Madrid · With kids

Madrid with kids: things to do

By Ramya ChinnaduraiPublished 13 October 2026Updated 13 October 2026

Open the zoo calendar before you promise Casa de Campo. The official prices page for 13 October 2026 showed the park closed that day, hours are date-specific, and last entry is one hour before closing. The rest of this shortlist still works if you swap the animals for the palace.

Prices and hours were read from official pages on 13 October 2026. The copied zone A table listed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 days; any other duration is omitted.

Zone A for a week, or a 2.50 Multi

The Tourist Travel Pass for zone A, for ages 12 and over, was listed at 10.30 euros for 1 day, 17.50 for 2 days, 23.10 for 3 days, 27.80 for 4 days, 33.40 for 5 days and 43.20 for 7 days. Zone T costs more; that higher table is not copied here. Under 11s pay 50 percent of the zone A prices. Under 4s travel free on metro and bus. Under 6s travel free on Cercanías. Zone A already includes the airport supplement.

If you will ride every day, including line 8 to Terminal 4, the pass is the simpler product. If you will walk the centre and take a few metro hops, buy a Tarjeta Multi at 2.50 euros and load zone A singles at 1.50 to 2.00 euros, a range that holds until 31 December 2026.

Metro trains generally run 06:00 to 01:30. Line 8 takes about 20 minutes from Nuevos Ministerios to Terminal 4. That 20 minutes is why a family landing after bedtime still needs a ticket plan before the bags come off the belt.

Under 4s ride free. A 4-year-old does not. Do not argue at the gate with a tourist-blog sentence.

Casa de Campo only on a day the calendar agrees

Zoo Aquarium Madrid sits in Casa de Campo and lists more than 3000 animals. The metro stop is Casa de Campo on lines 5 and 10. General tickets for ages 8 to 64 started at 19.90 euros online or 29.50 euros at the desk. Child tickets for ages 3 to 7 started at 16.90 euros online or 23.90 euros at the desk. Under 3s enter free. Stroller hire was 8 euros plus a 10 euro deposit.

Last entry is one hour before closing. Hours change by date. The 13 October 2026 page showed the zoo closed that day. Treat the calendar as part of the ticket, not as a footnote. If the day is closed, keep the palace and a park, and move the animals.

The desk price is the one you pay if you arrive without a booking. The online "from" price is the one you lock the night before. Do not quote a third figure from a hotel leaflet.

The palace as a short indoor hour

Royal Palace of Madrid listed self-guided entry at 18 euros, 9 euros reduced for ages 5 to 16, and free under 5. Combined with the collections those tickets were 24 euros, 12 euros and free. In winter, October to March, it opens Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 16:00, and last entry is one hour before closing. It is closed on 1 January, 6 January, 1 May and 25 December.

Walk one route and leave. The combined ticket is for a household that already wants the collections, not for a five-year-old who is already tired. Under 5s still need the booking even when the price is zero.

Sunday in winter ends at 16:00. That is the day you go in at 10:00 or you pick another hall.

Under-4s, under-6s and the airport supplement

Keep the three free bands separate. Under 4s: metro and bus, no ticket. Under 6s: Cercanías, no ticket. Under 11s: half the Tourist Travel Pass, still a ticket. Ages 12 and over: the full zone A table.

The airport supplement is already inside zone A on the Tourist Travel Pass. It is not automatically inside a loaded Multi single. If you land at Terminal 4 with a pass, ride line 8. If you land with a Multi, read the live fare page for the airport extra before you tap.

Two days that stay in one zone

A first stretch that does not fight the map:

• Day one: palace in the morning on a day it is open, last entry one hour before close, then a walk and an early supper. Skip a second interior.
• Day two: only if the zoo calendar is open, metro to Casa de Campo on line 5 or 10, online tickets (16.90 for ages 3 to 7, 19.90 from age 8), last entry one hour before close.

Closed palace dates: 1 January, 6 January, 1 May, 25 December. Metro from 06:00 to 01:30 is not a reason to stay out. Zone T is a different pass; if you leave zone A, check that table rather than hoping.

Madrid with children is a pass table, a calendar at Casa de Campo and one palace hour. It is not every royal room and a zoo you did not confirm was open.

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