Best Madrid Tourist Cards

To get to know everything there is to see and do in Madrid, a good option is to buy a tourist card, as they offer discounts on tickets to the main attractions, as well as on tours, activities, shops and more.

In the case of the tours, they not only include guided tours of Madrid, but also to destinations such as Toledo, Segovia and El Escorial. In this article I will tell you which are the best tourist passes, how they work, everything they include, how to buy them and practical tips so you can make the most of them. The options are:

• Madrid Explorer Pass: from 64 €.
• Madrid All Inclusive Pass: from 69 €.
• Madrid City Card: from 8.40 €.
• Paseo del Arte Card: from 35 €

With the Madrid Explorer Pass you can get discounts on 3, 4, 5, 5, 6 or 7 activities of your choice in and around the city of Madrid. The price of the pass varies according to the number of activities you include and the more activities you choose, the greater the discount. For example, the pass for 3 activities costs around €64 for adults (€21 per activity) and the pass for 7 activities costs around €134 for adults (€19 per activity).

The interesting thing is that you don't have to decide which attractions you will visit when you buy this tourist pass, but you can decide as you go along or when you arrive in Madrid. It is a flexible time pass, as you have 60 days to visit the attractions or take the guided tours of your choice.

Note that most of the activities require advance booking, such as the visit to the Royal Palace, so it is advisable to choose the activities in advance to secure your place, especially if you will be in Madrid for 3 days or less. In addition, you will have the card in digital format and an app with useful information to take advantage of during your trip.

This card is convenient because it not only includes admission to the attractions but also guided tours of Madrid that will allow you to see the highlights of the city. The pass also includes activities such as excursions to Toledo from Madrid, one of the most visited surrounding cities for its monuments and historic buildings.

Summary of benefits

• You can choose 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 activities to do within 60 calendar days.
• Discounts of up to 50% on tickets, tours and tourist bus.
• More than 17 activities available to choose from.
• Application with updated information, tips and itineraries.
• Activated on first use and valid for up to 2 years.
• Cancellation up to 90 days after the date of purchase if you have not activated the card.

Some of the activities included in the Madrid Explorer Pass

• Guided tour of the Royal Palace
• Guided visit to the Reina Sofia Museum
• Guided tour of the Prado Museum
• Sightseeing bus tour with free stops to discover the best of Madrid
• Flamenco show
• Visit to the Lázaro Galdiano Museum
• Visit to the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum
• Visit to the Wax Museum
• Visit to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of Real Madrid
• Visit to Toledo
• Visit to Las Ventas
• Tour to Cibeles Palace and Retiro Park
• Segway tours around Madrid by day and by night
• Bicycle tours in Madrid

Practical information

• Number of activities: 3 to 7 activities.
• Pass validity: 60 days, starting from the first use.
• Maximum validity: you can use the card for a maximum of 2 years.
• Price: from €64 for adults and €54 for children.

The Madrid All Inclusive Pass is a tourist card that is booked per day and not per number of activities like the Explorer Pass. In other words, it allows you to do all the activities you choose during the number of days included in the pass. You can buy a pass for 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 days in Madrid.

There are more than 20 activities available to enjoy during your stay in the city, with varied proposals for all tastes. It is important that you choose them strategically, taking into account the activities that most interest you, in order to plan your itinerary and make the most of this card.

For example, this card usually includes excursions to Segovia and Toledo, which you should plan and book in advance. It is also important that you take into account, for example, the opening times of the Reina Sofía museum or the Royal Palace, so that you can make the most of your time in Madrid. To do this, you will have an app with up-to-date information, which will make it easier for you to choose the activities.

It is simple to use, as you will have a digital card that you can show at each attraction to enter without delay. As for the duration of the pass, it is for one day at a time, and the days are counted from the first use, from the morning until 00:00 hours. You can activate the card at any time for a maximum period of 2 years, which is when the pass is no longer valid.

Summary of benefits

• All the activities you choose during the number of days you contract, which can be from 1 to 5 days.
• Discounts of up to 50% on tickets, tours and tourist bus.
• More than 20 activities available to choose from.
• App with up-to-date information, tips and itineraries.
• Activates on first use and you have up to 2 years to use it.
• You have up to 90 days to cancel the pass if you do not activate it.

Some of the activities included in the Madrid All Inclusive Pass

• Guided visit to the Royal Palace
• Guided visit to the Reina Sofia Museum
• Visit to the Prado Museum
• Sightseeing bus tour with free stops to see the best of Madrid
• Guided visit to Toledo and Segovia
• Flamenco show
• Visit to the Lázaro Galdiano Museum
• Visit to the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum
• Visit to the Wax Museum
• Visit to Las Ventas
• Visit to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of Real Madrid
• Visit to Toledo
• Tour to Cibeles Palace and Retiro Park
• Segway tours around Madrid by day and by night
• Bicycle tours in Madrid
• Electric bike tours

Practical information

• Number of activities: unlimited.
• Number of days: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4 or 5 days.
• Price: from €69 for adults and €59 for children.

The Madrid City Card is the official tourist card of the city of Madrid, which you can purchase for a period of 1 to 5 days. It includes queue-free entry to some of the city's main attractions, such as the Royal Palace, the Atlético de Madrid stadium, the Paseo del Arte, the Cable Car, the Art Museum and the Palacio de Liria.

It also includes a free pass for use on all means of transport, such as buses, the Metro and public electric bicycles. The transport pass is activated from the first use and for the number of consecutive days that you have contracted, while the discounts for the attractions are valid for one month from the date of purchase. For this reason, it is a good card to purchase close to the date of your trip.

