Madrid – The Perfect City Break for the Whole Family

Why Madrid is the perfect city break for the whole family and what you can experience here, I'll show you in the following post. Maybe there are a few inspirations that will help you plan your ease your next vacation.

Since it's cloudy on Ibiza in the morning anyway, we're looking forward to our city trip to Madrid. The flight from Ibiza only takes an hour, which is shorter than the train from Valencia. Therefore, we're taking this opportunity and heading to the capital.

Even the approach to Madrid Airport offers a beautiful view of a landscape unlike anything you'd find in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). The alternating green, brown, and grayish farmland looks a bit otherworldly. You can clearly see who's been conserving water 🙂
From the airport, there is a direct bus to Madrid Atocha main station. Anticipating our trip home by train, we are staying in a hotel right at the station. This simplifies departure.

But first, we're here to see the city. So, right after checking in, we're heading into town. We'll make one tiny stop at the laundromat because we really don't have any clothes left. Dad even has to wear Bermuda shorts to breakfast. No big deal, in 45 minutes all the clothes will be washed and dried, and we're off.

We decided not to get to know the Metro system in Madrid, but rather to walk… and walk… and walk.
This is especially great here because it reminds me of home, as Madrid isn't completely flat compared to Valencia. There are always nice uphill and downhill stretches. This brings variety and is even fun.

Palace

We walk past the opera house in Madrid to the Royal Palace. There is a beautiful, green forecourt with a garden and fountain. Since the weather is excellent, we enjoy the many great shady spots here. There's a large playground for the kids. Since we travel a lot, this is extremely important to us, and we always look out for play or sleeping options for the kids. Especially when we are traveling in cities. So now we play extensively, and it's also noticeable here that there are exclusively tourists on the playground. There are no local children, just like in Valencia. Where are they hiding? In Valencia, you can set your watch by it. The children come out punctually at 8 PM and play in the street. Then, when ours go to bed :)
Ah, the Royal Palace... exactly. This is where the royals live. We're enjoying the peace and quiet here, visiting the palace not and we're heading to Gran Via, the shopping street.

Gran Via

The Gran Via is Madrid's most famous street, the main artery, so to speak. It's not exactly recommended for shopping, as it mostly features chain stores you can find in any major city. However, it's all the more impressive to admire the many grand buildings. A stroll down the Gran Via is definitely a must-do. You'll also see the famous Schweppes sign on this street, which you might recognize from movies.
The smaller alleys leading off Gran Via are better suited for shopping. Madrid is quite fair in terms of price. If you don't eat at the hotspots, you can live here well on a small budget.

Puerta del Sol

The Gate of the Sun. A beautiful place to linger, but also quite busy. This plaza is also known as Kilometer 0, as the Spanish road system is calculated from here. The New Year's Eve celebrations take place here. In Spain, it's a tradition to eat a grape with each chime of the clock. A total of 12. I remember New Year's on Fuerteventura, where we did this once.
From here, you can quickly get to the Plaza Mayor.

Plaza Mayor

The Plaza Mayor is, so to speak, a courtyard and also the main square of Madrid, as the name suggests. There are many small restaurants and shops here. What's striking is the many coin and stamp shops located here. We only walk across it briefly because work is underway for some kind of festival. We can't walk across the square itself, but the view of the surrounding buildings is great.
The square itself has a centuries-old history, as it was the scene of coronations, cockfights, and even beheadings. We don't ask what the big stage is being set up for and keep walking 🙂

Mercado de San Miguel

On our second day, we head to the market. Just west of Plaza Mayor lies the market hall. We buy delicious treats and have a leisurely lunch. The market hall itself is more of a collection of gourmet tapas stands. You won't find the typical vegetable, fruit, fish, and meat vendors here, but rather eateries. A visit to the market hall is definitely worthwhile. Especially since it's very centrally located and therefore easily accessible on foot.

Temple of Debod

To this day, I don't know how we found this beautiful park, but luck was on our side. The park itself is located near the Plaza de España. In addition to some playgrounds, there's an Egyptian temple complex here, which was moved piece by piece from Egypt to Madrid via Valencia in the 70s. True story!
We are enjoying the view from up here, where you have a great panoramic view.

Retiro Park

The third and, in a way, last day in Madrid is dedicated to our kids. After all, it's the perfect city trip for the whole family. So, we spend the entire day in El Retiro Park. What might sound like lounging around and lying on the grass was actually a beautiful walk through a huge park. Originally, the park was built to offer the royals a place to relax. Today, there's a rose garden, a botanical garden, and even a large lake where you can go pedal boating. The latter, however, costs money, so we went to the botanical garden to feed the ducks. In the Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez, as the botanical garden is called, there are also countless peacocks. We even get some good advice from a peacock 🙂 Unfortunately, this only happens because a visitor cornered the peacock. You shouldn't do that!!
We continued to one of the playgrounds. There are 11 of them in total in the park. One more beautiful than the other. Here in Madrid too, most of the playgrounds are nicely in the shade, unlike in Switzerland or Germany. That's really great and you don't have to constantly pull the kids out of the sun.

Churros with Chocolate

In the afternoon, we head back to the hotel at a very relaxed pace. On the way, we eat the best churros we've ever had. All the tourist guides recommend San Ginés for this. But I can tell you that Chocolate Cafe recommend.
The churros there are super delicious, and the chocolate sauce is especially amazing.

Then we'll grab some takeaway sushi and head back to the hotel.
Now it's time to pack again, which is quickly done since we only have one trolley with us.

Atocha Train Station

Madrid's main train station, or Estación de Puerta de Atocha, is also a must-visit. Inside, there's a fantastic rainforest where turtles live. We meet a colleague here and have breakfast together. This magnificent part of the station is a great place to relax and wait for your train.

The return trip is also totally relaxed. We're taking the Renfe back to Valencia at 300 km/h. It only takes 1.5 hours for a good 350 km.

Conclusion

We are totally positively surprised. Madrid is not a typical capital city and in fact the perfect city break for the whole family. The mix of tradition and modernity is impressive, as are the many green spaces that allow you to take the necessary distance from everyday city life. Many parks and playgrounds also ensured that there was something for everyone in the family. The almost 4 days we spent in the city were beautiful and I can only highly recommend a stay in Madrid. Speaking of highly recommended... maybe you should also visit in April, May or September, October. The summer months might be a bit warmer.