Fun Indoor Activities for Preschoolers in Madrid: El Planetario de Madrid

    In my on-going quest to find fun, indoor activities for preschoolers in Madrid*, I present to you the Planetario de Madrid. I'm just going to preface this review by saying it's not a great activity for preschoolers.

Where: Although there is an Arganzuela-Planetario metro stop, it is actually far more convenient to get off at the Méndez Álvaro metro stop--it's a nice 10 min walk under the rail bridge and up the ramp toward the Planetarium. 

Cost: 3.60 euros adults, 1.65 for kids 2-14 years old. Their credit card machine wasn't working, so bring cash just in case.

Logistics: It is a very small, old-school type planetarium museum. The main feature is the planetarium, and that's probably a 7/10 experience. Your entry ticket also grants you admission to a planetarium show so try to time your visit accordingly. The regular planetarium show was too intense for Don Loco--caveat, they do have a children's show on the weekends, which might have worked out better?

There are some great photos of outer space on the entry floor. On the bottom floor, they have some hands-on physics-type exhibits, including a giant block of ice (pictured below). Exhibits are located on both levels, there are elevators and bathrooms on each level, no cafeteria.

Fun for Preschoolers rating: 0/10 would not recommend. It's very small, you can't snack in the exhibits (not that you would, but I saw a 2 year old's cookie get confiscated so they are quite strict on this point), it's not exactly clear what can be touched and what can't. Honestly I would skip the Madrid Planetarium until your kid is like, 10 years old, and is really, really into outerspace.

Planetario de Madrid's Giant Block of Ice