Living in a European capital is not cheap, (and less and less) so finding free plans in Madrid is sometimes necessary to survive in the city without leaving all the salary without knowing very well in what. To have the option of going out without having to consume anything in particular, something as simple as enjoy the Verde green spaces and cultural centers that the city offers free of charge.
1. Strolling along the Madrid River
Madrid Río is one of the great Verde projects in Madrid that has changed the lives of the citizens of the southern Zone of the capital. There are seven kilometers of Verde route along the manzanares riverbank who have returned the river to the people of Madrid. Especially recommended is the area that has been called the beach of Madrid Rio has large lawns, fountains and even slides and is away from the bike path area. If it is a plan with children you will not be bored here.
📍 Madrid Río
2. Culturízate at Matadero Madrid
It is one of the strongest cultural bets of the city. It is one of those places to check out the program every so often because it always has something interesting, and often free, to attend. There is literature, cinema, art, theater, music and in summer it is a pleasure to enjoy the good weather at its best open air cinema.
📍 Plaza de Legazpi, 8 (Legazpi)
3. Taking advantage of free days at major museums
Yes, almost all major museums have a free day or hours to visit them, in addition to Museum Day and other holidays when tickets are free, as on October 12. For the Reina Sofia museum, tickets are free every day from 7 pm and on Sundays from 1:30 pm. The Prado Museum: the ticket is free from Monday to Saturday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Sundays and holidays from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. You can visit the Thyssen Museum for free on Mondays during reduced hours, from noon to 4 pm.
📍 Various locations
4. The Campo del Moro gardens
Behind the Royal Palace are the gardens of Campo del Moro, one of the essential free plans of the capital. It is fenced and has only one ticket, and is only open from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. It is not usually crowded, which adds to its charm. It is one of the most bucolic parks in the city and hides the 19th century pavilions and the Queen’s Chalet, which, although they cannot be visited inside, are unusual constructions in the city.
📍 Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto, 1
5. Free temporary exhibitions
Free exhibitions in Madrid are an ideal alternative when we want to continue to broaden our horizons, but not spend money on it. Some cultural venues in the capital always have free tickets, such as the Sala Alcalá 31, or the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, or the Espacio Fundación Telefónica, among others. Also the art galleries most relevant have temporary exhibitions that are worth taking into account (even if you don’t go shopping).
📍 Various locations
6. El Capricho Park
Between spiritual retreat and history lesson, El Capricho is one of those parks you can’t miss, its sort of monopole temple, more like the landscape of a Jane Austen novel, included. The park is one of those romantic oases that greens Madrid. This stately and historic garden keeps its greatest secret in plain sight: a Civil War bunker which can be visited only at specific times of the year.
📍 Paseo Alameda de Osuna, 25 (Alameda)
7. Sitting on the shore of the lake in Casa de Campo
Among the free plans must be a classic: the Casa de Campo. In its 1,700 hectares it is easy to decide where to sit and enjoy the sun, food and flowers, but the area around the lake is ideal for picnics and you can also see the emblematic Edificio España from some points. If they are too crowded there is an area near behind the tennis courts with tables and a gazebo, surely, with less people and much more Verde.
📍 Casa de Campo
8. Royal Palace
On a stroll through Madrid de los Austrias it is easy to stumble upon the Royal Palace of Madrid, which is the largest in Western Europe and one of the largest in the world. Its more than 135,000 square meters and 3,418 rooms have witnessed centuries of Spanish history. It is one of the few official residences of Heads of State that is open to the public and can be visited free of charge from Monday to Thursday from 5 to 7 pm.
📍 Calle de Bailén, s/n (downtown)
9. Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida
This hermitage on the banks of the Manzanares River is dedicated to San Antonio de Padua, to demonstrate the historical devotion of the people of Madrid to his figure Goya adorned it with frescoes – becoming one of his most important works. It can be visited free of charge during its opening hours to the public: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 am to 8:00 pm.
Declared a National Monument since 1905, the remains of the painter are also located here since 1919, when they were transferred from Bordeaux, where he died. Another peculiarity is its twin and adjoining hermitage, a modern replica built by Juan Moya in 1928.
📍 Glorieta San Antonio de la Florida, 5 (Manzanares)
10. Geominero Museum
The Geominero Museum has one of the most beautiful interiors in the city and the ticket is free, one of the best free plans in Madrid. Crowned by a stained glass window of the Maumejean house, this building was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) in 1998, in the category of Monument. Inception of the institution, the IGME, dates back to 1849: it was at that time that Isabel II created a commission of experts to create the first geological map of Spain. But it would be in 1926 when Alfonso XIII inaugurated the hall, whose museography -the way in which the pieces are exhibited- responds to the way museums were conceived in the nineteenth century: as large exhibition warehouses that sought to show the more the better.
