One week in Madrid...thoughts?

i toured the bull ring last December. It was interesting behind the scenes look with audio. There is a museum attached with all the different matador costumes and a virtual reality bull fight game there that your boys might like. And I think you have time for Toledo with 7 days.

What is most noticeably missing from your itinerary is a visit to the great Prado Museum, one of the top 5 art museums in the world. I see you will be visiting Reina Sofía, but the Prado is on the next level. It would be a shame to miss it, it's like going to Paris for the first time and not going to the Louvre Museum. I would recommend you dedicate at least half of your open Thursday to seeing the Prado. I think your children will find the fantastical paintings of Goya and intricate paintings of Brueghel and Bosch of interest.

We can add the Prado. I was afraid of museum overload, but we can limit ourselves to three hours or so.

Of course, one cannot see all of the Prado Museum in just one day. I was there for 5 hours and I only really saw 1/4th of their collection. Here's an interesting article from Devour Madrid (I think you are taking a food tour with them too?): The Prado Museum in Under Two Hours: What to See When You’re Short on Time

Devour Madrid also seems to have a Prado tour, maybe it's worth checking out too?: https://madridfoodtour.com/tours/tour/behind-scenes-botin-lunch-prado-museum/

The Prado appears to have a self guided tour for kids. I'll try and grab a copy of that. The devour food tour that includes the Prado doesn't list itself as one of their family friendly tours. We will stick with the three hour, kid approved tour.

The Prado must be within spitting distance of your apartment so I'd agree it's worth going. Even though I've no great interest in arty things, it was worth an hour or so. They offer (or did) a "best of" leaflet that takes about an hour and some of the pictures are pretty good. These might be the ones in the kid's tour? There was Triumph of Death and Garden of Earthly Delights which, I think, would both appeal to children as they're properly graphic. There is a lot of boring stuff too, of course, so you're wise to be selective.

With the time you have, I think you can include a day trip to Toledo, as well as the one to Segovia. I'd also consider a third to Avila - it gets short shrift from some, but I think the walls are great and worth it for the views to and from them. Plus there is other stuff inside like the cathedral, market square and lots of higgledy-piggledy streets and basilica outside. I wouldn't cancel Segovia or Toledo to see Avila, but you have time for each of them. Incidentally, Madrid basilica S. Fransisco is also worth visiting (note this is different to the cathedral).

There is a planetarium in Madrid. I don't know how good it is compared to others. Nevertheless, I'd put it before going on a cruelty tour at a bull ring.

You have a fairly full itinerary, but I would pencil in Cordoba as a possible option in case you want to change some activities once you’re there. You could take the fast train there in the morning and have all afternoon to see The Mezquita, charming old town, walk the bridge, etc.

You should easily be able to see the Royal Palace your first full day.

Toledo is a wonderful smaller town!

I think the interior of the Temple of Debod is still closed, but verify its status once you get to Madrid.

FWIW, the Prado offers free admission at the end of the day
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/visit-the-museum

FREE ADMISSION
From Monday to Saturday
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Sundays and holidays
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.

The Royal Palace has an Armoury Collection which I am sure your boys would enjoy.

The Naval Museum is mostly about the golden age of exploration. Though the explanations are mostly in Spanish, there are full and scale models to see. Take your passports for entry (it's run by the Navy).

I'd leave Segovia for a last-minute decision. I had planned to go, but the forecast was for snow there so I opted to stay in Madrid, where there was just rain. I loved Toledo. February is a good time to visit because there aren't a lot of tourists.

The HOHO bus routes are good and there's a separate commentary in English for kids - it's a lot more interesting than the very dry one for adults.

Choose an art museum for what you most want to see. My favorite is the Thyssen and I still haven't been to the Reina Sofia.

Visit the San Miguel market for lunch or supper at least once. Note that typical dinner time in Spain doesn't begin before 9.30.

The bull ring is an excellent suggestion, undoubtedly best on a sunny day.

Remain flexible. It most likely doesn’t matter which day you see what, as long as you see it. If you wake up and decide you really don’t feel like visiting A, do something else on your list, and come back to A, later. Keep a list of additional places to see if you find you have time to visit them while in that part of town.

