Madrid offers many cultural activities, many of which can be enjoyed without spending a single euro. Here is a small sample of the museums that can be visited free of charge. The museums offering free schedules is larger than the ones shown, and we will include it in the future. For now anyone having aditional information, please share it with the rest through the comments to this page.
Click on the red markers on the map for more information. We have not posted in the table bellow all the information we provide on the map. Please notice that some museums are out of the map shown. Scale it down to see them.
Enjoy.
| Museum | Address | Phone number | Opening hours | Description |
| La Casa Museo Lope de Vega | Calle de Cervantes, 11 28014 Madrid | 914 299 216 | Tuesday-Sunday 10.00 - 15.00; Guided visits commence every half hour and last approximately 45 minutes. | Lope de Vega was a hugely successful playwright and a contemporary and adversary of Cervantes. His former home, where he lived and worked for the last 25 years of his life, is now a museum full of memorabilia of his life and times. Situated in the historic centre of Madrid, the furniture, household objects, works of art, and books evoke the atmosphere of the Spanish Golden Age. At the back of the museum is a tiny, peaceful garden. |
| Museo Taurino | Alcalá 237 ,Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, Madrid | | March - October: Tuesday - Friday 09.30 - 14.30, Sundays 10.00 - 13.00. November - February: Monday to Friday 09.30 - 14.30. | A small museum inside the bullring which explores the history and development of bullfighting in Spain from its ancient origins to the present day. Exhibits include the 'Tauromaquia' series of engravings by Goya, paintings, photographs and relics, costumes and capes from famous matadors, and even some bulls' heads. |
| Museo de los Orígenes -Museo de San Isidro | Plaza de San Andrés 2, Madrid | 913 667 415 | Tuesday to Friday, 9:30am to 8pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 2pm; Monday and Bank Holidays, closed. August opening times, 9:30am to 2:30pm | A museum dedicated to the history of Madrid through the Paleolithic, Roman, and Muslim ages to the 17th century (when it was just a small provincial town) using plans, sketches, models, paintings, and archaeological finds. it also houses an arqueobotanic garden that provides information on species that were cultivated in the past. |
| Templo de Debod | Ferraz 1, Parque del Cuartel de la Montaña, Madrid | 913 667 415 | Tuesday to Friday, from April 1 to September 30: 10am-2pm and 6-8pm. From October 1 to March 31: 9:45am-1:45am and 4:15pm-6:15pm. Saturdays and Sundays: 10am-2pm. Closed on Mondays and public holidays. | Set incongruously on Principe Pio hill, the 4th century B.C. Temple of Debod, dedicated to the gods Ammon and Isis, is one of the few monuments of its kind that can be seen outside Egypt. It was donated to Spain as a thank-you from President Nasser for helping rescue the temples of Abu Simbal after the first Aswan dam was built. The temple's stone chambers are engraved with reliefs and hieroglyphs and upstairs are models of the temple and Abu Simbal. There are impressive views from the surrounding park. |
| Museo Arte Público | Paseo de la Castellana 41, Madrid | 917 011 863 | Open 24 hours | In an urban setting beneath an overpass which connects streets Juan Bravo and Eduardo Dato, 17 works by major Spanish sculptors of the late 20th-century are on permanent display. |
| Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo | Calle Conde Duque 9 y 11 28015 MADRID | | Tuesday-Saturday: 10 am-2 pm 6 pm-9 pm Sundays 10.30 am-2.30 pm | Located a short walk away from Plaza España. The collection, mainly comprised of paintings and graphic art, with some pieces ofsculpture, photography, drawings and installations, offers a tour through the history of modern Spanish art to date. |
| Anden Cero, Estacion de Chamberi | Plaza de Chamberi, s/n | 902 444 403 | Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and between 11a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. | Abandoned in 1966, the station re-opened in 2008 as a museum. The main ticket office, the old metro maps (showing few stops), the original diamond-shaped Metro signs and the spectacular ceramic tile advertisements and other memorabilia re-create what underground stations were like in the 1920s. Chamberi was an air-raid shelter for residents during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. Helpful guides are on hand to give information on the architecture and engineering. |
