Madrid with a 5yo and 2yo

[CradleCrapNap]

We haven’t done a city break since having children and am missing it. Always fancied Madrid and have tried looking on the tripadvisor forum for advice but not much help. Anyone done Madrid with little ones? The 5yo will be fine. The 2 yo is at a tough age. Wants to walk then doesn’t. Sometimes likes the pram, sometimes hates it. Needs a lot of entertaining or she is a downright pain.

Yes, it's a good place as it's a small, quiet and slow moving city in comparison to say London or Paris. There are many children who live in and visit the city.

Look for accommodation near the Parque de Retiro which is beautiful and gives both children plenty of options for walking/being pushed, playing in different areas of the park, picnics (weather permitting - and there are picnic tables near the crystal palace for public use), also a vegetable garden at the south of the park, a boating lake, musicians, magicians and entertainers, a public library, and 3 small art galleries (all free to enter...and with toilets inside).

There is a zoo in the Casa de Campo, a very short metro ride from the heart of the city. In the same park there's a theme park (Parque d'Attraciones which has a small but decent range of rides for young ones).

There are some other parks such as the Campo del Moro (with a duck pond and the occasional peacock wandering around), lots of nice places to walk. And little play areas on many street corners even right in the centre of the city. Pavements are typically wide in many parts of the city (for 'terrazas' to eat and drink) so it should not be too difficult with a push chair.

Cinema in English at Yelmo Ideal, Renoir Princesa and Renoir Retiro (all in the centre) and 'theatre' for kids in English most Sunday mornings at a venue near to Sol/Torso de Molina metro station.

You can find nice, inexpensive places to eat at all day especially in the warmer months and little children are very welcome everywhere. Your LOs will probably love all the little bakeries and ice-cream shops and trying some free tapas if you and your DP stop off for a beer or wine.

Science museum and planetarium too.

And the river area where you can walk / cycle / skate etc. for miles:
www.engelvoelkers.com/en-es/madrid/blog/the-revitalisation-of-manzanares-river-in-madrid/

(Check out Matadero de Madrid too, which is on the riverside).

Amazing, thank you! You obviously know the city well. We’re probably not going until October half term but I like to plan ahead. Hopefully the weather won’t be too cold. Are there any particular places perhaps more geared towards adults that are a must see? We might have to take turns watching the kids.

It will be cold at night but should be sunny and warm (compared to U.K. in the day time). My must see place is the Prado art gallery. It's free for the last two hours of entry so if one of you is happy to entertain the kids in the nearby Retiro park or a café or even a siesta back at your accommodation (if it's nearby) then the other can pop in for some artistic delights. The very small offshoots of the Prado in the Retiro park (Casa de las Vacas, the Crystal Palace and the Velázquez Palace), which are free to enter and totally acceptable for wandering tourists of all ages might be enough art for you. (Or let one of you go in and the other stay outside on the swings, etc. with the kids).

I'd also take the kids to see the terrapins inside Atocha station if you're in that area.

Most of Madrid is kid friendly so apart from the more serious, big museums and galleries, they're welcome anywhere. I'd also check out the Madrid Caixa Forum to see what's on during your visit. It's a cool arts centre with various visiting exhibitions of all different kinds, some kid-friendly, and all very cheap. They do tend to be popular though so if you see something you like make sure you book online in advance.

We took our DTs when they were 3.5 and had a good time but it wasn't the easiest city with kids.

We stayed in apartments that were very central - 60 Urban Balconies (I think) and they were great.

We went to Retiro a few times - really beautiful and plenty of bits to explore. I took the kids boating on the lake (while DH went to see Real Madrid!) and they do have life jackets if you ask!

We did manage a few hours in the Prado - plan what you want to see and you should be able to nurse the kids around for a bit! The Reina Sofia has some late evening openings so I went there one evening while DH put the kids to bed. They also have free entry on either a Sunday or Monday and I managed to go at that time so that worked well.

We did the open top bus tour which was great. Also enjoyed the Royal Palace. There is also a cable car trip you can do and there is also a viewing tower to go up. Can't remember the names of the last two things but should be relatively easy to google.

There is a nice park kind of behind the royal palace - that might be one of the ones mentioned above - and there are lots of little playgrounds dotted across the city.

We also did the Caixa Forum and there were couple of good interactive art things to do with the kids. The restaurant at the top of the Forum was also really nice - very quiet when we went and I remember the kids enjoying what they chose.

We also had a wonder around the main Mercado - I can't remember what it's called, sorry. And we had churros and bowls of hot chocolate as the very famous churros place (will try to hunt out name!) which we enjoyed even if terrible tourist trap!

I think food/drink were the most challenging thing. Mainly, perhaps, because my image of Madrid is spending the evening sat eating tapas and drinking and that doesn't really happen with kids!! Many places didn't do evening food until 7pm which was a bit late for our two at the time so we had nice lunches and self-catered dinner at our apartment which worked well enough.

Chocolateria San Gines was the churros place. Was very busy but queue moves quickly and we got sat down.

Reading other posts, probably also worth mentioning we were there in Feb so a bit chilly and maybe that affected our enjoyment. We went on to Lisbon and I definitely preferred that more with the kids but maybe that's because it was sunnier!

Thanks Teds. Lisbon is also on my to do list. Even more so since my friend went on honeymoon there. What would you suggest there?

The little park behind the palace is the Campo del Moro.

The cable car is called Teléferico de Casa de Campo.

There are many places for chocolate and churros; the main times of the day to eat them are for breakfast or merienda (afternoon snack - around 5pm).

There are quite a few places that serve food all day, if you want an early dinner, e.g. the local La Mucca chain.

Not sure which market the previous poster was referring but they tend to be quite crowded and I wouldn't imagine they're much fun for kids. Mercado San Miguel is off of Plaza Mayor, and very touristy. Mercado San Antón is in the Chueca district and worth a quick mooch if you're passing when it's quiet (e.g. weekday before 8pm, or at the weekend between mealtimes). San Idelfonso near metro Tribunal would be suitable for a coffee or drink if you go at a quiet time of day; your kids will probably like the little terrace on the first floor. Also when it's quiet you can do a loop of the food stalls and enjoy some free samples. There are some other markets but as I said I'm not sure they're that much fun with kids, pushchair, etc.

Also worth saying, watch out for pickpockets, especially in crowded places, very touristy places (like chocolatería San Ginés or Mercado San Miguel), and on the metro or other public transport / stations / bus stops. Wear a cross body bag with the zip facing inwards. Never put any valuables in pockets or leave on a table etc. e.g. your phone while you're eating. Backpacks should only contain drinks, snacks, suncream, etc...no valuables.