Your family plans to travel to Spain for a short vacation and wondering which city should be the suitable place for kids? Madrid is really a good one for a family trip. The capital of Spain is the most populous city in Spain and the second-largest city in Europe with many fun things for the family. If you are looking for some best things that you could do to with your kids in Madrid, you can refer to some activities below, they are quite friendly for kids and the family to do in 3 – 7 days.
1. Royal Palace of Madrid
Spain is a constitutional monarchy country, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament. Therefore, the Royal life in Spain also received much attention from citizens. Your family won’t want to miss this chance to visit the Royal Palace of Madrid – the official residence of the Spanish royal family in the city of Madrid. Although this place is using only for state ceremonies, it is one of the famous iconic building in Madrid and welcome a thousand visitors every day. Your kids will surprise when they entering one of the largest palaces in Europe with the interior is notable by the wealth of art and many types of fine materials in the construction and the decoration of its rooms. There are two things that you could not miss when visiting the Royal Palace of Madrid. Firstly, don’t forget to visit the Hall of Alabarderos (the palace guards) and if your family is lucky, you can witness the Changing of the Guard ceremony. Secondly, strolling down to the garden around the palace and take some photos to imprint this best memory in your family album.
2. Prado Museum
One of the best ways to explore a country or city is by learning about its history and culture. However, when you visit the Museo Nacional del Prado or simply, the Prado Museum, this is not only about the Spanish culture either their history but also about the European history with over 1300 Spanish and European masterpieces – that’s why people from different continents flock the attraction each day. If your kids interested in art and culture, you can bring them to the Prado Museum for a short visit to learn more about European history and marvel at the magnificent beauty of this building. The museum provides audio guides with many languages that you can choose (Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, German, Korean, Chinese, English, Italian, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Russian) with an additional fee is EUR4. You can’t take the photo inside the museum and bags, backpacks or parcels larger than 40x40cm can not bring inside, you can store them in the individual lockers or in the Cloakroom of the museum. The museum opening hours are different between from days in week, you should check the timetable before going there.
3. Reina Sofia Museum
Reina Sofia Museum is another style of museum quite different from the Prado Museum. This museum displays the beauty of Spain’s fascinating, modern and contemporary artworks in the impressive exhibitions and galleries! Don’t worry your kids can’t understand the exhibitions here since they have so many areas that you can walk through and admire the beauty of Spain’s awe-inspiring 20th-century art. They also have a vast garden with many greenery that you can take a break and breathe in fresh air or just have a seat and enjoy the gorgeous of the building in the middle of green color.
4. Real Madrid Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Spain is home to the two biggest football clubs in Europe is Barcelona and Real Madrid. Since your family is in Madrid, you should not miss a chance to visit the home of the iconic Spanish football team Real Madrid, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and Museum. This is one of the best things for your family in Madrid seems like: “if you don’t visit the Santiago Bernabéu stadium when you traveling to Madrid, your trip couldn’t complete in a perfect way”. If you and your kids are football fans and especially is Real Madrid’s fans, you MUST go. You can see everything from the cups, the jerseys, to the screens with audio that is very impressive. It will remind you of each moment that you ever have seen before on TV. You can walk through the stadium that the legendary famous players like Ronaldo, Beckham, and Zidane stood and won. Everything in this stadium is coming to you was surreal.
5. Thyssen-Bornemisza museum
The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza or with the name is The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum shows the history of art from the 13th to the late 20th centuries with almost 1,000 works on display, visitors can pause in the Renaissance, linger in the Baroque, discover Expressionism or enter the world of the 20th-century avant-garde movements. The museum has two different areas with permanent exhibitions and temporary exhibitions. Sometimes, they also hold concerts, live music, workshops, film, and theatre together to create a wide range of options aimed at all the visitors. Normally, you can enter free on Monday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm for permanent exhibitions. If you really interested in art and would like to shows how wonderful of Spanish Royal collections to your kids, you can visit this museum.
6. Flamenco Show
Whatever you are interested in dance or not, when you are in Madrid, you should try one time to attend a Flamenco show. We don’t know start from when, but Flamenco became one of the folkloric music traditions of Spain a long time ago. The Flamenco show at Corral de la Moreria in Madrid is one of the most esteemed shows in Spain and guarantees an electrifying performance. The most convenient thing about this show is that they combine with dinner while you watch the fiery performance, you can enjoy a drink or authentic Spanish gourmet meal in a rustic setting complete with 19th Century decorations. This is a good idea for your family when you don’t know what to do in Madrid at night. Therefore, you can bring the whole family here to enjoy the Flamenco show as well as taste the Spanish foods for an unforgettable night in Madrid!
7. El Escorial Monastery
El Escorial Monastery is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. This Monastery only distance 45 km from Madrid and you can visit here by rent a car, taxi or simply just book a tour for one day visiting. This is the legacy of the former Spanish Empire, once considered the 8th wonder of the world! You can visit the Royal Mausoleum, the Weapons Room, the Library, the Basilica, and other areas of this masterpiece of architecture. If you book a tour, you can explore more about Spanish history from the tour guide and don’t need to worry about the transfer when you are traveling with your kids.
8. Las Ventas Bullring
As the same as Flamenco, bullfighting is one of the iconic of Spain’s tradition, and you should spend your time understanding about this fabulous sport when you visit Las Ventas bullring – the heart and soul of this legendary Spanish cultural event. Las Ventas bullring is one of the most popular landmarks of Madrid. The bullring was designed in a Neo-Mudéjar style with red hand-painted tiles and 61-meters in diameter arena. During your visit, you can see the matador uniforms from throughout the 20th Century and the Puerta Grande, the famous door where bullfighters pass through in celebration. There is an audio guide with many languages onsite in Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, German, Japanese, and Korean. If your family is lucky, you may enjoy a bullfights in Las Ventas while tasting a typical dinner.
9. Teatro Real
Teatro Real is an opera house in Madrid was opened in 1850, it has remodeling plans that have taken place over the last century-and-a-half when this place experience suffered fires, explosions, and flooding, which have left a permanent mark on the building exterior and ruins. You can book an audio tour (available in Spanish, English, French, Chinese and Italian) and spend an hour in this opera house to go through many zones inside the building with the foyer, royal box, staterooms, photo exhibition, Café de Palacio and exhibition, and experience space.
10. Retiro Park
When you want to find a place to be more close to nature in the busy city of Madrid, you can think about Retiro Park – a green oasis in the heart of the city. Covering over 125 hectares and comprising more than 15,000 trees, the park including the Jardín de Vivaces, the Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez (Andalusian-inspired classicistic gardens), the Jardines del Arquitecto Herrero Palacios, the Rosaleda rose garden and the Parterre Francés, which holds a Mexican conifer that is nearly 400 years old and is believed to be Madrid’s oldest tree. You can bring your family here for a short rest between the journey or simply walking through one of the city’s green lungs. If you are interested in tapas – authentic Spanish food for gourmets, you can pass by a mini bar for lunch or dinner with tapas, make sure to let your kids taste this food too since it is quite kids friendly.
While Madrid becomes a modern and busiest city in Spain, it still maintains preserved the look and feel of many of its historic, culture and traditional mixed between many of the streets and buildings. In your family trip to Madrid, you may concern some interesting places that you can spend time with your kids and enjoy yourself as well. Recommend a few ideas for your plans to do with kids in Madrid, hoping you can create a wonderful trip for the whole family with so much fun.