What to do in Madrid when it rains

Madrid has around 250 sunny days a year, but when it rains these places keep you dry: the great art museums, the Royal Palace, covered market halls and chocolatería counters, with opening hours and prices.

Last updated: 20 October 2026

Museums

Careful on Mondays: 8 of these museums are closed. Which museums are open today? →

Huertas & Paseo del Arte

Photo: Emilio J. Rodríguez Posada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia

Prado Museum

Mon–Sat 10:00–20:00, Sun and holidays 10:00–19:00; free Mon–Sat 18:00–20:00, Sun 17:00–19:00 · €15

Spain's national art museum, with Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's Black Paintings and Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

Huertas & Paseo del Arte

Photo: Kyle Magnuson from Los Angeles, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Tue–Fri and Sun 10:00–19:00, Sat 10:00–23:00; Mon 12:00–16:00 (free) · €14

A private collection from Italian primitives to Pop Art, filling the gaps left by the Prado and the Reina Sofía.

Huertas & Paseo del Arte

Photo: CaroEspinoza · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Reina Sofía Museum (Guernica)

Mon, Wed–Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 10:00–14:30; closed Tue; free Mon, Wed–Sat 19:00–21:00 and Sun 12:30–14:30 · €12

Spain's modern art museum, home to Picasso's Guernica, plus Dalí, Miró and Spanish 20th-century art.

Retiro & Salamanca

Photo: RealGrouchy · Public domain · Wikimedia

National Museum of Natural Sciences

Tue–Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat–Sun and holidays 10:00–20:00; closed Mon · €7

Dinosaur skeletons, minerals and the mounted animals of Spain's national natural history museum, a classic rainy-day stop with kids.

Huertas & Paseo del Arte

Photo: Barcex · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Railway Museum (Museo del Ferrocarril)

Oct–May: Mon–Fri 09:30–15:00, Sat and holidays 10:00–19:00, Sun 10:00–15:00; Jun–Sep daily 10:00–15:00 · €7

Steam locomotives, royal carriages and a model railway in the Art Nouveau Delicias station.

Retiro & Salamanca

Photo: Zarateman · CC0 · Wikimedia

National Archaeological Museum

Tue–Sat 09:30–20:00, Sun and holidays 09:30–15:00; closed Mon · €3

The Lady of Elche, a replica of the Altamira cave and Iberian, Roman and Visigothic treasures, in a palace near the Puerta de Alcalá.

Retiro & Salamanca

Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Lázaro Galdiano Museum

Tue–Fri 09:30–15:00 and 16:30–19:30, Sat–Sun 09:30–15:00; closed Mon · €8

A collector's mansion full of Goya, Bosch, ivories and enamels, in a quiet palace on Serrano.

Plaza de España & Casa de Campo

Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Cerralbo Museum

Tue–Sat 09:30–15:00 (Thu also 17:00–20:00), Sun and holidays 10:00–15:00; closed Mon · €3

A 19th-century aristocrat's palace kept as it was, with a ballroom, a mirrored gallery and a collection of art and armour.

Plaza de España & Casa de Campo

Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Museum of the Americas

Tue–Wed and Fri–Sat 09:30–15:00, Thu 09:30–15:00 and 16:00–19:00, Sun and holidays 10:00–15:00; closed Mon · €3

Pre-Columbian gold, the Tudela Codex and colonial art, in a museum near the Moncloa tower.

Sol & Gran Vía

Photo: Carlos Delgado · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando

Tue–Sun 10:00–15:00; closed Mon and all of August

Goya's academy, with his self-portrait and works by Velázquez, Zurbarán and Arcimboldo, steps from Puerta del Sol.

Austrias & Royal Palace

Photo: Javier Perez Montes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Royal Collections Gallery

Mon–Sat 10:00–20:00, Sun and holidays 10:00–19:00 · €14

A modern museum beside the Almudena Cathedral with royal tapestries, Stradivari instruments and the Spanish crown's treasures.

Huertas & Paseo del Arte

Photo: Fernando · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

CaixaForum Madrid

Daily 10:00–20:00 (Mon–Sun and holidays) · €6

Exhibitions in a rebuilt power station with a brick facade and Patrick Blanc's vertical garden next door.

Malasaña & Chueca

Photo: Museo del Romanticismo · Public domain · Wikimedia

Museum of Romanticism

Nov–Apr Tue–Sat 09:30–18:30, Sun and holidays 10:00–15:00 (May–Oct until 20:30); closed Mon · €3

A 19th-century aristocratic mansion with period rooms, portraits, a Goya and a tea room in the garden.

Malasaña & Chueca

Photo: Fred Romero from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia

Madrid History Museum

Tue–Sun 10:00–20:00 (summer 15 Jun–15 Sep to 19:00); closed Mon · Free

The city's story in maps, models and paintings, behind a baroque doorway on Fuencarral; free to enter.

Shopping under cover

Austrias & Royal Palace

Photo: Fernando · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Mercado de San Miguel

Sun–Thu 10:00–24:00, Fri–Sat 10:00–01:00 · Free

A cast-iron 1916 market hall turned gourmet tapas market, with stalls of ham, oysters, pintxos and wine.

Sol & Gran Vía

Photo: Zarateman · CC0 · Wikimedia

El Corte Inglés Callao

Mon–Sat 10:00–22:00, Sun and holidays 11:00–21:00; Gourmet Experience (9th floor) later

Spain's big department store on Plaza del Callao, with a gourmet food hall and a 9th-floor terrace looking down the Gran Vía.

Chocolate, churros and markets

Sol & Gran Vía

Photo: Tamorlan · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia

Chocolatería San Ginés (chocolate con churros)

Always open, daily

Madrid's classic churros with thick hot chocolate since 1894, in a narrow passage near Puerta del Sol.

