The Best Things to Do in Madrid with Kids*

Picking the right destination can be hard, it needs to be one that encompasses all members of the family, it’s no good going on holiday if it just feels like work. Madrid has some glorious destinations for adults and children alike, it’s not all just pop up history books, there is plenty for the young ones to do whilst you glimpse at some beautiful architecture during your many hours of chasing after them.

1 El Retiro Park, is a great place to smooth into the holiday. The park covers over 125,000 hectares of land and there are more than 15,000 trees, see if the kids can count them all! It’s not just trees and land there is also a wonderfully large lake with boat hire, great to take the kids out into the middle and try out your 18th century Gothic Spanish poetry on them.

2 Tetratalia, kicking off in March is this festival of theatre for Children and Young people. There are puppet shows, magic shows, theatre and shadow theatre to name a few. This festival attracts performers from all over the world so no need to make your little ones learn Spanish before they arrive, besides if the show is good then you should be able to understand it in any language.

3 Natural Science Museum, here is a museum that was established in 1771 and holds a collection of animals, skeletal and taxidermy, that will keep them busy for hours. Fun game to play is to get them to find the oldest object in the whole museum, whilst you wait in the café sipping on coffee and chowing down cake, alternatively follow them and educate the child in you, we don’t know everything.

4 Zoo Aquarium, you’ve seen the dead ones now see the live ones, the array of beasts and creatures that play about in these habitats is extensive. There are Rock Wallabies and Koalas, the Koalas are the first of their kind to be on show in this part of the world, don’t stay on land though go underwater and see the sharks, groupers and other fish they have on display.

5 Mercado de San Miguel, take a guided food tour around this everyday market, there’s plenty to taste inside and the plates are small and reasonable, great way to feed hungry monsters.

Madrid is a very busy city and rather large as well, if you are planning on bringing the whole family then consider the benefit of having a car to take you back to the hotel for a siesta in the afternoon, when everything is closed. To get yourself a great deal head over to enjoycarhire.com and compare your life away till you find the best deal.