I recently I started a new series on LandLopers, the Interactive Travel Guide. The idea is to highlight one city or country every week and then get the best recommendations from you all. By the end of the week, we hopefully will have created the best tips not from guide books, but from real people.
To continue this social media experiment, this week I want to highlight Madrid.
Usually when we travel, we make it a point to check out what the recommendations are for people with kids. We don’t have kids, but the activities are usually a lot of fun, suitable for anyone and cheap. That’s how we found out about a little known but fascinating museum in Madrid – the Museo del Ferrocarril or Railway Museum.
The Museo del Ferrocarril is a treasure trove of railroad history and a fascinating experience even for the complete train neophyte. We went on a Saturday when the museum is free, but even during the week the entrance fee is a very reasonable €4 Euro for adults and €2.50 for children.
This former station was built in 1880 by none other than Gustave Eiffel and saw its last active train in 1968. Now it is home to a one of the largest collections of historic European trains in the world.
Visitors get to climb over a wide variety of trains, from the most basic to the super luxurious. Also at the museum are small collections including a retrospective of Spanish railway history, a room of historic railway clocks and an amazing assemblage of model trains that will make even the most accomplished collector jealous. Finish the tour with a snack in the completely restored 1920s dining car for a feel of what railroad travel used to be like.
The Museo del Ferrocarril is very conveniently located next to the Delicias metro station and is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-3pm.
NOW it’s your turn. Please comment and tell us your favorite thing to do, see or eat in Madrid. If you haven’t been yet, please let us know what you would most like to do.
