What to do in Madrid when it rains: museums, markets and indoor visits

Planning a rainy day

The first reflex is to group your visits: the three great museums of the Paseo del Arte are less than ten minutes' walk from one another, and the Royal Palace stands next to the Galería de las Colecciones Reales. Between the two areas, the metro saves you crossing the centre in a downpour: line 2 links Ópera, near the Royal Palace, with Banco de España, near the Prado and the Thyssen.

Two precautions avoid unpleasant surprises. Check each place's closing day: the Reina Sofía Museum closes on Tuesdays, the Academy of San Fernando on Mondays and throughout August, the Temple of Debod on Mondays. And book online whenever possible: on a rainy day, everyone has the same idea, and the queues at the ticket desks grow from late morning.

The great museums of the Paseo del Arte

The Paseo del Prado brings together three great painting museums and an exhibition centre, enough to fill a whole day under cover.

The Prado Museum

The Prado Museum, calle Ruiz de Alarcón 23, is the most obvious option: allow at least three hours for Velázquez, Goya, El Greco and Hieronymus Bosch. It opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 8pm and on Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 7pm; admission costs €15. The collection is free for everyone Monday to Saturday from 6pm to 8pm and on Sunday from 5pm to 7pm, but a queue forms well before these slots: in wet weather, buy a timed ticket online instead.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Opposite the Neptune fountain, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum traces the history of painting from the Italian primitives to pop art. From October to June, it opens Tuesday to Friday and on Sunday from 10am to 7pm, on Saturday from 10am to 11pm and on Monday from 12pm to 4pm; a ticket costs €14. On Mondays, from 12pm to 4pm, admission is free: the most useful option on a rainy Monday, when other places are closed.

The Reina Sofía Museum

The Reina Sofía Museum, calle Santa Isabel 52 near Atocha station, displays Picasso's Guernica, as well as Dalí and Miró. It opens on Monday and Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 9pm, on Sunday from 10am to 2:30pm, and closes on Tuesday; a ticket costs €12. Admission is free Monday to Saturday (except Tuesday) from 7pm to 9pm and on Sunday from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, with an online booking. If you already have a ticket, the museum recommends entering through the Nouvel building, on the ronda de Atocha, which is covered.

CaixaForum and CentroCentro

Between the Prado and the Reina Sofía, CaixaForum, Paseo del Prado 36, presents temporary exhibitions on art, history and science, every day from 10am to 8pm, for €6 general admission. Further north, the Cibeles Palace, the city hall, houses the CentroCentro cultural centre, whose exhibitions are free unless otherwise stated, Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 8pm. Its viewpoint, at €4, is in the open air: keep it for a sunny spell.

The Royal Palace and the Galería de las Colecciones Reales

The Royal Palace, calle de Bailén (metro Ópera), is visited almost entirely indoors: state rooms, throne room, royal chapel, pharmacy and armoury. From October to March, it opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 10am to 4pm, with the ticket desks closing one hour earlier; from April to September, it closes at 7pm on weekdays. The self-guided visit costs €18 (€9 reduced). Only the Armoury Square, between the palace and the cathedral, means crossing an open esplanade.

Right next door, the Galería de las Colecciones Reales, opened in 2023, displays on several levels, dug into the slope below the palace, the paintings, tapestries, armour and carriages of the Crown collections. It opens Monday to Saturday from 10am to 8pm and on Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 7pm; admission costs €14 (€7 reduced). Patrimonio Nacional estimates the visit at two hours. At both sites, admission is free Monday to Thursday in the late afternoon, notably for European Union citizens and residents: from 4pm to 6pm in winter at the Royal Palace, from 6pm to 8pm at the Galería, where these tickets are only available at the ticket desk.

Short visits under cover

Between two showers, these smaller places can be strung together without devoting a whole day.

The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando

A short walk from the Puerta del Sol, the Academy of San Fernando, calle de Alcalá 13, holds 13 paintings by Goya and works by Zurbarán, Rubens and Murillo. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 3pm and closes in August; admission costs €10, and the permanent collection is free Tuesday to Friday, except public holidays, from 1:30pm to 3pm. Allow an hour to an hour and a half. Since 2 May 2026, the second floor has been closed until further notice.

Inside the Temple of Debod

The Temple of Debod, calle de Ferraz 1 (metro Plaza de España or Ventura Rodríguez), is famous for its sunset, but its interior can also be visited: the rooms of the Egyptian sanctuary, given to Spain by Egypt, retain bas-reliefs. Admission is free, Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 10am to 8pm, last entry at 7:30pm (10am to 7pm from 15 June to 15 September); the temple is closed on Mondays. The room holds only 30 people at a time and the visit lasts about 30 minutes: book through the city council's booking service, which opens on the 15th of each month for the following month, as entry without a booking is not guaranteed. Do not count on the site beyond the visit on a day of showers: the esplanade and the pool are in the open.

Lope de Vega's house museum

In the Literary Quarter, the Casa Museo Lope de Vega, calle de Cervantes 11, shows a Golden Age house in a free 35-minute guided tour, Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Groups are limited to 15 people and booking by phone or email is compulsory: call in the morning if rain is forecast.

Eating in the dry: covered markets and chocolate

The San Miguel market

Under its iron and glass hall, at the corner of the Plaza Mayor, the San Miguel market gathers more than twenty counters of tapas, ham, seafood and wine. Entry is free, Sunday to Thursday from 10am to midnight and on Friday, Saturday and the eves of holidays until 1am. In wet weather it fills up quickly between 1pm and 3pm: come before noon or in mid-afternoon.

The San Antón market

In the Chueca district, the San Antón market, calle de Augusto Figueroa 24, is less touristy. The ground floor keeps its fresh-produce stalls, open Monday to Saturday from 9:30am to 9:30pm; upstairs, some twenty food counters open every day from 12pm to midnight, and a restaurant with a terrace occupies the top level. Hours vary from stall to stall.

San Ginés chocolate

Founded in 1894 in the San Ginés passage (Pasadizo de San Ginés 5), between the Puerta del Sol and Ópera, the chocolatería San Ginés serves the thick hot chocolate and churros that Madrid is known for, in a room with marble tables. Its official website announces that it is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The queue mostly builds up in the evening and at weekends; in mid-afternoon, it moves faster.

What is better kept for fine weather

• Retiro Park. Most of Retiro Park is open-air, and some areas, or even the whole park, may close during a weather alert. The Crystal Palace, often cited as a refuge, is a glass greenhouse closed for works at the time of writing; only the Velázquez Palace, free of charge, hosts exhibitions indoors, provided you cross the park to reach it.
• The Rastro. The Sunday flea market, around the Ribera de Curtidores, is held entirely in the open air and loses much of its appeal in the rain. See our page on the Rastro.
• Viewpoints. The Cibeles Palace viewpoint and the esplanade of the Temple of Debod are only worthwhile in clear weather.
• The terraces of the Plaza Mayor. The arcades offer some shelter, but the terraces are among the most expensive in the centre.

Summary of indoor visits

Prices noted in October 2026. Free slots apply to the permanent collections; temporary exhibitions may still be charged.

Further reading

To make the most of the free slots beyond a rainy day, our free Madrid guide brings them all together. If the sun comes back, pick up the itinerary of a weekend in Madrid, and see our guide to getting around Madrid to travel by metro between two museums.