Exploring Madrid: A Memorable Family Adventure in the Heart of Spain

Madrid is a multifaceted city, and during our previous visits, we explored many of its “standard” attractions — the famous museum triangle, the Royal Palace, the squares, and markets. This April, we decided to test Spain’s capital as a destination for an extended family trip.

We stayed in the Cuatro Caminos neighborhood. A quiet residential area, although just a five-minute walk away are the main administrative arteries of the city. It’s a 10-minute metro ride to the center, and we rented a three-bedroom apartment with all amenities and parking for a reasonable price.

During the first few days, we grouped places accessible by metro, then rented a car and explored the outskirts and areas outside the city.

We purchased tickets for almost everything through Entradas. To get cheap or good seats, it’s better to book well in advance.

We tried to organize all days by neighborhoods, and here’s what we ended up with:

Day 1

Center. Gran Via, Cibeles, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, where we enjoyed delicious tapas at the cellar El Minibar and churros at 1902.

We continued through the Royal Palace, the Basilica, Jardines de Sabatini, Plaza de España (which, by the way, has an amazing children’s playground).

We ended the day with the musical Aladdin. It was amazing – the theater was specially designed for the production, with incredible sets, thousands of Swarovski crystals, hundreds of meters of Moroccan satin, impressive lighting and acoustics, and excellent actors. The performance was of very high quality. Our slightly improved Spanish didn’t help much, but having watched the related animated movies in advance certainly did.

Day 2

Parque de Atracciones de Madrid (address: Casa de Campo, s/n, 28011 Madrid, Spain). A nice amusement park, not too big, but we spent almost the entire day there.

Football match Atlético Madrid vs Girona. Atlético’s new stadium is built to the highest standards. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but the metro handled it well. We bought tickets on the official website, but there weren’t two good seats together, so we took seats in adjacent rows. When the rightful owners of our seats arrived, we explained the situation as best we could. They spent about ten minutes playing a game of musical chairs before managing to arrange seats for us together. Absolute legends, no words.

Day 3

Sunday, flea market day at El Rastro. We arrived quite early, but the narrow streets quickly filled with an incredible number of people, and it became uncomfortable, so we left. On the way, we enjoyed some delicious coffee and cake at Boconó Specialty Coffee.

From there, we moved to the Museum of Illusions, where we spent a couple of hours (it’s best to book time slots in advance for weekends), and then we visited the Legends museum (address: Cra de S. Jerónimo, 2, Centro, 28014 Madrid, Spain). This is a must for any football fan. A museum by FIFA, very interactive and modern. For enthusiasts, it houses an enormous collection of shirts and memorabilia from almost all the world’s stars, past and present, some from iconic games.

We ended the day with the musical The Lion King. It was top-notch, just like Aladdin. They seem to be from the same producer.

Day 4

El Retiro Park, a vast forest in the middle of the city. The kids ran around the playgrounds, and we took photos by the lakes with turtles and monuments, feeding the fish and birds together.

Later in the evening, we went to a flamenco show at Teatro Flamenco. Exactly one hour, a bit touristy, but good. The venue was comfortable, with good visibility from everywhere, and excellent performers, including Spanish guitar.

Day 5

We stayed in our neighborhood. We started with the Museo Geominero (address: C. de Ríos Rosas, 23, Chamberí, 28003 Madrid, Spain) – a free archaeological museum with various stones, including precious ones, meteorites, and other historical finds.

On the way, we wanted to visit the Sorolla House Museum, but the timing didn’t work out. However, we ended up at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (address: C. de José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, Chamartín, 28006 Madrid, Spain), which is similar to many others in large cities — quite good.

Sweet Space (address: C. de Serrano, 61, Planta 2, Salamanca, 28006 Madrid, Spain) – a design and sweets museum, very charming, and the kids got stuck in the last (play) room. The Robot Museum (address: C. de Serrano, 61, Salamanca, 28006 Madrid, Spain) – it probably would have been more interesting with a guide, but we arrived after the last tour, so it was just okay.

For the first time, we ate at the very popular Spanish chain VIPS. It’s something between fast food and a restaurant – with a menu and service, but standard dishes and quick delivery. An interesting concept.

Day 6

Zoo Aquarium de Madrid (address: Casa de Campo, S/N, Moncloa – Aravaca, 28011 Madrid, Spain). A lot of animals, sea lion and dolphin shows. We spent most of the day there, and not far from it is Funbox Madrid (address: C. Puerto de Navacerrada, 28939 Arroyomolinos, Madrid, Spain) – according to them, the world’s largest inflatable castle park at 4000 square meters.