| Anden 0, NAVE DE MOTORES | Calle de Valderribas, 49, Madrid (esquina c/Sánchez Barcaiztegui) | 902 444 403 | Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and between 11a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. | The old Chamberí Station and the Motores de Pacífico building make up Platform Zero, a project of the Madrid Metro in order to help familiarize people with the suburbs. Antonio Palacios designed the Chamberí Station, closed since 1966. After decades of abandonment, people can once again admire brilliant, colourful, and luminous paintings. Walls, vaults, and billboards have been completely restored, as well as the premises and the original platforms. People can stroll down the station, from the ticket offices to the platform, and discover a 1919 station with its original pieces: ceramic billboards and antique furniture, together with audiovisual displays about the history of the Metro. Conservation work performed on the Motores de Pacífico building involved the recovery of the original appearance of the building, the cleaning and restoration of machinery and furniture, and a space created for welcoming the public. Closed since 1972, this area was built to solve contingent insufficiencies of electricity and to provide better service to the subway network. During the years of operation, not only did it supply electricity to the others Metro substations, but also to the entire population of Madrid during the Civil War. Consequently, the restoration of these two historic buildings has given Madrid a “time machine” in which visitors can take a trip through Metro history, from the early decades of the 20th Century, passing through the times it was turned into a shelter during the Civil War, until the present days, characterized by an unprecedented network enlargement. |
| Museo Geominero. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España | Calle Ríos Rosas, 23 28003 Madrid | | Monday to Sunday 09:00-14:00. Closes on 24, 25 and 31 of december and 1 and 6 of january | More than 15,000 fossils, minerals and rocks are on public display at this scientific institution . Located on the first floor, the museum displays items such as traces left by trilobites 500 million years ago, fossils of frogs with details of the muscles and even remnants of the stomach content, gold nuggets measuring several centimetres and pyrite crystals of La Rioja. The wonderful architecture of the building justifies a visit in itself. |
| Cuartel del Conde-Duque | CALLE CONDE DUQUE, 11 28015 MADRID | 915 885 834 | | |
| Museo Naval | Paseo del Prado, 5 | 91 523 87 89 | Tuesday to Sunday: From 10am to 2pm. Closed Mondays, Special free guided tours for the public take place at 11:30am on Saturdays and Sundays. | Madrid's seafaring museum is one of the most important naval museums in the world. Its artefacts, chronologically ordered from the 15th century up to present day, are housed in a series of 24 rooms. This is a treasure trove of naval charts, scale models of ships, maps, paintings, instruments, weapons and remains from the Battle of Trafalgar. One of the most prized of these exhibits is the Mappa Mundi (Map of the World), which dates back to 1500. |
| Museo del Aire/Museo de Aeronáutica Y Astronáutica | Carretera de Extremadura, A-V, Km. 10,500. 28024. Madrid. | 91 509 16 90 | Daily from 10.00 to 14.00, except Monday. Closed January 1, Thursday and Friday, December 10 (Patron Saint of Aviation), December 25 | An absolute must for the aviation enthusiast, the museum covers an area of approx. 67,000 square metres with six hangars housing more than 140 aircraft ( as well as uniforms, medals, engines, models and so on), and an outdoor display area. Among the museum highlights are unique pieces such as the Villanova-Acedo, the oldest preserved airplane in Spain, the "Jesus del Gran Poder", in which tIglesias and Jimenez crossed the South Atlantic in 1929, the German Heinkel bomber He 111 E-1 and the C-19 autogyro designed by Juan de la Cierva, which first flew in 1932. Outside Stratotanker aircraft, helicopters, seaplanes and jet fighters are on show. For detailed plans of each of the hangars and lists of all aircraft on display, consult the website: www.ejercitodelaire.mde.es |
| Museo Tiflológico | Calle La Coruña, 18, Madrid | 91 589 42 19 | Tuesday-Friday 10.00 -14.00 and 17.00-20.00, Sat 10.00-14.00 | Maintained by ONCE, the Spanish association for the blind, this museum is designed so that anyone can see and touch all the exhibits. One section of the museum features small-scale replicas of such architectural wonders as the Mayan and Aztec pyramids of Central America, the Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty. Another section contains paintings and sculptures created by blind artists, a third section outlines the status of blind people throughout history, with a focus on the sociology and technology that led to the development of Braille during the 19th century.The museum provides audiotapes, in English and Spanish, to guide visitors and it also offers pamphlets in large type and Braille. |
