Adult life is not as much fun as we thought it would be. Jobs, bills, social commitments, laundry… Among so much responsibility it is normal that from time to time you think with a certain melancholy and nostalgia about your childhood, that time of peace and fun (in the best of cases) where obligations were conspicuous by their absence. We all have one of those silly days when we wish we were a kid again.
But who says we can’t go back to the days of Megatrix, Furor or Grand Prix? Or even, if we go a little further back, to the days of Pac Man, The Fantastic Car or The Beach Watchers? In Madrid everything is possible! The capital offers a long list of plans for the most nostalgic that will help you awaken your childhood memories and go back to being a kid for a while. Take a look!
1. The FRIENDS™ Experience: The One in Madrid (from March 17)
Many of us reading this have grown up watching FRIENDS™ on Antena 3, when the episodes would sneak in between tabletops and study afternoons. Now, that nineties nostalgia takes shape in The FRIENDS™ Experience: The One in Madrid, an immersive experience that arrives in Madrid on March 17 and invites us to relive iconic scenes and scenarios from the series.
Space 5.1 of the IFEMA Madrid Exhibition Center. Avenida del Partenón, 5 (Barajas district).
2. Next Level Bar Arcade
Next Level combines the concept of a cocktail bar with that of an arcade game room to rescue the golden age of video games but giving it a small (and very interesting) twist. Going down the stairs of its premises, located in Tudescos Street, 4, in the Plaza de la Luna, dozens of arcade machines will be waiting for you to play one or more games on them.
A trip to the 80s and 90s that, surprisingly, is free. At Next Level, both the arcade, arcade, dance, sports and driving machines are free. All you have to do is enjoy the music of the era and order a cold beer or an original cocktail to be able to play on them for hours. This is the next level of a great plan!
📍Calle de Tudescos, 4.
3. Candlelight concerts to relive your childhood and adolescence.
Candlelight, the candlelight concert series, offers musical tributes to the pop and rock bands that never stopped playing on your record player, your radio, your diskman or your mp3 player when you were a kid.
From The Beatles to Queen through La Oreja de Van Gogh or ABBA. A series of concerts that will revive all your childhood memories note by note. A journey through all the favorite songs of your childhood and adolescence that you can enjoy in different emblematic buildings in Madrid.
📍Different locations in Madrid
4. The Lion King, the musical
There is nothing like seeing your favorite childhood movies come to life, and even more so when that movie is The Lion King. The musical that tells the story of Mufasa and his son, Simba, has been reigning for 12 years on Gran Vía and more than 5 million people have already enjoyed its songs live. An infallible plan that convinces spectators of all ages and that will allow you to get to know closely such convincing characters as Simba, Timon and Pumba.
Undoubtedly, a new and improved opportunity to live the emotion you felt as a child to see how the savannah comes to life before your eyes. You will feel nostalgic as you travel through Simba’s coming of age and sing at the top of your lungs Hakuna Matata.
📍Lope de Vega Theater, 57 Gran Vía Street.
5. Pop Land, a store for nostalgics.
Entering Pop Land is like stepping into another era. Its merchandising products and collector’s dolls and figures, all inspired by movies, shows and series from the 80s, 90s and 2000s, are so well made that you’ll want to fill your house with huge display cases to put them all in.
From Gremlins to Mafalda through Garflied, Yoda or Ruperta, the pumpkin of the One, two, three… In this store in Manuela Malasaña street, 24 you can find all your favorite characters from childhood.
📍Calle de Manuela Malasaña, 24.
6. Ball pool of Ikono Madrid
Give your inner child an unforgettable experience with what is probably one of the most fun nostalgic plans in the capital. Swimming in a ball pool, like when you were a real kid and celebrated your birthday at the chiquipark, is an experience that you didn’t know you needed but that will be great for you. In Ikono Madrid they encourage you to take pictures in different scenarios to enjoy as an adult in the most childish places (in the best sense of the word).
Striking lights, deep smells, intense colors and original touches come together in this sensory museum that combines digital and original environments with which to interact. An immersive tour that will bring out the child in you.
📍Calle de Sánchez Bustillo, 7.
7. Sweet Space Madrid, the candy paradise
There is nothing a child likes more than sweets. Give a tadpole a chupachup and you will have earned it forever. Sweet Space Madrid knows this and that is why they have created an entire museum dedicated to these sweet treats. An immersive space in which you will visit different thematic rooms with interactive exhibitions by renowned artists.
A plan that proves, once again, that no one is bitter for a sweet.
📍ABC Serrano, Calle de Serrano, 61.