Our only full day in Madrid was spent visiting free museums and getting our steps in!

Our first stop was Museo Geominero, where one of us had to show our passport to enter. This museum was surprisingly detailed with three floors all in one large room. Here we saw lots of fossils, gemstones and explanations behind the science of minerals. We easily spent an hour here, recommended.

Next, we walked to Sala Canal de Isabel II, an old water tower building that now houses special exhibitions. On this day it was a show featuring the fashion designs of Ana Locking and we both really enjoyed the staging of the clothing and drawings, and her unique use of materials. The standout was a pattern design of her actual red blood cells.

While searching for options, Eric discovered via Google that the Lázaro Galdiano Museum was free between 2-3pm, so we timed our arrival perfectly. This old home features an eclectic mix of paintings (many religious), sculptures and necklaces / brooches, but the actual rooms also had intricately painted ceilings, marble details and lots of carved wood, which was a nice bonus. The staff started shutting access to higher floors at 2:45pm, so it’s best to head to the top floor first!

We continued south down C. de Serrano, past 19th century buildings, through the Museo Arte Público, and past the Descubrimiento Garden and Puerta de Alcalá.

Our last museum stop of the day was the Naval Museum which illustrates 500 years of Spanish naval history through an extraordinary number of boat models, maps, and paintings. Much less busy in the late afternoon after the school groups have cleared out. We easily spent two hours here, recommended.

At the end of our trip we had another afternoon in Madrid. This time we did a quick walk around Bernabéu stadium, past the Miró mural, keeping to the shade whenever possible as it was near 90! The Real Madrid official shop was massive (and expensive)!