| Fundación Juan March | Castelló 77, Madrid | 91 435 42 40 | Monday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday and holidays: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Free guided tours Wednesdays: 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Fridays: 4:30 - 7 p.m. | Established in 1955 by the Spanish financier Juan March Ordinas, the Fundación Juan March is a family–run institution that dedicates its resources and activities to the fields of science and the humanities. The Foundation organizes art exhibitions, concerts, lecture series, and seminars. It administers the Spanish Library of Contemporary Music and Theater in its Madrid headquarters. |
| Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida | Glorieta San Antonio de la Florida | 915 420 722 | Tuesday-Friday 9am-8pm; Saturday-Sunday 10am-2pm (in summer daily 10am-2pm only). There are free guided tours of the Ermita, in Spanish and English, at 11am and noon on Saturdays. | Neo-classical Church built 1790s, decorated with works and frescoes by Goya. It also houses the painter's final resting place. |
| Real Casa de la Moneda | Calle del Doctor Esquerdo nº 36 - 28009 Madrid | 91 566 65 44 | Tuesdays to Fridays: 10:00 to 17:30 (continuous) Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: 10:00 to 14:00 h. Closed on Mondays. Also closed on January 1 and 6; April 1, 2, 3 and 4; May 1; December 24, 25, 26 and 31. | The Casa de la Moneda Museum invites the general public to trace the history of money from its origins, taking in the different ways it has been produced throughout the ages. The different rooms will reveal to the visitor important collections of numismatics, philately and pre-philately, of banknotes and other means of payment, of lottery and gaming tickets, plus a historical library, an artistic collection, and manufacturing machinery and tools utilized by the Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre-Real Casa de la Moneda (Spanish Royal Mint). |
| Panteon de Hombres Ilustres | Calle Julian Gayarre 3, Madrid | | Open April September Monday-Saturday 09.00-19.00, Sunday 0900-16.00 October-March Monday-Saturday 09.30-18.00, Sundays 09.00-15.00 | The Pantheon of Illustrious Men (Spanish: Panteón de Hombres Ilustres) is a royal site in Madrid, under the administration of the Patrimonio Nacional. It was designed by Spanish architect Fernando Arbós y Tremanti, and is located in Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Atocha in the Retiro section of Madrid. The pantheon houses the tombs of 13 famous political figures from Spanish history. The site also contains its own version of the statue of Liberty, an 1857 tomb designed by sculptors Federico Aparici, Ponciano Ponzano and Sabino Medina, moved here in 1912. |
| Centro de arte 2 de mayo CA2M | Avda.Constitución, 23 28931 Móstoles | 91 2760220 | From Tuesday until Sunday 11:00 a 21:00 h. | The CA2M is a dynamic arts venue devoted to cutting-edge art. It is home to the Contemporary Art Collection of the Regional Government of Madrid, which comprises close on 1,500 works from all disciplines. At the same time, it organises an ambitious programme of exhibitions, mediation and research, designed to earn it a place among the most advanced arts centres in Europe. Among the fundamental issues that the centre aims to address are the study of the meaning of art in modern-day culture and society; the political effectiveness of art and culture; the alternatives to traditional work models in art; the analysis of the institution art as a perpetuator of symbolic and economic power relations; concepts related to life in community and, specifically, the role of the periphery of large cities. Situated at the heart of Móstoles, the CA2M occupies a purpose-built edifice constructed on the site of an old traditional building known as the Casona. With a total of 5,886 square metres, the centre accommodates exhibition spaces, distributed on three floors, an auditorium for one hundred people, a bar / shop, a media library and a terrace suitable for a wide range of outdoor activities. It also includes office and research spaces, as well as specially equipped storerooms for holding the works in the collection. The basic architectural design for this new facility is by Celia Vinuesa and the construction project by Pablo Pérez-Urruti. |
| Centro de interpretación de Nuevo Baztán | Plaza de la Iglesia, s/n 28514 Nuevo Baztán | 91 873 62 38 | Temporarily closed | |
| Museo Picasso | Plaza de Picasso, 1 28730 Buitrago del Lozoya | 91 868 00 56 | Tuesday to Friday, 11 am to 1.45 pm and 4 pm to 6 pm Saturday, 10 am to 2 pm and 4 pm to 7 pm Sundays and holidays, 10 am to 2 pm Closed on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, 24, 25 and 31 December, 1 and 6 January and Easter Sunday. | The Picasso Museum - Eugenio Arias Collection, exhibits an unusual collection of works given by the artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso to his barber, Eugenio Arias, during a long period of friendship that lasted 26 years. The Museo Picasso - Colección Eugenio Arias de Buitrago del Lozoya currently boasts 71 works of a widely varied nature: drawings, graphic work, pottery, a pyrograph and an etched plate of iron dross, as well as exhibition posters and books with personal dedications. |
