This passionate city has enough museums and galleries to satisfy every art lover, enough music and dance performances to inspire your inner entertainer, and enough grand palaces and statues to make you want to become an architect.

Madrid is a city full of culture and art, food and wine and a certain zest that makes it a worthwhile destination for everyone. From bull fighting to flamenco, Madrid will awaken your senses and immerse your whole family in an experience they won’t soon forget.

Great Fun for Younger Kids

(Toddler to age 10)

Casa de Campo Amusement Park
Carretera Boadilla Del Monte 34
28024 Madrid
34 (0) 91 518 9170

Aquapolis Water Park
SpainAvda. de la Dehesa, s/n
Villanueva de la Cañada
28691 Madrid
34 (0) 90 234 5006
This thrilling amusement park has 48 different rides and a kid’s area for the younger ones. There’s a nature section where you can take walks to unwind after screaming your lungs out (or watching your kids scream) on a roller coaster or water ride. If it’s a hot day, one of the two Aquapolis water parks may be the perfect way to cool off. Both have a variety of water slides, wave pools and kid activity centers for some splashing family fun.

Faunia Nature Park
Avenida de las Comunidades, 28
34 (0) 91 301 6235
With 3,500 animals and 8 different eco-systems, this nature park is both a fun and educational stop in your itinerary. Many of the animals roam free, so your kids will love petting and feeding them. The Amazon Rainforest ecosystem feels just like a humid jungle and gorgeous flamingoes live in the huge lake. Leave plenty of time to discover all the corners of this flora and fauna world (and maybe rent a stroller if you have a toddler).

Fun for Older Children

(Up to Age 18)

Palacio Real
28071 Madrid
34 (0) 91 454 87 00
Spain’s royal palace, begun by King Felipe V in 1737 and completed in 1764, is the 100,000-square-meter former home of monarchs such as the popular Charles III, Charles IV, Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII. A tour of the lavish interior passes by many of the 30 large halls designed for entertaining and royal business, some of the 44 staircases including the main one designed by Sabatini, and hundreds of chandeliers, tapestries, velvet walls, gilt furniture and a glittering Hall of Mirrors. Outside you’ll find the Plaza de Oriente, a landscaped square built after 1848 to protect the palace entry and display several of the statues designed for its cornice. Right next to the palace are the Jardines de Sabatini which have open air performances in the summer. Your family can enjoy a real taste of Madrid with an evening flamenco performance.

Shopping
In Chueca, the bohemian shopping mecca of Madrid, teens are sure to find items they just can’t live without. Chueca is one of the more trendy and young shopping areas in the city; head to the main street Calle Hortaleza and get ready to enter retail bliss. Salamanca, a barrio just north of the Museo del Prado, may have the city’s best shopping. It features the top European designer names in street front shops of attractive 19th and 20th century apartment buildings. There are also small boutiques with have unique items that you won’t find anywhere else. If you have a Sunday in your itinerary, there’s no more fun way to spend it than by starting the day at the city’s noted weekly flea market, El Rastro. Unlike those of Paris, where knowledgeable shoppers may find antiques of value, El Rastro concentrates on clothes, toys, socks and underwear, myriad collections of ethnic arts, crafts and fabrics, soccer gear, lace tablecloths, flamenco accessories, watercolors and oil paintings, plus frames, done by local artists.

Mallorca
Serrano, 6
34 (0) 91 410 00 20
If you do end up shopping in Salamanca and you need a break, stop at Mallorca, one of the city’s most elegant bonbonneries or sweet shops, with a full selection of sandwiches, some tapas, a gourmet deli and of course, a huge array of desserts and chocolates. Even if you’re not in the area, this yummy stop might be worth the trip anyway.

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
Avenida de Concha Espina, 1
28036 Madrid
34 (0) 91 398 4300
Fútbol, or soccer as we call it, is a quintessential part of Spanish culture and going to a game can be a fun treat for the whole family, especially sports fans. Tickets can be purchased online, over the phone or at the stadium box office number 44. Call 34 90 232 4324 and ask for an English speaking operator. We advise buying tickets a couple weeks in advance; soccer is extremely popular and tickets may sell out. Visit the < http://www.realmadrid.com> Real Madrid website for more information on the next match and how to get tickets. Your family can also buy tour tickets at box office number 10 and take an in-depth tour of the stadium.

