We found three activities that were a hit with Decklan, and thankfully, also enjoyed by the parents. The only way to get an 11-year-old excited about museums is to make them hands on.
1. MAD – Madrid Artes Digitales: The Odyssey
Our first stop was MAD (Madrid Artes Digitales), an immersive digital arts center. The featured exhibition during our visit was The Odyssey, based on Homer’s famous Greek epic.
Rather than simply reading about Odysseus and his adventures, visitors experience the story through virtual reality headsets. You actually are navigated through this small room, sometimes running into other people, to walk through time with voice overs.
There are other immersive rooms as well that keep you engaged about Greek mythology the whole time. (Much more popular than the books we brought him back from Greece.)
Note: In that same area, there was a (free) exhibit by Carlos Aires that was basically a homage to different dance styles alternating with an unsettling soundscape. “Dance and unease” combined. It was a pit stop but got some dancing and wiggles out.
Decklan’s Rating:9/10
2. Museum of Illusions Madrid
The suggested visit time was approximately 1.5 hours. We stayed for 2.5 hours.
Alot of the exhibits were about tricks your eyes/brain can play as well as proportions/distortions. They have a puzzle station of brain teasers.
Decklan’s Rating: 8/10
3. Retiro Park
So. Many. Playgrounds.
Many were geared toward younger children, but that worked out perfectly because Decklan was entertaining a 3.5-year-old during our visit.
Between the playgrounds, open spaces, and opportunities to run around, Retiro Park was a great break from sightseeing.
Decklan’s rating: 7/10
And, more gelato breaks.
Trains were easy in Madrid, highly recommend for getting to different areas. But still count on high volume of steps.