Day 7

Parque Europa (address: 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain). Large but cozy, with 18 fairly large replicas of famous European monuments, from the Eiffel Tower to the Trevi Fountain, plus a small amusement park for little ones.

Oasiz Madrid (address: Av. Premios Nobel, 5, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain) – a shopping center with entertainment – go-karting, bowling, jumping and climbing center, etc. Delicious ribs at the Tony Roma’s restaurant chain.

Day 8

Puy du Fou España (address: CM40 salida 13, 45004 Toledo, Spain). Wow Day! A city with medieval design, built near Toledo, where more than a dozen impressive shows and performances take place throughout the day. Shows featuring dozens of different birds of prey that land on your head, buildings that move, rotating theaters with hundreds of spectators, dances, horses, battle reenactments, swords, bastions, cannons, Columbus’ ships adventure… An all-day experience that requires preparation. Although each show occurs several times a day, to see most of them, it needs to be planned carefully. Ideally, they have an app for this, but it’s in Spanish and works poorly. The day ends with a night show, which can be booked separately. It’s indescribable – a special amphitheater for thousands of spectators, surrounded by dozens of huge buildings with towers and a lake. Over 300 actors, dances, battles, horsemen, ships, projections on buildings, fireworks, dancing fountains – there’s nothing like it…

Day 9

Parque Juan Carlos I. A park of impressive size, with lakes, a river where rowing takes place, interesting sculptures, and landscape design.

IFEMA ( address: Av. del Partenón, 5, Barajas, 28042 Madrid, Spain)– Madrid’s Exhibition Center. There is always something going on there. During our visit, we caught Mundo Pixar – interactive pavilions inspired by the famous animation studio, and Jurassic World by Brickman – a dinosaur exhibition made from LEGO bricks, plus, of course, tons of LEGO for self-entertainment.

Day 10

Valdebebas-Felipe VI Park ( address: Av. de las Fuerzas Armadas, 11, Hortaleza, 28055 Madrid, Spain), with quite extreme slides for kids, swings, and other fun activities.

From there, we went back to IFEMA for the show WAH. It’s usually in the evening, but on weekends, there’s a 1 PM show, which is more suitable for kids, and the tickets for them are free (one for each adult). It’s a large hangar designed to look like a club, with plenty of spots for cool photos. The show itself started at 3 PM, and before that, we were entertained with capoeira, fire dancing, and street food. The show is colorful, with a mix of opera to heavy rock, smoothly transitioning into a party with audience participation. A great entertainment experience for all ages.

In the evening, we had the Clasico – Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, which, as everyone knows, is the main show of Spain and the football world. Everything was great, except that this year, tickets for Real Madrid games are only available from resellers. The whole process of finding tickets was not the most enjoyable, and the prices were sky-high, but the experience of the game was immense. I would recommend anyone visiting Spain to go to a football match, even if you’re not a fan. It’s primarily a spectator show, and the feeling of tens of thousands of people singing in unison is something you’ll never forget.

Day 11

On our last day, we went to Segovia. The massive aqueduct, impressive cathedral, and charming Alcazar made for a colorful city experience.

On our way back, we stopped at the outlet village Las Rozas Village ( address: C. Juan Ramón Jiménez, 3, 28232 Las Rozas de Madrid, Madrid, Spain)

Our impressions of Madrid were all positive. World-class shows, a beautiful city, friendly people, and many family-friendly activities. Even though we spent 11 full days there, we didn’t manage to see everything on our list. For example, we wanted to combine a visit to Puy du Fou with Toledo, but it didn’t work out.

There were a few amusing moments, but those require a separate post.

There’s also an impressive list of places left to visit – Toboganes de Madrid Río, Carlos Sainz Karting Madrid, Parque Warner Madrid, Faro de Moncloa, Parque del Oeste, Temple of Debod, Safari Madrid, Micropolix, Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid Snowzone, Atlantis Aquarium Madrid, Muralla de Ávila, Sorolla Museum, Madrid Planetarium, Matadero Madrid, Faunia, Royal Palace of Aranjuez, Cerralbo Museum, Museo de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica.

So, until next time! There’s more useful and interesting travel-related content in the group Помощник Туриста