Madrid Card - To buy in Madrid or Online?

Are you sure you even need to buy it at all?
I have been to Madrid several times but have never used the Madrid Card, so I am not sure what it covers. But I have either used or evaluated several "city" cards in other places, and have found them to be of little to no value. You need to do the math to determine whether you will save money with it. Look at the entry prices of the things you want to use it for, then consider the time you will want to spend at those places, and whether they will fit into the time frame that you have. For example, when I had a Spanish friend visit here, we looked at the Chicago card because we were going to spend a couple of days there. It covers a lot of well-known and lesser known activities, but within the time limit of the card we realized that we could really only do three things adequately. We ended up just paying the admission to those three things. It doesn't do you a lot of good to have access to 20 things with only time to do 3.
The only advantage there would be to buying online would be if there is a discount for doing so, but it would be negligible, given the hassle of not having time to have it mailed.

I will be in Madrid for 3 and a half days. It will save me some money, but mostly, the card let's me skip lines. Therefore, I want to buy it. My dilema is not knowing if buying ahead of time will guarantee me a time slot - for a certain day. If so, then it would make sense to buy it online. Otherwise, it doesn't. Has anyone any idea how it works? Thanks,
Andrea

I have been to Madrid 3 times and never bought the card. When I evaluated how I wanted to use my time, it was not worth it.

However, it appears that your main reason for the card is to avoid the lines, except for the Prado, in my times there I did not experience any significant lines.
So I did buy my entry for the [Prado online][1], because they were more likely to have long lines.

Link for prado online

https://www.entradasprado.com/pradov2/individual/principal.aspx[Prado online ticket sales][1]

Haven't used the Madrid card, but I HAVE bought and used Paris Museum Pass and Florence Pass (after running the numbers) for the skip-the-line features. Those passes did NOT specify a time slot, just got me into the museums at the time I showed up without standing in the long line for tickets. Always just bought the pass in person.

Thanks to everyone who provided information. Most appreciated.
Andrea

The only line I have ever encountered in Madrid was about a five minute wait to get into the Royal Palace. I never encountered a line even at the Prado. No line at all at any other museum or location I have visited.

Take advantage of the free opening times at the museums:

Prado (Free after: 1800 Tue-Sat, 1700 Sun)
Reina Sofia (Free after: 1900 Mon-Sat, 1330 Sun)
Thyssen Bornemisza (Free: Mon 1200-1600)
Museo Sorolla (Free: Sunday, Sat after 1400)
Museo Cerralbo (Free: Sunday, Sat after 1400)
Museo Lazaro Galdiano (Free: the last hour of every day)
Museo de America (Free: Sun 1000-1500)
Real Academia de Bellas Artes (Free: Wed)

At http://www.madridcard.com/en/madrid-card under the grey tab for "How to Purchase," you can see local sales offices listed, including at Madrid Airport or at Calle Mayor.

I am in Madrid now, and you can easily buy the Madrid card here. I hope you understand that you pay for the card by the number of hours you plan to use it. Your choice is 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours or 120 hours. If you purchase the card at 3:00 PM, it is good until 3:00 pm the next day. It is a little pricey given the amount of time you get. I didn't think it was worth it, but each to their own.

You can purchase the cards at the airport, or in Plaza Mayor at the Centro De Turismo De Madrid - a kiosk with an "i" sign (tourist information)

Prices are: 47 Euros, 60, 67 and 77 Euros respectively.

I wouldn't bother buying it online, just get it when you are here.

Andrea,

I will be in Madrid for 3 and a half days. It will save me some
money,
but mostly, the card let's me skip lines.

As the others have mentioned, it's a good idea to do the math to determine if the Madrid card is a good deal for you.

When we visited Madrid a few years ago, we did not buy the Madrid card as we only visited a couple of the museums.

If you just want to skip the lines, all you need to do is buy your tickets in advance (on-line)

Here are the official websites for the 3 museums you may want to visit:

• Museo del Prado: https://www.museodelprado.es/en/ ( General admission €14, seniors €7)
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia: http://www.museoreinasofia.es./en (General admission €8 , seniors €4)
• Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza: http://www.museothyssen.org./en/thyssen/home ( General admission €9, seniors €6)

Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks to everyone who has provided information. After considering it all, I will buy the tickets online in order not to stand in line. The card is expensive if all you are using it is for the museums. Best to you all.

Andrea