Kid Friendly Madrid

Description:

This is one of the most popular museums in the city, frequented as much by locals as tourists. The lovely building itself was opened as a railway station in 1880. It's interesting to see - through the steam, diesel and electric engines - how elegant and efficient train travel used to be. Most of the rolling-stock is so valuable that it has been declared of national cultural interest and is protected from destruction by statute. Other interesting items include old clocks, passenger cars, etchings, lamps, tools and much more. Look out for the working scale models, temporary exhibitions and children's activities.

Our Local Expert Says:

Find the only statue dedicated to the fallen angel in Madrid.

Description:

It's known as the "lungs of Madrid" and few cities can boast such a large park (118 hectares) in such a central location. There's a large boating lake and the park has three art galleries (Casa de Vacas, Palacio de Cristal and Palacio de Velázquez. On weekends and holidays, it fills with madrileños (citizens of Madrid) and performers of all sorts, including mime artists and jugglers, painters, singers, puppet masters and fortune-tellers. It was built as a royal park in the 17th century, and until 1868 it was the exclusive reserve of the aristocracy.

Description:

Young families from Madrid love coming here to visit the six different adventure zones full of activities: Naturaleza (Nature), Maquinismo (Automation), Tranquilidad (Tranquility), Infantil (Infants), Gran Avenida (Grand Avenue) and Trispace Virtual (Virtual World). The children's amusement park offers loads of things to do, including water rides, a house of horror and a puppet theatre. Some of the rides have great names like Rapids, Launch Pad, Fiords, Top Spin and Fantasy. There are musical shows, travelling performers and places to eat.

Description:

Also in Tierno Galván park is Madrid's impressive Planetarium with regular 45-minute shows taking you on virtual-reality trips across the solar system without moving you from your seat. Though the narration is Spanish only, the movie is sensational enough to keep kiddies of all ages watching.

Our Local Expert Says:

Check Real Madrid's website for details on tours of the stadium.

Description:

Founded in 1902, the club's teams had to play in a variety of venues throughout the city until this stadium was built in 1947. It holds a capacity crowd of 75342 and has become world famous due to Real's success in international competitions over the years. It is named after the chairman of the Board of Directors, Santiago Bernabéu, who had the vision to borrow the money to buy this plot of land and start building. At that time it was the most modern stadium in the country and it has since undergone various expansion and improvement projects. You can visit the club's museum that is open daily, except Monday, to find out about its history, see the trophy room and tread on the hallowed turf itself.