Sol & Gran Vía

Photo: Basilio · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Chocolatería Valor (Postigo de San Martín)

Mon–Thu 08:00–22:30, Fri 08:00–24:00, Sat 09:00–01:00, Sun and holidays 09:00–22:30

The chocolate maker's own café with thick hot chocolate and churros, near the Descalzas Reales.

Retiro & Salamanca

Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Plaza Mahou (Bernabéu brewery)

Sun–Thu 12:00–23:00, Fri–Sat and eves of holidays 12:00–24:00

Mahou's brewery inside the Bernabéu, where you can taste its beers, a lager brewed on site, and try pulling a pint.

More to see indoors

Austrias & Royal Palace

Photo: Tim Adams · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Royal Palace (Palacio Real)

Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 10:00–16:00 (Oct–Mar); Apr–Sep Mon–Sat until 19:00 · €18

Europe's largest working royal palace, with 2,000 rooms, the Throne Room, Royal Armoury and Royal Pharmacy.

Austrias & Royal Palace

Photo: Fernando · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Almudena Cathedral

Daily 10:00–20:30 (Sep–Jun); museum and dome Mon–Sat 10:00–14:30 · Free

Madrid's neo-Gothic cathedral facing the Royal Palace, with a colourful modern interior and a dome terrace.

Retiro & Salamanca

Photo: Badefa · CC0 · Wikimedia

Santiago Bernabéu stadium tour

Mon–Sat 09:00–19:00, Sun and holidays 09:30–18:30 · From €37

Real Madrid's rebuilt stadium: trophy museum, pitch-side views, dressing rooms and the tunnel.

La Latina & Lavapiés

Photo: Enrique Cordero · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia

Basilica of San Francisco el Grande

Tue–Sat 10:30–14:30 and 16:00–18:30 (Oct–Jun) · €6

An 18th-century neoclassical basilica with one of Europe's widest domes and a Goya painting inside.

Plaza de España & Casa de Campo

Photo: Carlos Reusser Monsalvez · CC0 · Wikimedia

Faro de Moncloa

Tue–Sun 09:30–19:30 (last ascent 19:00; 20:00 in the other season); closed Mon except special openings · €4

A 92 m tower with a glass-walled lift and a 360-degree balcony over the city and the Sierra de Guadarrama.

Huertas & Paseo del Arte

Photo: Carlos Delgado · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Mirador Madrid (CentroCentro, Cibeles Palace)

Tue–Sun 10:30–14:00 and 16:00–19:30 (timed visits every 30 min); closed Mon · €4

The viewing deck in the tower of the Cibeles Palace, reached by an 88-step stair, with a 360-degree view of the old centre.

Huertas & Paseo del Arte

Photo: Ayuntamiento de Madrid · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia

Madrid Planetarium

Tue–Sun 10:00–13:45 and 17:00–19:45; closed Mon (term-time mornings reserved for school groups) · €3.60

A dome showing films about stars, black holes and eclipses, with free exhibitions in the lobby; good for a rainy hour with kids.

Retiro & Salamanca

Photo: FDV · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Faunia

Autumn–winter: Thu–Fri 11:00–17:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–18:00; closed Mon–Wed except holidays (calendar on faunia.es) · €33.95

A nature park in indoor habitats with polar penguins, a tropical forest and bird flights, 8 km east of the centre.

Sol & Gran Vía

Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Descalzas Reales Monastery

Tue–Sat 10:00–14:00 and 16:00–18:30, Sun and holidays 10:00–15:00; guided visits only; closed Mon · €9

A 16th-century convent where royal nuns lived among tapestries by Rubens and paintings by Titian, visited with a guide.

Plaza de España & Casa de Campo

Photo: J.L. de Diego · Public domain · Wikimedia

San Antonio de la Florida (Goya's frescoes)

Tue–Sun 09:30–20:00 (summer 15 Jun–15 Sep 09:30–14:00 and 15:00–19:00); closed Mon · Free

The small chapel whose dome Goya painted in 1798, where he is also buried; free to enter.

Malasaña & Chueca

Photo: Earlyspatz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Mercado de San Antón

Market Mon–Sat 09:30–21:30; food stalls daily 12:00–24:00; rooftop restaurant daily 13:00–01:00

A three-floor Chueca market with fresh-produce stalls, tapas counters and a rooftop terrace above the roofs.

La Latina & Lavapiés

Photo: Txapisotegi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Mercado de San Fernando

Mon 09:00–14:30 and 17:30–21:00, Tue–Sat 09:00–22:00, Sun 11:00–18:00

The Lavapiés market where produce stalls share the hall with bars serving vermouth, empanadas and international food.

Malasaña & Chueca

Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia

Mercado de San Ildefonso

Mon–Thu and Sun 13:00–24:00, Fri–Sat 13:00–01:00

A three-floor street-food hall of specialist stalls and terraces on Calle Fuencarral, busy from lunch to late.

Malasaña & Chueca

Photo: Javier Pérez Montes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia

Bodega de la Ardosa

Sun–Thu 09:00–02:00, Fri–Sat 09:00–02:30

A 19th-century tavern in Malasaña famous for vermouth on tap and its potato omelette, busiest at the Sunday vermouth hour.

La Latina & Lavapiés

Photo: Amos Bühler from Dresden, Germany · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia

Taberna Antonio Sánchez

Mon–Thu 13:00–17:00 and 19:00–23:00, Fri–Sat 13:00–17:00 and 19:30–23:30, Sun 13:00–16:30

Often called Madrid's oldest tavern, with a zinc bar, bullfighting memorabilia, house wine and classic dishes like rabo de toro.

Plan your trip → Put these places in a day plan with walking times.