Madrid with Kids: Parks, Zoo, Museums and Family Activities

Planning a trip to Madrid with kids

The historic centre is easy to explore on foot, but children's favourite outings are spread out: the zoo and the amusement park in Casa de Campo to the west, Faunia to the east, the natural science museum to the north. Plan one big outing per day, topped up with a park or a short visit near your accommodation. To choose a family-friendly area, see our guide on where to stay in Madrid.

Three habits make the trip easier:

• Buy online. At the zoo, the amusement park and Faunia, the gap between the online price and the ticket-office price is often more than €10 per person.
• Check the ages. The rules change from place to place: free under 18 at the Prado, under 5 at the Royal Palace, under 3 at the zoo, and by height, under 1 m, at the amusement park.
• Shift your day. Madrid locals have lunch around 2 pm and rarely dine before 9 pm. With young children, aim for when restaurants open, at 1 pm and around 8:30 pm, while the dining rooms are still quiet.

The parks: Retiro, Casa de Campo and Madrid Río

Retiro Park and its puppets

Retiro Park is the playground of families in the centre: free, open every day from 6 am, with playgrounds, wide paths for scooters and, on the Great Pond, rowing boats for hire. Hire costs €6 per boat on weekdays and €8 at weekends and on public holidays, for 45 minutes and up to 4 people.

On Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 pm, the Teatro de Títeres del Retiro, an open-air puppet theatre near the avenida de México, puts on free shows by Spanish and international companies. Entry is free but booking is required: seats are released online every Friday at 10 am, up to four per person, and every child needs their own ticket, whatever their age. Shows may be cancelled in bad weather.

Casa de Campo

The large park to the west, Casa de Campo, brings together the lake and its rowing boats (€6 on weekdays, €8 at weekends), pine woods for picnics, the zoo and the amusement park. The cable car that linked it to the Paseo del Pintor Rosales is closed for renovation, with reopening announced by the city council for 2027: don't promise it to the children.

Madrid Río

Along the Manzanares, Madrid Río lines up more than 6 kilometres of playgrounds, cycle paths and, in summer, an urban "beach" made of pools with water jets and mist sprayers, without sand. It is the best free outing for a hot afternoon, and pairs well with the Railway Museum, a quarter of an hour's walk from the Matadero cultural centre.

Animals: the zoo and Faunia

Zoo Aquarium de Madrid

Set in Casa de Campo, the Zoo Aquarium de Madrid shows animals from five continents, including giant pandas, koalas, elephants and monk seals, as well as an aquarium. Sea lion presentations take place at 12 pm and 5:30 pm on weekdays, and at 12 pm, 2 pm and 6 pm at weekends; birds of prey at 1 pm and 4:30 pm on weekdays, and at 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm and 5 pm at weekends.

The zoo opens at 11 am; closing time changes with the season and the day, and the ticket offices close one hour earlier. Online, entry costs €19.90 for ages 8 to 64 and €16.90 for ages 3 to 7; at the ticket office, €29.50 and €23.90. It is free for children under 3. EMT bus 33, from the Príncipe Pío interchange, stops in front of the entrance; Casa de Campo metro station (lines 5 and 10) is about 900 metres away.

Faunia

On the east side of the city, Faunia is a nature theme park organised into ecosystems: tropical forest, polar regions, jungle, farm. It suits younger children, who can see the animals up close. Online, entry costs €16.90 for every category, and it is free for children under 1 m; at the ticket office, prices are much higher. A combined ticket with the zoo costs €39.90. Getting there: Valdebernardo metro (line 9) or EMT bus 71 from the plaza de Manuel Becerra.

Thrills: the Parque de Atracciones

The Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, in Casa de Campo, has four themed areas, including a Nickelodeon area with gentle rides for little ones, featuring PAW Patrol. The price depends on height: from €23.90 online for visitors over 140 cm as well as for children from 100 to 140 cm, compared with €44.90 and €35.90 at the ticket office; entry is free for children under 1 m. Outside summer the park does not open every day and its hours change by date: check its calendar before you go. Since late September it has been running its Halloween season. Batán metro (line 10) stops 50 metres from the entrance.

Museums children enjoy

The Natural Science Museum

North of the centre, the National Museum of Natural Sciences is the favourite museum of Madrid families: dinosaur skeletons, including a replica of a diplodocus, a fossil giant sloth, a stuffed elephant and a 21-metre fin whale skeleton. Entry costs €7, €3.50 for ages 4 to 18, and it is free for children under 4. It opens Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm and at weekends from 10 am to 8 pm. Metro Gregorio Marañón (lines 7 and 10).

The Railway Museum

The Museo del Ferrocarril occupies Delicias station, opened in 1880, at Paseo de las Delicias 61 (Delicias metro, line 3). Under the great iron train shed, children get close to steam, diesel and electric locomotives. From October to May it opens Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 3 pm, on Saturdays and public holidays from 10 am to 7 pm and on Sundays from 10 am to 3 pm; from June to September, every day from 10 am to 3 pm. Entry costs €7, €4 for ages 4 to 12, and it is free for children under 4.

The Wax Museum

On the plaza de Colón, the Madrid Wax Museum entertains children with its figures from film, sport and history. Allow €19 per adult on weekdays and €14 for ages 4 to 12; a family ticket for two adults and two children costs €58. It opens every day from 11 am.

The great art museums, in a short version

At the Prado Museum, entry is free for under-18s. With children, keep it to an hour and a few works chosen in advance: Velázquez's Las Meninas, Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, full of strange creatures, and Goya's paintings. At the Royal Palace, the Royal Armoury and the armour of the kings of Spain often appeal more than the state rooms; the ticket costs €9 for ages 5 to 16 and it is free under 5.

Young football fans won't want to miss the Santiago Bernabéu stadium: the Tour Bernabéu is self-paced, but children pay from age 5, and pushchairs cannot be left in a cloakroom.

Practical tips for families

Transport and pushchairs

On the metro, EMT buses and Cercanías trains, children under 4 travel free, without a ticket. Above that age they pay like adults, except children aged 4 to 6 who live in Spain and hold the free children's card, issued on application. The Multi card loaded with a 10-trip pass can be shared between several travellers: see our guide to public transport in Madrid. Not every metro station has lifts; with a pushchair, the bus is often simpler.

Meals and snacks

Madrid restaurants readily welcome children, and many offer a menú del día at lunchtime on weekdays. For an afternoon snack, the thick hot chocolate and churros of the chocolatería San Ginés, open day and night near the Puerta del Sol, are a must. For typical dishes and covered markets, see our guide on where to eat in Madrid.

Heat and rain

In July and August, the afternoon heat often exceeds 35 °C: keep outdoor outings for the morning and evening, and museums for the middle of the day. On rainy days, the Natural Science Museum, the Railway Museum and the Wax Museum are safe bets; more ideas in what to do in Madrid when it rains.

Summary of family activities

Prices observed in October 2026. Online prices for the zoo, Faunia and the amusement park vary with the date chosen.

Further reading

To keep costs down, our guide to free Madrid brings together the parks and the museums' free time slots. If you are only staying two days, the itinerary for a weekend in Madrid adapts easily to a family pace, and our guide to the budget for a trip to Madrid helps estimate the cost of your stay.