If you are planning to visit Madrid city then you should plan your trip before you go, in order to fully maximise your vacation. By taking a little time before your holiday to find out where things are and how to get to there, you will leave yourself much more time to enjoy what the city has to offer when you get there.
Madrid has plenty more to offer, we have outlined details of some attractions below for your excursions as a starting point.
The Real Madrid stadium is more commonly known in Spain by the name of its founder Santiago Bernabeu. The site has been used for football since 1902, it was only when Santiago Bernabeu took over the club presidency and with his forward thinking, he converted the stadium to what we see today. The stadium has a capacity of 80,000 seats and used to host Real Madrid´s 1st team matches and the occasional concert.
Located in the North of the city centre it is easily accessible by both Metro ad Buses. It is definitely worth taking a tour of the stadium; tickets are available from the base of Tower A (Torre A). You can have a guided tour with multilingual guide and the cost is 14€ for an adult and 10€ for a child under 14. If you wish to do the tour yourselves the prices are 10€ for an adult 7€ for a child under 14. The tours are offered on a match day and on a non-match day the tickets are at a cheaper rate. Tours include the Changing rooms, tunnel, pitch, trophy room, and more. Alternatively you can book beforehand and guarantee your tour space combined with a city tour! Madrid City Tour and Bernabau Stadium - Real Madrid Football Club
Avenida Concha Espina 1
Metro: Santiago Bernabeu
Website:
www.realmadrid.com
The Museo del Prado's extensive collection has made it one of the famous art galleries in the world. It’s best to get there earlier as the museum is very popular with tourists and tend to get busy with large groups. The best place to begin the tour of museum is to enter at ground level by the Puerto de Goya at the north end. The museum is laid out chronologically: the ground floor is mostly medievl and Renaissance, covering 14th-16th-century Spanish, Flemish, German and Italian works. The first floor covers Baroque, with Velazquez, and some of the Goyas. The rest of these are on the second floor. Free floor plans are available at the entrances.
The museum displays marterpieces by Angelico, Greco, Botticelli, Bosch, Durer, Fra, Goya, Lorrain, Mengs, Botticelli, Poussin, Ribera, Raphael, Ribalta, Rembrandt, Velazquez, and Zurbaran these are just few names of collection in Museo del Prado's
Plan to spend a good part of the day in the museum but don't expect to see the entire collection in one day, you might need two or three days!
Paseo del Prado, s/n 28014
Tel: +34 91 302 800/902 107 077
Metro: Atocha/ Banco de Espana
Opening Times: 09.00-19.00. Sunday 09.00-14.00. Closed Monday.
Website:
www.museoprado.muc.es
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Centro de Arte Reina Sofia National Museum
The Reina Sofia Cultural Center features permanent displays of Spanish contemporary artists such as Pablo Piccaso and Salvador Dhali. The permanent collection occupies the 2nd and 4th floors. It also has a wide variety of temporary displays that includes video, sculpture, photography and films. You will find temporary displays on the 1st and 3rd floor. There is also an excellent bookshop, café-restaurant and an oasis of a courtyard garden.
Santa Isabel, 52, 28102
Tel: 91 747 1000
Metro: Atocha
Opening Times: 10-00-21.00 Sunday closes at 14:30. Closed Tuesday.
Website:
www.museoreinasofia.es
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Thyssen Bornemisza Museum
The Thyssen Borhnemisza Museum contains a collection of over 800 paintings, tapestries, and sculptures on display which range from early Flemish works, to Salvador Dali, to 20th century American paintings. You will see masterpieces by Van Dyck, Durer, Caravaggio, Rubens, Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse and Kandinsky among others. It’s best to start your trip from top floor and work your way downwards, so that the modern works benefit from being hung in the high-ceiling ground floor rooms. The basement is a café and a space for temporary exhibitions.
Paseo del Prado, 8,
Madrid 28014
Tel: +34 91 369 0151
Metro: Banco de Espana
Opening Times: 10.00-19.00. Closed Monday.
Website:
www.museothyssen.org
The massive bright-white Royal Palace (Palacio Real) on the Plaza de Oriente in Madrid dates back from 1734. This is where the 3,000 roomed royal residence was commissioned by Philip V, it was a home of Royal Family in 1931. The present king Juan Carlos do not reside in this palace, instead choosing the smaller Palacio de la Zarzuela, on the outskirts of Madrid. Most of the rooms are now open to the public, and others are used for state business. The Palace is owned by the Spanish state and administered by the Partrimonio Nacional agency. English tours are organised regularly lasting about two hours, taking visitors to the reception room and state apartments, the impressive armoury and the royal pharmacy. The grandiose state apartments are filled with art treasures, antiques and opulent Rococo décor that could even rival Versailles
Calle Bailen s/n Near Plaza Mayor (Los Austrias)
Tel: +34 91 547 53 50
Metro: Ópera (line 5 or 2)
Open: October-March: Monday-Saturday 09:30-17.00; Sunday & holidays 09.00-14.00.
