Madrid with kids

With over 30 attractions for both children and adults, the city's amusement park is one of the most popular weekend destinations for both locals and tourists. It's divided into different areas including tranquillity, nature and mechanization. In the children's area you can enjoy a leisurely boat ride through a truly 'living' jungle, get child-size thrills on a mini roller coaster, and even take a trip around the fun fair aboard a zeppelin. Thrill-seeking adults can try the famous vacuum drop on the Lanzadera shuttle, take your chances on the exciting Tornado ride, and have a go on the dizzying Máquina. In summer there are often long queues, especially for the water attractions.

The zoo and aquarium are located just a few metres from the amusement park in the Casa de Campo. You’ll see very few bars or wires here; instead the tigers, bears, lions and other wild animals are separated from the public by moats with or without water. It currently houses about 6,000 animals of 500 different species, some unique in Spain like the koala, the anteater and the panda, which is one of the stars of the zoo. Its aquarium is spectacular, and kids will have fun with the shows starring sea lions and dolphins.

This theme park on the outskirts of Madrid is where you can find all the Looney Tunes characters romping around posing for photos and signing autographs. Built with the aim of competing with other major leisure facilities including Port Aventura and Disneyland Paris, it has six dizzying roller coasters, dozens of children's attractions and some water rides, as well as numerous restaurants and shops. You’ll also find shows in its theatres, workshops and, above all, lots of fun.

In this large natural area, animals, including peacocks, run around loose over most of its 14 acres. With 4 ecosystems and 13 thematic areas adapted to each species, the zoo can be visited in four or five hours, if you stop to enjoy its carefully preserved natural surroundings, lakes and ponds and exhibits, like the flight of birds of prey. The penguin enclosure is one of the most popular exhibits and is great fun for children. Another crowd-pleasing attraction is the latest animals to arrive, the Komodo dragons. The best thing about Faunia is that visitors can interact with the animals. So children can stroke sea lions and feed goats and donkeys.

Stuffed African elephants, dinosaur fossils and specimens of extinct animals – the treasures inside this museum are sure to surprise both children and adults. It’s currently divided into three zones, one on natural history, another on the Mediterranean Sea and the third a reproduction of the old Royal Cabinet of Natural History. Kids will have fun with activities specially prepared for them, like a laboratory to experiment and play with while learning, a digital gymkhana that includes an interactive tour of the museum, and a variety of educational workshops.

Being able to have a leisurely cup of coffee while the kids play and have fun in a safe space is a luxury, and special places like Cups & Kids are few and far between. Located in the Barrio de las Letras, it’s a café, a toy shop, a bookshop and a space for workshops for children of all ages. Another similar spot is Baby Deli, an organic food store, where, in addition to giving advice about food and natural, fair-trade cleaning products, they organise workshops for parents and children and have a café, a courtyard and an area full of educational toys.

A world away from the classic Barbie dolls and toy racetracks, Madrid has plenty of original crafted toy shops. One of them is El Lobo Feliz, whose motto is ‘You are what you play’. On offer here are educational toys that are long-lasting and suitable for each stage of a child’s development, including soft toys, wooden planes, puzzles, musical instruments and much more. Another shop to check out is Kamchatka Magic Toys, which sells ecologically-friendly educational toys made of wood and cloth, in addition to children's books and even furniture to decorate children’s bedrooms.

Having fun outdoors is definitely a good choice choice for children, weather permitting. Retiro Park offers a lot of possibilities for kids to have a great time, from shaking the dust off those bicycles, rollerblades and balls that you've got stored in a corner of the house, to having a boat ride on the pond located in the centre of the gardens. Also, at weekends there's a puppet theatre that always makes the kids laugh their little heads off.

Nothing like traditional kindergartens, as well as caring for kids, the play centres ('ludotecas') in Madrid also offer lots of activities and games for them to have fun in style. One of the best known is Ludoteca VeoVeo, where children learn through play. They have workshops for all ages, from infant massages for babies and fun English lessons to street dance classes for kids over five years old, always under the watchful eye of teachers and early childhood experts. Another well-known centre is Grey Elephant, in the district of La Latina. Here, children and their parents will feel at home among dozens of toys, colours, games, craft workshops and lots more.

Madrid's theatres also offer musicals and plays for kids. They are usually scheduled at weekends in the mornings and tickets are more affordable than programming for adults. The bill is constantly changing, and theatres like Cuarta Pared, La Escalera de Jacob, Teatro Sanpol and Teatro del Arte stage funny stories, magic and puppet shows, and songs. It’s a good way to spend a morning with family and make the theatre more approachable to children in a fun way. Note that most performances are in Spanish.