Fun for the Whole Family

The Museo Nacional del Prado
Paseo del Prado s/n
28014 Madrid
34 (0) 91 330 28 00
This museum has the world's foremost collection of the Spanish artists Velazquez, Goya, el Greco, Zurbaran and Ribera. Housed in an 18^th century palace designed by Villanueva, it is considered the nation’s premier art museum, whose extensive holdings were curated by Pablo Picasso himself during the 1930s. Families traveling with younger children will want to begin at the main gift shop, where a few children’s books in several languages describe the collection. Because the museum is so large, you’ll have to limit your visit to certain galleries or return over a few days.

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia
Santa Isabel, 52
Plaza del Emperador Carlos V
34 (0) 91 774 10 00
With a rich collection devoted to Spanish and international modern art and Guernica, Picasso’s most famous painting, this museum is a gem. Although its main collection is hung in a restored hospital building with a central garden and gleaming exterior elevators, a new extension on the south side provides much more exhibition space for temporary art shows and video installations, an expanded bookshop, library, and a large cafe.

Los Zuritos
Principe de Vergara 278 Atocha 110
28016 Madrid
34 (0) 91 359 34 72
Within a few blocks of the Prado and the Reine Sofia are these high style indoor/outdoor creative taperias. Along with modest prices and a good by-the-glass wine list, they serve a large variety of light fare including an avocado and anchovy salad, brochette of cuttlefish, picadillo of venison in a spicy tomato sauce served on garlic toast, and grilled vegetable plates.

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Paseo del Prado, 8
28014 Madrid
34 (0) 91 420 39 44
A vast collection of paintings and sculpture ranging from Flemish primitives to Italian masters to contemporary art grace this museum, all of which were given by the Thyssen Family over the years. The museum was expanded in 2004 to display another 300 artworks and now has a popular indoor/outdoor cafe for visitors.

Parque de Buen Retiro
Plaza de Independecia
Retiro Park provides a peaceful haven in the middle of Madrid, complete with history and beautiful architecture and fountains. There’s a large pond, the Estanque, with rentable rowboats and sometimes, mostly on warm weekends, there are puppet shows for kids, fortunetellers and performers. Enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee at one of the cafés and if you’re lucky, you may hear a musician’s tune filling the natural surroundings.

Plaza Monumental de Las Ventas
Alcalá, 237
28028 Madrid
34 (0) 91 356 22 00
If you happen to be in Madrid during bullfighting season, March to October, seeing a fight is truly an experience of Spanish tradition. While it might be too gory for children, parents and older children can certainly cheer on the toreros as they put on a dangerous and captivating show. If you feel that a bullfight might be too graphic for your kids, they can still take a Tauro Tour and learn all about the history of this tradition and see the world’s most famous bullring. The tour starts outside the stadium and continues inside, even allowing the visitors to stand in the main ring. Tours occur Tuesdays through Sundays all year long.

Cafe de Chinitas
Torija, 7
34 (0) 91 547 15 02
Even though this is a restaurant; the main reason to go to Chinitas isn’t the food (although the desserts are terrific). Rather, it’s the authentic flamenco that draws real crowds, both local and tourist. The shows don’t usually start until after 9 pm, but experiencing real Spanish culture through the art of dance will make the late hour worth it.

If you're not sure what you want to see, the tourist office, Centro de Turismo de Madrid (34 (0) 91 588 16 36) publishes many brochures defining thematic walks through this beautiful city, and offers 43 Discover Madrid guided walking tours, of which 11 are in English, 8 are geared to the hearing and sight impaired visitor and 2 are designed for the mobility impaired. Distances are generally shorter than they seem because there is so much distraction along every route. One highlight is the famous plazas or squares often defined by a central sculpture done by a noted artist. At the Plaza de Cibeles, cars circle an enormous marble fountain topped by a sculpture of the goddess Cibeles in a chariot pulled by lions, designed by Ventura Rodriguez and executed by several sculptors.