Fun Indoor Activities for Preschoolers in Madrid: La Central bookstore (Updated January 2025)

Update: January 2025: La Central has a great new location adjacent to the Reina Sofia Museum (on the lower level (adjacent to Argumosa Street), which can be accessed by walking all the way around the building (or through the museum if you have tickets). Wonderful collection of children's books. 

The bookstore itself has no cafe, but across the vast patio, there is a great coffee shop/restaurant Nubel where you can have a coffee and a cake in this space that feels a cross between Mad Men and David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

Metro station: Estación del Arte.  

Update: June 2024: La Central has moved locations to a much smaller space across the street. It is still a good bookstore,  but is just one floor and there is no cafe :( :( :(

The new La Centralita's children's books section

 In my quest to find fun, indoor activities for preschoolers in Madrid*, I present to you La Central

Where: Callao Metro

Cost: Whatever you choose to spend on books

Logistics: An old palace right off the Gran Vía that sells books. The kids' section is right on the ground floor near the entrance. The children's section is very small but lots of interesting books, little craft kits, some stuffed animals. Behind the kid's section is a coffee shop with many small tables. Bathrooms are up the back stairs, you will need a code to enter. 

Special note: Don Loco enjoyed climbing the stairs to the two upper floors; however, he found the descent a little too scary (traditional steep slippery wooden stairs with wrought iron balustrade). There might be an elevator but I just left the stroller downstairs no problem.

UPDATE Summer 2023: They moved locations to across the street.

Fun for Preschoolers rating: 6/10. Easy for preschoolers to browse, great selection of books, the coffee shop is a nice spot to relax after browsing, climbing the stairs to the top floor is always fun. But, it's not a huge space, there's no kids' play space.

The steep stairs