Stadium Tours for Families

Both of Madrid’s big stadium tours welcome families, but they suit children differently. The Bernabéu impresses older fans with sheer scale and silverware. The Metropolitano keeps younger children busy with hands-on displays and a walk down the players’ tunnel. Here is how to choose, what it costs and how to make the day easier.

Best for younger children: the Metropolitano

Atlético’s Tour & Museum ticket is our family pick. It starts from $29 per person on GetYourGuide, and on Atlético’s own price list children aged 4 to 13 pay €18 while under-4s go free.

Children usually enjoy the route itself: the first-team dressing room with shirts on the pegs, the tunnel out to the pitch side and a sit on the red benches. The interactive museum does the rest, with touchscreens, projections, virtual reality glasses and games that tell the club’s story from 1903. Reviewers mention grandchildren who loved it, and one describes a son’s kick-off on the pitch as the highlight of the trip.

For that moment, the Honorary Kick-Off experience takes you to the centre circle to kick a ball while a guide films it. It costs more, from $86 per person, and needs flat shoes with no studs or heels.

Best for older fans: the Bernabéu

The Tour Bernabéu ticket from $42 is the one for a football-mad ten-year-old or teenager. Under-5s go free. The panoramic view of the renovated stadium, the room of 15 European Cups and the players’ benches make a strong impression, and the self-guided format lets you move at a child’s pace.

The museum is large, though, and one-way. Younger children can tire before the end, so book a morning slot and plan a snack stop afterwards. If your children would enjoy the stories more than the displays, a guided tour such as the ExperienceFirst guided tour can hold their attention; one reviewer brought a grandson and loved it.

Time needed

Doing both stadiums in one day is possible with teenagers but a lot for younger children. Choose one, or split them over two days. How long the Bernabéu tour takes breaks the visit down stop by stop.

Tour or match with children?

For most families, the tour is the easier choice. You pick a morning slot, the visit lasts about 90 minutes, and children see the changing room and sit on the benches, which are closed on match days and the day before. A match is a long evening for a small child, often four hours or more with the crowds on the way in and out. For a football-mad teenager, a match can still be the highlight of the trip. Bernabéu tour vs a Real Madrid match compares the two.

At the Bernabéu, the club also sells a Classic + RM Games ticket from €59, which adds a session in its interactive games area. It is sold only on Real Madrid’s own site; Bernabéu tour prices sets it against the other tickets.

A family day around the tour

• Morning: take a 9:30 or 10am slot at the Bernabéu, or an 11am slot at the Metropolitano, while children still have energy.
• After the tour: stop for lunch and a rest before anything else. Leave the hour after the tour free rather than booking another timed attraction.
• Afternoon: keep it loose, with a park, a pool or a slow walk, especially with under-tens.
• Second stadium: if the family wants both, do the other one on a different day.

Practical tips for parents

• Go early. Both stadiums are calmer in the morning. The Bernabéu opens at 9am Monday to Saturday; the Metropolitano at 11am.
• Travel light. The Bernabéu has no cloakroom or locker, and its route has many flights of stairs. Security checks apply at both.
• Think about the pushchair. Both clubs allow pushchairs, but both routes have many flights of stairs and the Bernabéu has nowhere to leave one, so a carrier is easier for babies. Families with mobility needs should contact the club first.
• Avoid match days. The Bernabéu’s benches and changing rooms close on match days and the day before. See stadium tours on match days.
• Budget for the shop and photos. Both tours end in a club shop, and souvenir photos cost extra.

Still deciding? Bernabéu vs Metropolitano compares the full experience, and the best stadium tours in Madrid lists every option. Ready to book the family pick? Check Atleti Tour & Museum availability.