Madrid's covered food markets are old, lively and indoors, which makes them an easy rain or heat stop with kids. Add a department store and a giant mall, and you have a day out whatever the weather. Here's what we checked, from San Miguel's glass hall to Xanadú.
A 1916 iron-and-glass market hall beside Plaza Mayor, now home to more than 20 food stands instead of grocers. Kids can peer at fish laid out on ice, point at stacked fruit, and pick their own small bites: croquetas, meatballs, a mini pizza or a pastry.
More than 7 million people visit each year, so it suits a quick grazing stop more than a long sit-down meal.
A three-floor market in Chueca, renovated to bring back the old neighborhood grocery: fresh fruit, ham, olive and flower stalls, counters cooking tapas and snacks, and a rooftop terrace at the top. Kids can point at olives and pickles in the curved glass counters, pick a snack from a different stand each, and ride the escalators between floors.
Lavapiés' municipal market, open since 1944, mixes old-school fruit, meat and fish stalls with counters cooking food from Mexico, Peru, Japan, Venezuela, Chile, Greece, Asturias and the Canary Islands. Kids can pick tacos, arepas or croquetas from different stands and eat at the shared tables in the central plaza. One stall, La Casquería, sells secondhand books by weight, so a young reader can fill a bag.
This El Corte Inglés spreads across four buildings between Puerta del Sol and Plaza de Callao. In the Callao building, toys fill the 3rd floor, kids' books and art supplies sit one floor up, and the 9th-floor food hall serves ice cream, burgers and pasta.
Kids' clothes, shoes and baby gear are on the 7th floor of the Preciados building. It suits a rainy-day toy browse or a cool break.
A big two-floor shopping center off the A-5 where, for most families, the shops come second. Inside are SnoZone, an indoor ski slope with real snow all year, and Atlantis Aquarium, plus a bowling alley, pirate mini golf, a Cinesa cinema and SicherFun, a play area with a two-level ball pit and supervised games.
It suits a cold, wet or hot day, when kids need room to move.
Madrid's covered food markets are old, lively and indoors, which makes them an easy rain or heat stop with kids. Add a department store and a giant mall, and you have a day out whatever the weather. Here's what we checked, from San Miguel's glass hall to Xanadú.
A 1916 iron-and-glass market hall beside Plaza Mayor, now home to more than 20 food stands instead of grocers. Kids can peer at fish laid out on ice, point at stacked fruit, and pick their own small bites: croquetas, meatballs, a mini pizza or a pastry.
More than 7 million people visit each year, so it suits a quick grazing stop more than a long sit-down meal.
A three-floor market in Chueca, renovated to bring back the old neighborhood grocery: fresh fruit, ham, olive and flower stalls, counters cooking tapas and snacks, and a rooftop terrace at the top. Kids can point at olives and pickles in the curved glass counters, pick a snack from a different stand each, and ride the escalators between floors.
Lavapiés' municipal market, open since 1944, mixes old-school fruit, meat and fish stalls with counters cooking food from Mexico, Peru, Japan, Venezuela, Chile, Greece, Asturias and the Canary Islands. Kids can pick tacos, arepas or croquetas from different stands and eat at the shared tables in the central plaza. One stall, La Casquería, sells secondhand books by weight, so a young reader can fill a bag.
This El Corte Inglés spreads across four buildings between Puerta del Sol and Plaza de Callao. In the Callao building, toys fill the 3rd floor, kids' books and art supplies sit one floor up, and the 9th-floor food hall serves ice cream, burgers and pasta.
Kids' clothes, shoes and baby gear are on the 7th floor of the Preciados building. It suits a rainy-day toy browse or a cool break.
A big two-floor shopping center off the A-5 where, for most families, the shops come second. Inside are SnoZone, an indoor ski slope with real snow all year, and Atlantis Aquarium, plus a bowling alley, pirate mini golf, a Cinesa cinema and SicherFun, a play area with a two-level ball pit and supervised games.
It suits a cold, wet or hot day, when kids need room to move.