25 immersive experiences in Madrid: the sensory side of culture

With over 1,400 m² and nine sensory spaces, Avatar: The Experience joins Madrid’s circuit of large-scale immersive exhibitions with an experience that makes us feel like we’re part of the film’s production or Pandora’s scientific laboratories. The production combines set design, technology, and animatronics to explore this universe from the inside, marking its first European stop.

Your Immeasurable Expansion of Flames is the name of the new solo exhibition that the Elvira González Gallery is presenting on the Danish artist’s latest works, opening on February 25. In it, we will find 19 paintings and two light installations. Light is the focus of Eliasson’s work; he has spent decades researching its effects, color, perception, and optical phenomena… which lead him to create those large-scale, enveloping, immersive, mind-blowing installations that define his style.

The Franco-Galician film director broke all the molds with his film Sirat, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. A feature film about raves, about the search, about loss, about the liminal, about so many things. Now, he presents a two-part experience at the Reina Sofía where dancing bodies, the landscape, sacred architecture, and the cosmology of sound and rhythm interconnect.

Located in Space 1 of the museum, the first floor is a pyramid of speakers emittinga continuous vibration, shrouded in darkness; on the second floor, an audiovisual installation featuring three projections where desert landscapes and the sun breathe life into the lifeless still life of speakers while different people dance. These videos were recorded by Laxe ten years ago in Iran.

At LEGENDS The Home of Football, soccer is experienced from the inside: a PlayStation zone to play FIFA, virtual reality to immerse yourself in plays like the ‘goal of the century,’ and rooms that take you on a tour of the world’s greatest stadiums or the history of the sport, featuring moments like the impromptu match during the Christmas Truce.

The tour is rounded out with a 4D cinema-style experience: moving seats, surround sound, and effects that accompany a journey through the great tournaments. Here, you don’t just watch—you feel it.

Not 500, not 1,000: 1,200 drones will light up the Madrid sky this summer! If you’re in the mood for an open-air sensory experience, Space Chase is coming to Madrid for two nights. The new DroneArt Show production tells the heartwarming story of friendship between Joey and Freddie, a human boy and a funny alien. An adventure through planets, stars, and distant galaxies for audiences of all ages.

Developed in collaboration with experts from Harvard University, this virtual reality expedition allowsvisitors to explore the Giza Plateau and access areas of the necropolis restricted to the general public.

The immersive tour takes visitors 4,500 years back in time to witness the funeral rites and embalming of Pharaoh Khufu. The activity is designed for the curious, archaeology enthusiasts, and families with children over 10 years old (minimum height 1.30 m).

Flow is to flow, it is to let oneself go, it is an unstoppable river winding its way through meanders, currents, and cliffs. It is an immersive experience inside a church in central Madrid whose walls are transformed into this spectacle of nature. All of this, with a central (and musical) theme that connects every aspect of the show: Smetana’s ‘The Moldau.’

This immersive experience based on the famous Inca city is a real treat if we love to travel but don’t have the budget or a time machine… Because not only will we visit Machu Picchu as it is today, but we’ll also be able to discover the secrets of its ancient past and move freely through its virtual reality environment, reconstructed in exquisite detail thanks to cutting-edge 4D technologies.

Imagine walking into a theater where there is no “fourth wall.” That’s exactly what happens at The Jury Experience, where you play an active role in the experience. From your seat, you’ll serve as a juror in a complex court case, deciding whether the defendant is innocent or guilty.

From crimes that began with a love triangle to million-dollar heists or AI errors with fatal consequences, all the cases will confront us with our own principles in complex moral dilemmas. Forensic evidence, testimonies… are you good at reading between the lines? Put yourself to the test in this immersive theater.

An immersive art gallery? A fabulous social media sensation? The ultimate plan to relive your childhood? IKONO is all that and more: it’s art, photography, and experience. It’s the perfect experiential space to share with friends or family.

IKONO’s concept, which revolves around four elements—color, light, textures, and volumes—unfolds across twelve rooms, spread over three floors, bringing dreamlike landscapes such as bamboo forests or fantasies like a ball pit into the interior.

