Madrid Card: Buy Direct
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How Much is the Madrid Card?
The Madrid Card is available for 24, 48, 72 and 120 hours. The prices in December 2011 were as follows:- 24-Hour (One-Day) Madrid Card 39€
- 48-Hour (Two-Day) Madrid Card 49€ (24.50€ per day)
- 72-Hour (Three-Day) Madrid Card 59€ (19.60€ per day)
- 120-Hour (Five-Day) Madrid Card 69€ (13.80€ per day)
Buy Madrid Card (buy direct)
As you can see, the Five-Day Madrid Card is considerably better value than the 24-Hour Madrid Card.
It should be noted that the Madrid Card is not transferable (i.e. one per person) and only the card holder can get free access into a museum. However, the cardholder can get the full discount on all meals and shop purchases.
Is the Madrid Card Good Value for Money?
At 39€ for a single day's use, you're going to have to work hard to get your money's worth, especially now the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus is no longer included.Madrid's top two museums, the Museo del Prado and the Reina Sofia are 8€ and 6€ respectively, but both museums are open for free most days for a couple of hours. The question is - do you want to visit the museum when the hordes of people arrive for the free period?
If you want to spread your museum visits out, you'll need one of the longer Madrid Cards, which are much better value for money.
Personally, I cannot see how the one-day card could ever give you value for money. The two- and three-day cards are far better, but it isn't even until you consider the five-day card that saving money actually becomes easy.
But even when buying the five-day card, you will still need to save nearly 15€ per day to make the card worth its while. When deciding if the five-day card is right for you, take the following into consideration:
- If there are two museums per day that you want to see, you will get value for money.
- Normal price tickets to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium tour, Faunia nature park and the Madrid Amusement Park all cost more than one day of your five-day pass. In fact, Faunia and the Amusement Park, at about 25€ each, both cost nearly two days' worth of your pass.
- The priority access you get at some of the biggest museums could be worth at least half an hour of your time every time.
- The restaurants on the Madrid Card are generally high-end restaurants, so expect to pay a lot at these establishments, even with your discount.
- For ideas of how to use your card well over five days, check out this Five-Day Madrid Suggested Itinerary
Which Other Cards Are Available in Madrid
If you're under 26 years of age and you're visiting other countries as well as Spain, you may be interested in an ISIC Card from STA Travel.