With a week in Madrid, flexibility is key and you can afford to relax and not rush.

Just an FYI, on Saturdays and Sundays around noon right inside Retiro Park, there is a children's puppet show. It's in Spanish but you can generally get the gist of the story. You might want to go to the park on the weekend.

Secondly, I've taken the Teleferico and I would recommend it only if you've done everything else on your list. There's not much to see on the ride and there's not much in the park at the destination, though there is a playground. Plus there are no descriptions of what you are seeing down below.

I would go to Segovia on a weekday when it is less crowded, February weekday should be a good time to visit. How about taking the kids to El Rastro, the huge flea market? You will want to leave valuables at home and watch your pockets but the kids might find it fun to see all the stalls.

I was in Spain in November. I was actually surprised that some cities including Segovia and Toledo were what I felt was crowded. I enjoyed Segovia very much. I purchased my tickets a day in advance. I don't think I'd purchase last minute, it appeared that at the end of the day the trains were full. Same with Toledo. Those trains definitely do sell out especially at the end of the day. I would put both Segovia and Toledo very high on your list for your trip. They have so much more history and culture than Madrid with the exception of Madrid's art museums. My suggestion for Toledo would be to arrive early if you'd like some moments of peace. I went to Toledo via train. We took a taxi up to the old town. The next day we took a taxi to get us across the river for views of the old town. Had I thought ahead, I would have had the taxi take us to the river viewpoints before taking us to the old town. Using a taxi for the viewpoints was so much more cost effective than the tourist buses. I've heard there also is a bus that runs from Madrid to Toledo. The bus station is close to an escalator that takes you to the old town which would avoid the need for a taxi. If you go to Toledo, the cathedral would be a don't miss for quite a few reasons. We did the option climb to the tower and the views were spectacular. Regarding Madrid, I walked to the royal palace in the evening and it was lit up as well as the opera house and cathedral, very pretty! I never did see Puerta del Sol in the evening before dark, but even then it was pretty and lively.

You may want to check occasionally the local newspaper. An English version is available. You might be able to take advantage of a special event you otherwise might have missed.

https://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html
especially this section. 'Spanish Way of Life' https://elpais.com/agr/spanish_way_of_life/a/
some interesting articles:
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/01/31/album/1548935228_649989.html
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/01/17/inenglish/1547715146_903222.html
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/01/30/inenglish/1548839621_812159.html

I had an apartment near the CaixaForum as well. It is a great area. One street might be a little noisy (Almaden), as the late night tapas bars are on it, but hopefully that isn't your street. I should just mention that when I was there mid Nov 2017, several homeless were on the heating vents by the Caixa across from the handy Carrefour Express grocery store. Only place I saw homeless in Spain was in Madrid.
I haven't travelled with kids for eons, but it is a handy place to be.
There is a little bakery shop just up from the Carrefour - Motteau Pasteleria - on Gobernador. If they are desperate for home food, there is a McDonalds just across from Atocha station.

I would add the day trip to Toledo. I think the boys would enjoy it.

A couple of addition thoughts. Be prepared for cool to cold weather. Madrid is the highest capitol in Europe. It actually snowed light on us during an early March visit a few years ago. Many restaurants don't open till abut 7.30/8 pm. And the 2-4 afternoon nap is common. Avoid the free hours at the museum. The locals enjoy a good deal as much or more so than tourists so the lines will be very long. Because of the aquaduct at Segovia might enjoy that more than Toledo. And the walled city, Avila, on the way to Segovia is worth some time. For these trips we used the buses as more convenient and cheaper but just as fast as the train. Because the train system in Spain is not as developed as the rest of Europe, a great bus system is in place.

Thanks for all the information! I'm okay with the weather. We are in NH. It may not be warm in Madrid, but it'll be much nicer than it is here. Getting six inches of snow tomorrow. I'm ready for 13-15 celcius.

Maria - our boys have never had McDonald's! They are looking forward to the olives in Spain.

I'm leaning towards both Segovia and Toledo....Segovia first as I think the kids will enjoy it more.