📍 Calle de Ríos Rosas, 23 (Chamberí)
11. Royal Academy of San Fernando
This jewel so unknown to most people houses one of the most important art collections in the country. The Academy Museum preserves an exceptional patrimony of more than 1,400 paintings, 1,300 sculptures and 15,000 drawings, as well as prints, furniture, silver and goldsmith objects, porcelain and other decorative arts. Tickets are free on non-holiday Wednesdays for the general public.
📍 Calle de Alcalá, 13 (center)
12. The Congress of Deputies
The place where the destiny of the Spaniards is governed is a must visit before or after, the good thing is that the visit is free, you only have to pre-book. Free tickets are available Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm and from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm and Friday from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm, except during the month of August, as long as parliamentary activity permits.
📍 Carrera de S. Jerónimo, s/n (downtown)
13. Reserve your place at Dosde
If you want to get right into the young atmosphere of the city, you just have to sit in the Dos de Mayo square and watch. Part of Madrid’s Encanto is that there are always people on the street partying that you can join. Malasaña perfectly captures this spirit and this square is the epicenter of that feeling of perpetual revelry.
📍 D os de Mayo Square (Malasaña)
14. Visiting the Temple of Debod and its gardens
The temple in honor of Amun, father of all Egyptian gods, was donated to Spain by the Egyptian government in 1968 in consideration of its efforts in contributing to the salvage of the Abu Simbel temples and to prevent them from being flooded after the construction of the Aswan High Dam. To top off this free plan for an icon of the city, it is necessary to know that they hide one of the best sunsets in Madrid.
📍 Calle de Ferraz, 1 (Argüelles)
15. About the Fundación Juan March
There are some plans for zero euros that are hard to believe, and the free exhibitions of Juan March is one of them. This foundation was created by the financier Juan March in 1955. Exhibitions dedicated to artists and movements historically less known, but which are key figures of modernity, in many cases are presented for the first time in Spain. Many of the exhibits are complemented by lectures and concerts, as there is also a theater and a music library.
📍 Calle de Castelló, 77 (Lista)
16. Station Chamberí
The Metro de Madrid museum network (Andén 0) has a jewel in the crown Chamberí the Madrid subway was born here, the first line inaugurated by Alfonso XIII in 1919. On May 22, 1966, Chamberí station closed its doors to no longer admit passengers. Visitors only in what is now set up as a subway museum. Going down these stairs is to go to the depths of a Madrid that no longer exists, with the Sevillian tiles, the advertising posters of the 20s, the signage and the old turnstiles… And the ticket is free, a great free plan.
📍 Calle de Luchana, 36 (Chamberí)
17. La Casa Encendida
Cultural, social and training center, space for reflection and debate, support and dissemination platform, creation laboratory… La Casa Encendida brings together many of the most alternative and youthful leisure proposals. Along with Matadero and Conde Duque, it is one of the most important cultural centers in the city. And it provides an almost constant opportunity to make free plans thanks to its constantly changing programming.
📍 Ronda de Valencia, 2 (Lavapiés)
18. Crystal palaces
And yes, glass palaces in plural because in Madrid there are two. The best known, as is evident, is the one in the Retiro, but in Arganzuela another one is found. It is a large greenhouse that is home to 9,000 species of plants from all over the world. Its transparent walls contain up to four different microclimates where plants grow amidst waterfalls, fountains and an African fish pond.
While the one in the Retiro serves as an exhibition hall for the Reina Sofia Museum, and is one of the definitive free plans, the history of the another “other” glass palace in Madrid is as fascinating as the greenhouse itself: some people still call it a potato shed, and some people stare in wonder at the heads of cattle that crown the roofs.
📍 Paseo de la Chopera, 10 (Arganzuela)
19. Discover the Conde Duque Museum of Contemporary Art
Another of the city’s cultural centers is Conde Duque. It also has The Museum of Contemporary Art of Madrid that shows in two rooms part of the objects that make up the collection of modern art belonging to the City of Madrid. Among them is one of its most important collections: the office of Ramón Gómez de la Serna. This reconstruction of the office of the writer, a central figure in the artistic avant-garde of Madrid in the first third of the 20th century, is one of the center’s greatest attractions. Tickets are always free of charge.
📍 Calle del Conde Duque, 9
20. The Alameda Castle
The Alameda Castle is one of those places where history accumulates as part of the earth’s strata. Also known as Castillo de Barajas, as it is located between Alameda de Osuna and Barajas, near the Jarama valley. It was built in the 15th century as a stately castle by the lord of Barajas, Juan Zapata. In the sixteenth century it became a Renaissance palace and attracted the cream of Madrid during the summers. During the Civil War it was used as a Republican stronghold. And if this were not enough, there are Roman and Bronze Age archaeological remains.
📍 Calle de Antonio Sancha, 1 (Alameda de Osuna)
Madrid is a city with constant life and always something to do. It’s hard to stop to discover what the capital really has to offer. Having options to make free plans is crucial in a city that welcomes students and young people from all over the country, and of course international ones. But it also helps to recover the life of some neighborhoods, a clear example of which is Arganzuela with Matadero and Madrid Río.