Madrid looks different from above. Ride a glass elevator 92 meters up the Faro de Moncloa, climb to the top of the city hall tower over Cibeles, or stand under a bronze goddess on a rooftop on Calle Alcalá. Free hilltop parks give the same skyline, with room for a picnic. Here's what we checked, from the Templo de Debod at dusk to the seven hills of Tío Pío.
A 110-meter lighting tower built in 1992, where a glass elevator climbs 92 meters to an enclosed viewing deck. From the windows, kids can pick out the Royal Palace, the Almudena Cathedral, the Four Towers, and the Guadarrama mountains. A rail around the deck holds scale models of 51 buildings in view, with facts in Spanish and English.
An observation deck at the top of the main tower of the Palacio de Cibeles, the city hall. The 360-degree view takes in Gran Vía, Calle de Alcalá, the Castellana and El Retiro, and maps on the deck help kids name the buildings they spot.
A lift goes up to floor 6E, then a staircase of 88 steps climbs the rest of the way.
A rooftop 56 meters above Calle de Alcalá, reached by a glass-door lift from the lobby of the Círculo de Bellas Artes. Kids stand beneath the bronze Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and the arts, who crowns the building, and look out across the city's skyline.
A cafe-restaurant runs on the terrace from breakfast until late at night.
A real Egyptian temple, built more than 2,200 years ago for Amun and Isis, rescued from the rising Nile and given to Spain in 1968 for its help saving the Abu Simbel temples. Inside are small, dim rooms with carved reliefs and a low-ceilinged terrace level. Outside, it stands over a pool, a short walk from Plaza de España.
Parque del Cerro del Tío Pío is a run of rounded grassy hills, the reason locals call it the Siete Tetas. Kids race up and roll down the slopes, ride the bike lane and picnic on the lawns. The lookout at the top faces the whole city skyline, a popular spot at sunset.
Three playgrounds sit around the edges, and a kiosk with a terrace serves drinks.
Almost 100 hectares of English-style garden on the slopes west of Moncloa, with steep lawns, winding paths and a 600-meter artificial stream with a path alongside. The Teleférico cable car leaves from the park for Casa de Campo, an Egyptian temple from the 2nd century BC stands at the southern tip, and three Civil War bunkers still sit near Avenida de Séneca.
Parque Enrique Tierno Galván covers 45 hectares of grassy hills. Kids roll down the slopes, ride the bike paths, cross the walkways over three ponds and climb to the lookouts behind a 5,000-seat open-air amphitheater. Two playgrounds sit inside the park.
The Planetario de Madrid is here too, so a dome show and a run on the hills fit into one morning.
La Dama del Manzanares, a 13-meter woman's head in bronze crowned with loops of steel, sits on top of a 21-meter grass pyramid, and kids climb the long stairway for a view across the city. Below, the park follows the Manzanares River south with a riverside bike path, big lawns, small mazes and play areas.
On a separate hill by San Fermín, Mirador Caracola has a giant T-Rex climbing frame.
Madrid looks different from above. Ride a glass elevator 92 meters up the Faro de Moncloa, climb to the top of the city hall tower over Cibeles, or stand under a bronze goddess on a rooftop on Calle Alcalá. Free hilltop parks give the same skyline, with room for a picnic. Here's what we checked, from the Templo de Debod at dusk to the seven hills of Tío Pío.
A 110-meter lighting tower built in 1992, where a glass elevator climbs 92 meters to an enclosed viewing deck. From the windows, kids can pick out the Royal Palace, the Almudena Cathedral, the Four Towers, and the Guadarrama mountains. A rail around the deck holds scale models of 51 buildings in view, with facts in Spanish and English.
An observation deck at the top of the main tower of the Palacio de Cibeles, the city hall. The 360-degree view takes in Gran Vía, Calle de Alcalá, the Castellana and El Retiro, and maps on the deck help kids name the buildings they spot.
A lift goes up to floor 6E, then a staircase of 88 steps climbs the rest of the way.
A rooftop 56 meters above Calle de Alcalá, reached by a glass-door lift from the lobby of the Círculo de Bellas Artes. Kids stand beneath the bronze Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and the arts, who crowns the building, and look out across the city's skyline.
A cafe-restaurant runs on the terrace from breakfast until late at night.
A real Egyptian temple, built more than 2,200 years ago for Amun and Isis, rescued from the rising Nile and given to Spain in 1968 for its help saving the Abu Simbel temples. Inside are small, dim rooms with carved reliefs and a low-ceilinged terrace level. Outside, it stands over a pool, a short walk from Plaza de España.
Parque del Cerro del Tío Pío is a run of rounded grassy hills, the reason locals call it the Siete Tetas. Kids race up and roll down the slopes, ride the bike lane and picnic on the lawns. The lookout at the top faces the whole city skyline, a popular spot at sunset.
Three playgrounds sit around the edges, and a kiosk with a terrace serves drinks.
Almost 100 hectares of English-style garden on the slopes west of Moncloa, with steep lawns, winding paths and a 600-meter artificial stream with a path alongside. The Teleférico cable car leaves from the park for Casa de Campo, an Egyptian temple from the 2nd century BC stands at the southern tip, and three Civil War bunkers still sit near Avenida de Séneca.
Parque Enrique Tierno Galván covers 45 hectares of grassy hills. Kids roll down the slopes, ride the bike paths, cross the walkways over three ponds and climb to the lookouts behind a 5,000-seat open-air amphitheater. Two playgrounds sit inside the park.
The Planetario de Madrid is here too, so a dome show and a run on the hills fit into one morning.
La Dama del Manzanares, a 13-meter woman's head in bronze crowned with loops of steel, sits on top of a 21-meter grass pyramid, and kids climb the long stairway for a view across the city. Below, the park follows the Manzanares River south with a riverside bike path, big lawns, small mazes and play areas.
On a separate hill by San Fermín, Mirador Caracola has a giant T-Rex climbing frame.