a rowboat and spend some time lazing on the park's artificial lake. Surely you have already seen it on some site or postcard: it is one of the most famous images of the city.
wax Museum
Madrid also has its own wax Museum, perhaps less famous than the one in London but no less fun. There are over 400 famous characters immortalized in wax statues inside the museum: you can photograph your children in the company of Harry Potter, the Simpsons, Frodo and other fictional characters or characters who really existed yesterday and today as kings and queens , actors and actresses, footballers and other sportsmen.
Two attractions inside the museum that are sure to make your children go crazy with joy are the ice tunnel, which will make them go to the center of the earth or into space, and the Train of Terror, which will make them travel from Jurassic Park to Star Wars.
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
If your children are passionate about football, you cannot fail to take them to see one of the largest stadiums in Europe: the "mythical" stadium Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid, is one of the most visited attractions in the city.
Let your children experience the thrill of being a great champion by visiting the spaces reserved for footballers, such as the changing rooms and the tunnel leading to the playing field, admiring the cups, balls and shirts of the great players in the Trophy Room or enjoying a view breathtaking on the field from the top of one of the towers. You can also enter the press room and the presidential balcony, just like a VIP.
Debod Temple
How many other opportunities will your children have to see an authentic ancient Egyptian temple without going to Egypt? Madrid is one of the three lucky cities that have received a temple as a gift from the Egyptian government, which has been moved from its original location along the Nile River to avoid probable flooding.
The Debod temple was dismantled, transported and rebuilt piece by piece in Park of the Mountain Barracks, not far from the central Plaza de España.
Zoo
Who doesn't love pandas, cute and funny animals? Your children will not be in the skin at the idea of being able to see one at Zoo Aquarium, the most famous zoo in Madrid. Many other animals from all continents await them. Another zoo present in Madrid is Faunia, a biological park that reproduces the natural habitats of animals.
Theme parks
Madrilenians like to have fun: if for adults this translates into an unbridled nightlife for the little ones, this has given rise to an abundance of amusement parks in the city and neighboring municipalities.
If during your holiday in Madrid you want to give your children a day of fun, take them to Attractions Park, the capital's amusement park with over 40 attractions for all ages, or al Warner Bros Park, the theme park with Lonely Tunes cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety and Silvestrino, Taz, but also famous films such as Scooby Dooh, Police School and Superman Man of Steel.