Discounts on attraction tickets range from 10 to 50%. If you want to visit the Prado Museum, it offers free admission during the last two hours of opening every day. It also offers discounts on activities, audio guides, shows and shops, and even some tastings in selected shops.

While the discounts on admission are less than other cards, and it does not include discounts for some of the main attractions or for tours in and around Madrid, the cost is much lower. Note that you can buy this card online, but you will have to pick up the physical card at the airport or at authorised shops. You can also buy it in authorised shops when you arrive in Madrid.

Summary of benefits

• Discounts from 10 to 50% on tickets to selected attractions.
• More than 17 attractions available in the city of Madrid.
• Fast pass: queue-free access to the attractions included.
• Discounts in shops, shows, audio guides and tastings valid for one month from the date of purchase.
• Free pass on public transport, including electric bicycles, which is activated with the first use for the number of days contracted.

What Madrid City Card includes

Madrid City Card includes discounts from 10 to 50% at the following attractions in the city:

• Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.
• Mirador Madrid at the Cibeles Palace
• Moncloa Lighthouse
• Audioguide and shop discounts at the Almudena Cathedral
• Discounted admission to Las Ventas
• Nomad Immersive Museum
• Madrid Zoo Aquarium
• Lázaro Galdiano Museum
• Museum of Illusions
• Wind Tunnel
• San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts
• Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
• Fine Arts Circle
• Atlético de Madrid Stadium
• Madrid Amusement Park
• Liria Palace
• Caixaforum Madrid

Practical information

• Number of attractions: more than 17.
• Duration: from 1 to 5 consecutive days.
• Price: from €8.40 for adults and €4 for children.

The Paseo del Arte Card offers you entry to the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Art Triangle, at a promotional price. It is ideal if you are interested in visiting these three museums, which are considered among the best museums in Madrid. Tickets are skip the line, so you can enjoy these three spaces without delay.

With these discounted tickets you can explore the permanent and some temporary collections of the Museo del Prado and the Museo Reina Sofía, and the permanent collections of the Museo Thyssen. It's ideal if you have a special interest in art and don't want to miss out on visiting these museums located on the Paseo del Arte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The pass is valid for one year from the first use, giving you flexible time to visit the museums at your own pace. However, it is best to purchase the pass once you have made up your mind to visit these museums, as it is non-refundable and non-cancellable. There is also no promotional price for children, teenagers or senior citizens, but the museums themselves offer discounts of up to 50%.

On the other hand, if you are particularly interested in visiting more museums in and around Madrid, you can purchase the annual State Museums Card, which includes admission to about 10 museums in Madrid and about 8 in other cities. This is a convenient alternative for longer stays or if, for example, you want to go to Segovia from Madrid or Toledo, and explore the museums in those cities.

Summary of benefits

• Queue-free entry to the Prado Museum: permanent and some temporary collections.
• Queue-free entry to the Reina Sofia Museum: permanent collection and some temporary exhibitions.
• Queue-free entry to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: permanent collection.

What to see in the Art Triangle

The Museo Nacional del Prado is one of the most important museums in the world, where you can see the works of outstanding artists such as El Bosco, Velázquez, Rembrandt, El Greco, Rubens, Ribera, Goya and Rafael, among others. Some of the best paintings you can see in the Prado Museum are Saturn devouring his son by Goya, Las Meninas by Velázquez and the Triptych of the Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch.

As for the Reina Sofía Museum, it is one of the most important contemporary and 20th century art museums in the world, with more than 18,000 pieces of art. Some of the best paintings in the Reina Sofía Museum include Picasso's Guernica, Joan Miró's Palm Tree House and Dalí's Girl at the Window.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is another of Madrid's essential museums, where you can see works by Gauguin, Van Gogh, El Greco, Rubens, Caravaggio, Degas, and Manet, among others. Some of the outstanding paintings on display in this museum are El Greco's The Annunciation, Van Gogh's Les Vessenots en Auvers and Degas's Dancing Ballerina Swinging.

Practical information

• Number of attractions: Prado Museum, Reina Sofía Museum and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
• Validity: 1 year from first use.
• Price: from €35 per person.
• Observations: non-cancellable and non-refundable.

Alternative: guided tours to two museums

If you are interested in visiting the Reina Sofia Museum and the Prado Museum, you can take the tour with an expert guide who will show you the highlights of each museum so that you don't miss anything. They will also provide you with interesting information about the works and artists, which will undoubtedly enrich your visit.

These guided tours usually include skip-the-line entry to both museums and are conducted in small groups, so you can ask as many questions as you like. If you don't have much knowledge of art and are interested in learning more, these are the guided tours of Madrid you can't miss.

In the Spanish capital, you have other alternatives to save money during your stay, such as the tourist bus passes, which are a convenient way to get around the city and see its main attractions.

The best tourist buses in Madrid have free stops at the main attractions, such as the Prado Museum, the Almudena Cathedral, the Cibeles fountain or the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. They also have an audio guide and Wi-Fi on board, so you can find out about the places of interest you can visit. The frequency of the buses is 1 every 30-40 minutes.

You can buy a tourist bus pass for your stay of at least 1 or 2 days in Madrid, but in a separate purchase transaction. If you buy it for 2 days you get a bigger discount, as the cost for 1 day is about 25 € for adults and for 2 days is about 30 € for adults.

practical information

• Number of stops: Historic Madrid route (16 stops), Extended Historic Madrid route (22 stops), Modern Madrid route (16 stops) and Extended Modern Madrid route (20 stops).
• Duration: 1 or 2 days. Can be booked for more days in a separate purchase transaction.
• Price: from €25 for adults and €11 for children and senior citizens.