The Spanish
take their children everywhere ... to bars, restaurants and sometimes even
to pubs. You'll find that children are always well looked after anywhere you
go, so don't let having kids put you off visiting Madrid or participating in
any of the activities the city has to offer. So if the kids get bored of the
Prado, you may find the following suggestions useful :-
TELEFERICO:
the Teleférico is a cable car which runs from the Paseo del Pintor Rosales
(Metro Argüelles or Moncloa) to the
Casa de Campo in a journey lasting approximately 15 minutes and
giving excellent views of the Parque del Oeste, the Manzanares River, the
egyptian Debod temple, the
Royal Palace, Almudena Cathedral, and the Casa de
Campo with its lake and Amusement Park. The teleférico runs almost every day
from 12pm to 9pm and is free for Madrid Card holders. More information here
PARQUE DE
ATRACCIONES:
Madrid's main amusement park is located in the
Casa de Campo
(Metro Casa de Campo) and is open almost every day during the summer months (May to
mid-September) and weekends the rest of the year, but please check exact
opening hours at their
website. There is a special area for very young children and
white-knuckle rides for the "older" kids. Numerous bars and restaurants,
together with outdoor shows and street theatre make it possible to spend the
whole day here and never get bored with the young ones.
Free entrance is available for holders of the 72-hour version of
the Madrid Card.
RETIRO PARK:
A stroll round the
Retiro Park will always content the kids. Head for the boating lake area where
there is always a lot of street theatre, buskers, puppet shows, etc. and of
course you can rent a rowing boat out on to the lake itself. If you want to
create your own diversion, take a football along with you for a kick around
in one of the many open spaces. Open-air cafeterias give plenty of
opportunity to take a well-earned rest with a refreshment or two and both
the Centro Cultural Casa de Vacas and Palacio de Cristal buildings offer
exhibitions several times a year. More...
VISIT REAL
MADRID: Children under 14 can take this tour of
Real Madrid's stadium
at reduced rates, and everybody has free admission with the
Madrid Card. The tour includes a panoramic view of the stadium and visit
to the President's Box, dressing room, players' tunnel, the benches and coaching area,
the pitch itself, the Trophy Room and the official Real Madrid shop. More
information
here.
MADRID'S ZOO:
Madrid's zoo
is located in the Casa de Campo (Metro Casa de Campo) and is considered one of the best in Europe.
It includes more than 3000 animals, an aquarium, a performing dolphin show
and an aviary. Areas such as the "Pequeña Granja (Small Farm) allow
city-dwelling kids close contact with domestic and semi-domestic farm
animals during a pedalogical visit interesting for children and adults
alike. The zoo has plenty of snack-bars and restaurants to allow you to
spend all day there if necessary. Check opening times at their
website, free
entrance with the
Madrid Card.
FARO
DE MONCLOA: This 110-metre high communications tower made of steel and
glass offers spectacular panoramic views of the city, with a glass
elevator taking you up to an observation deck. The
nearest Metro is
Moncloa.
More info here...
MADRID
VISION: Madrid Vision
offers tours around the city in open-topped double-decker buses. The bus
operates in a hop-on, hop-off fashion, allowing you to take a quick
1 hour (approx.) tour of the city and hop-off to further explore any sights or
monuments that take your interest. There are different routes to choose
from and tourist card holders obtain free tickets - more information
here.
MUSEO
DE CERA: Madrid's wax
museum located just off the
Plaza Colón shows historical figures and famous
Spanish personalities. The museum includes a Horror Train, a Virtual Reality
Simulator and the Multivision show - a history of Spain shown using 27
projectors and hexaphonic sound. The museum is open daily and the nearest
Metro station is Colón - visit their
website for more
information. Obtain free admission with
the Madrid Tourist Card.
IMAX
MADRID: This IMAX cinema in the Méndez Alvaro area (Metro Méndez Alvaro)
offers IMAX (600 m2 screen), Omnimax (900 m2 dome screen) and Imax 3D film
projections. There are several different films to choose from throughout the
day, although there are more shows on weekends. More information is
available at the
Imax Madrid
website (in Spanish), and once again, free entrance is available with
the Madrid Card (click
here).
AQUARIUM:
Another possibility for tourists with kids is this small but interesting
aquarium in the centre of Madrid (Calle Maestro Victoria, Metro Callao). The
piranas, sharks, snakes and other reptiles will amuse, scare and delight the
youngest members of the family and possibly the more squeamish adults as
well!
URBAN BEACH:
The Madrid Rio project includes seventeen play areas for children located throughout the park, with 65 different play items - imaginative equipment made of sustainable, natural materials, suitable for all ages. The most exciting ones are the slides hill, the tree trunk jungle and the super zip-line. Then there is Madrid's Urban Beach, formed by three oval-shaped water areas with different effects: a smooth stretch of water, jets of varying heights and a cloud of water vapour.
Read more here...
MUSIC GROUPS:
Lastly, a suggestion for the very youngest family members. Shake Rattle & Roll organises English speaking music groups for the under 5's in Madrid.
You can choose from small groups with an emphasis on learning about rhythm and music or a large sing-a-long Friday group enjoying rhymes and popular songs.
The Shake Rattle & Roll Music classes focus on helping your child towards those key development markers using music and rhythm. More info at their
website.