Open: April-September: Monday-Saturday, 09:30-18.00; Sunday & holiday hours: 09.00-13.00
Closed: January 6, May 1 & 15, Oct 12, Nov 9, Dec 24, 25 & 31
Admission Fee: 10€, 7€ for tour groups. 4€ for 5-16 year olds, over 65, students, youth with proper ID
Free admission: children under 5, Wednesdays for EU citizens, May 18
Website:
www.patrimonioncional.es
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Museo Arqueologico Nacional
IThis Museum displays collection of cultural artefacts from all over the world. See shrunken heads from the tribes of the Amazon or marvel at ancient Spanish Armor and other archaeological excavations.
Calle Serano, 13
Tel: 91 577 79 12
Metro: Serrano
Opening Times: 09.30-20.30. Sunday 09.30-14.30. Closed Monday.
Collection includes many different artefacts from archaeological to paintings to tapestries.
c/Ventura Rodriguez, 17
Tel: 91 547 36 46
Metro: Plaza de Espana
Opening Times: 09:30-14:30. Sunday: 10.00-14.00. Closed Monday.
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Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando Museum
Spanish, Flemish, German, French and Italian paintings are all on display.
Calle Alcala, 13
Tel: 91 524 08 64
Metro: Sol
Opening Times: 09.00-19.00 Saturday, Sunday, and Monday open until 14.30.
A large variety of collection including furniture, gold & silver, jewellery and much more.
Calle Serrano. 122
Metro: Nunez de Balboa
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Parque Biologico de Madrid
This is a new park that promotes environmentally conscious technology to create various natural environments.
Avenida de la Democracia, 50
Tel: 91 301 62 10
Metro: Valdebernardo
Metro: Lago and Batan
Campo. Casa de Campo, is a huge park situated on 4,000 acres of land on the banks of the Manzanares River. Here you can enjoy activities such as mountain bike riding, tennis, swimming, hiking and rowboat rentals. There is also an amusement park with roller-coasters, a zoo and even a "sky-tram" that will give you a birds eye view of Madrid from Paseo de Pintor Rosales to Casa de Campo. Also check out the Venta de Batan, a small, old bullring used to train bullfighters.
Built under Philip IV in the 17th century as a royal playground. This is a large park (118 hectares) located in the centre of Madrid. 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, the park gets busy with the locals strolling around enjoying the performers of all sorts, including mime artists and jugglers, painters, singers, puppet masters and fortune-tellers
Plaza de la Independencia, s/n
Madrid 28001 Spain
Tel: +1 34 91 5888790
Metro: Retiro
Opening Hours: 07.00-23.00 Monday-Sunday, Summer: 24 hrs everyday.
Constructed in 1774 under Carlos III, the Royal gardens have a beautiful collection of plant and trees with neoclassical doors, walkways and a green house.
Plaza de Murillo, 2
Tel: 91 420 30 17
Metro: Atocha
Opening hours: 10.00-20.00 everyday.
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Claustro de San Jerónimo el Real (Los Jerónimos)
The San Jerónimo el Real, popularly known as Los Jerónimos, is full of history. The church dates back to the 16th century. The church has been restored several times, therefore there is only few external features from its early days. Inside, you'll see famous paintings by Carducho and Jose Mendez along with valuable sculptures like Juan de Mena´s 18th-century Cristo de la Buena Muerte, neo-Gothic lamps and stained-glass windows. Kings and queens sought refuge here, Spanish parliaments were sworn in here, Alfonso XIII was married here and King Juan Carlos I was proclaimed King of Spain in this very building. It's close to the following museums: Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Ejercito (Army), as well as the Ritz and Palace hotels.
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday: 8.30-13.30 & 17.00-20.30
Sunday: 8.30-14.30 & 17.30-20.30.
Catedral de la Almudena took over 100 years to built due to political conflicts such as wars and financial resources. According to the legend, it's named after the Virgen de la Almudena, whose icon was found during the re-conquest hidden in a house and the Arabs called it al Mudena. The exterior of the cathedral is an example of eclectic 19th-century design. The doors are bronze and there's an image of the Virgen (now Madrid's patron saint) on the façade. The interior is full of light benefiting from the stained-glass windows and multi-coloured ceiling.
Opening hours: Winter: open everyday 09.00-21.00
Summer: open everyday 10.00-13.00 & 18.00-20.00