I'm going to be staying in Madrid for a day and night on either side of a trip to Central America. I'll be with my 7 year old son. The ideal thing would be an hotel with a pool and drifting around nearby streets, stopping at the odd bar on the way but it seems there aren't many hotels with pools and i don't have a budget for 5* luxury - nor do i like it much. Anyone got any ideas as to what we could do and both enjoy? We'll be very tired from a very long flight...I speak Spanish and don't know Madrid at all. thanks

Hi Sarahp,
Madrid has a lot of places to take children. In addition to ambling in the lovely Plaza Mayor, chasing pigeons, there are lots of places to take kids that are fun and not too expensive, here are a few ideas:
1)One of the most beautiful parks in the world is in Madrid, El Parque del Buen Retiro . This is a lovely place to take a seven year old. I noticed many Spanish mothers with their youngsters. Children are inherently international and within minutes, as they encounter one another they will play. If you are there in the weekend, this park also has the teatro de Titeres del Retiro free puppet theatre on Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m.
2).Does he like birds? There's the El Jardin De Los Pájaros a lovely aviary with waterfalls and ponds. Phone # 91 844 12 35.
3).Amusement Parks: Madrid has a wonderful amusement park for children ar Carretera de Extremadura, Metro: Batan Tel # 91 463 2900
A virtual paradise for tykes divided into four thematic areas: Parque de atracciones , the Zona de la Tranquilidad has an enchanting river and dinossaurs a la Jurassic Park. Then there is the Zona Infantil which is full of rides , a medieval circus, giants, magic, music... I wish I were there!
4).Then Madrid has a Planetarium. That's always a lovely place when it is hot outside.
5).Then there's the Zoo Aquárium Casa de Campo, Metro: Batán. the usual zoo and acquarium, whith a lovely dolphin park!
If all else fails, try BIGGS at Calle de Alcalá, an internet site that is inexpensive and full of games!

Hope you and your child have a great time in Madrid.

Hi! If you do a search under 'hostels & other lodgings', using 'hotels with pool'as your topic line, you will find one message that provides the names of hotels with pools in Madrid. Indeed, when I was in El Retiro Park watching mothers taking their children to 'talk' to the ducks in front of the Crystal Palace, I was amazed to see that the ducks themselves were great at chit-chatting with the children. Good Luck!

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. After I posted the message last night I saw a few other similar postings too - and some about the Hotel Osuna which I think we may check out.

I was in Madrid last summer with my two daughters : 6 and 11 year olds. They loved Madrid and when we were recently talking about the trip to some relatives, they mentioned the tour bus "Madrid Visión" as being a real highlight. They have headsets with different languages and the buses are air conditioned on the bottom and open-air on the top level.
They also like the Reina Sofía especially the Miró exhibit! THe Plaza Mayor at night and Casa Botín for a late dinner in the Cuevas ( when the Tuna come to serenade)...all in all Madrid was one of their favorite places...buena suerte y buen viaje