
Visiting Madrid for the First Time? Here's What to See and Do
Make the most of your first stop in the Spanish capital with our must-dos.
Pre-booking tickets for the Madrid Wax Museum lets you skip lines and head straight inside. Admission tickets include access to two floors of exhibitions, which encompass more than 400 wax figures, and a Terror Train ride that takes you through a dungeon featuring Dracula and Freddy Kruger. Beyond the wax figures, there’s a simulator ride that takes you on a journey through modern space, and a telling of Spain’s history by an animatronic Emperor Charles I.
The wax museum is a fun option for families visiting Madrid; exhibitions are suitable for travelers of all ages.
Most of the museum is in Spanish only, however understanding the information panels is not integral to enjoying the wax exhibits.
The museum is wheelchair and stroller accessible.
Madrid Wax Museum (Museo de Cera de Madrid) is located in the Malasana district of Madrid, just north of downtown. The closest metro station is Colon on line 4, located right outside of the museum; alternatively, Recoletos train station is a 2-minute walk away.
The museum is open daily year-round, from 10am-2pm and 4.30pm-8pm on weekdays, and 10am-8pm on weekends. It can get busy on summer weekends and during school holidays, so aim for an early morning or weekday visit to avoid waiting in line for photos.
After snapping photos with wax celebrities, check out some of Madrid’s other fun museums. The Robot Museum in Malasaña houses one of the largest collections of robots in Europe; the Railway Museum is a must for train enthusiasts; and the La Tabacalera Museum is devoted to bold graffiti art. You can even visit an abandoned early 20th-century metro station at the Platform 0 Chamberí Station museum or experience the Typhlological Museum, a hands-on art museum designed for blind and visually-impaired people.