An immersive experience for the little ones who will step into a laboratory that’s absolutely crazy but also educational: Chaos Lab will open its doors this November with various instructors (and the charismatic Doctor Splat) who will teach them basic scientific concepts through games, activities, experiments… and lots of fun.

Here, you enter barefoot, feeling everything step by step. The tower of La Casa Encendida hosts an installation by Brazilian artist Bruno Leitão, who seeks a “foundation” (honoring the title of his creation), that is, “a downward movement that explores what sustains and, at the same time, conditions all forms of knowledge.” The materials of the installation are connections between subject and matter, between memory and reason, between sensation and thought.

BuzzAttack feels like literally stepping into a TV show: screens everywhere, spotlights, a giant wheel, and a set that replicates a real studio in every detail. Everything is designed to create a fully immersive experience, from the AI-generated host to the quick challenges, the buttons, and the sound of the studio itself.

Matadero’s new exhibition, part of the ‘Abierto x Obras’ program, focuses on the work of Mónica Mays—a series of objects and stories that, when assembled, support different forms of contact. Domestic, organic, and ritual materials… intertwine to evoke and explore “how affection, violence, and desire circulate through myth and matter.”

An immersive exhibition in which works by Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Munch, Gris, Delaunay, Klee, and Kandinsky, projected in HD with digital animation, allow us to glimpse in greater detail than ever before the artists’ brushstrokes, their use of light… a 40-minute guided tour through the evolution of art history.

This is the immersive experience for all of us who once wanted to be astronauts or imagined ourselves as Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar. Luna: A Journey to the Moon takes place in a virtual space and immerses participants in the Apollo 11 odyssey—that is, the moon landing on July 20, 1969, when man first set foot on the surface of the Moon.

A place where anything is possible: becoming a giant, disappearing, playing with gravity, and more. And it’s not magic—it’s science, specifically the visual tricks used by magicians, which this museum applies in a highly educational way to surprise us at every interactive installation.

Spark Island is a leisure center that blends the classic escape room with much more immersive activities. On one hand, it features an escape room that breaks from tradition with challenges that are highly interactive; on the other, it boasts a massive virtual reality room full of secrets. A perfect place to go with friends or to enjoy a fun team-building activity.

You’re sure to recognize songs like “Money, Money” or “Mein Herr,” musical theater classics from the show Cabaret. Although Madrid has seen various adaptations of this musical (and how could we forget the film starring Liza Minnelli?), this year brings a version that goes a step further, offering what you’d expect but in a setting—that of the Kit Kat Club itself (the show’s original stage)—that’s constantly in motion, where the performers interact with the audience as they become part of the show itself.

Imageen offers a tour of the city’s most iconic landmarks using virtual reality goggles instead of a traditional guide (though one does accompany you for your safety). For about 90 minutes, characters like Felipe V or Manuela Malasaña share surprising tidbits while everyday Madrid transforms before your eyes. An experience that blends culture, technology, and urban exploration with a healthy dose of history.

40 minutes with virtual reality goggles; 40 minutes immersed in exploring the Titanic in the depths of the Atlantic. This virtual reality experience uncovers personal stories drawn from the testimonies of some of the survivors, as well as recreating the interior of the ship.

Here, everything is pastel-colored, grand, and over-the-top. Sweet Space Museum is a place of pure entertainment for the little ones, with a central theme of sweets, treats, “kawaii, ” and the cutest of the cute. A series of rooms themed by different artists to amaze you step by step. Plus, the museum has just launched its own Virtual Reality experience.

When we say that Madrid has it all, we’re talking about things like this: a museum that explores light through artistic installations, reflections, effects, and interactive displays. An immersive space to explore, room by room, immersing ourselves in Light Art.

The simplest way to define OXO is as follows: “a gamer’s paradise.” Inside, you’ll find vintage arcade machines and state-of-the-art video games to try out, reminisce about, and be amazed by.