What should I do with my family during a 10 hour layover in Madrid?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m traveling with my family from Chicago to Madrid, to Cairo, and we have a 10 hour layover in Madrid from 7:45 AM to 5:55 PM. It will be my wife and I, and my children ages 6, 5, and 3.

We will leave Chicago at 4:45 PM and the flight to Madrid is 8 hours. They would have slept a little but will be tired and crabby. I’m not sure if I should get a hotel room near the airport, try and leave the airport and go sompleace where they can run around, or do something else entirely. When we leave Madrid at 5:55 PM, we’ll fly for 5 hours to Cairo (where we’re visiting family) and will arrive at 10:45PM local time.

I’d like to plan the right type of activity during the layover so that their transition to the new time zone is faciliated - we’ll be in Egypt for 3 weeks.

Any thoughts on what my game plan should be? Thanks in advance.

2

Well, the ultimate guide to slumming it at airports has [url=http://www.sleepinginairports.net/europe/madrid.htm]this[/url to say about Madrid - generally a mixed bag.

Customs may be complicated - if you can get out of the airport easily (at least without further checks), then great, the metro is a short hop to the centre of the city. But for obvious reasons, Spanish security services are ultra-sensitive at the present time.

I guess a lot of it depends on what kind of 6/5/3-year-olds they are - and you’ve no way of knowing what they’re like jetlagged until you arrive. Certainly if you get out of the airport, people will generally be very receptive of children, so don’t be worried about where to go with them, or whatever. (Although don’t expect smoke-free environments)

3

You’re fortunate in that the Madrid metro goes right to the airport, putting you 10 minutes away from downtown. So you have much more choice in hotels than you otherwise might.

Sounds like you’ll just want to sleep all day.

However, if you want to check something out, I’d suggest the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), which is the second largest in Europe. The grownups will love it, of course, and it’s splashy and fairy-tale enough that the kids will like it (if they’re not totally cranky by then).

So yeah, catch a few hours of sleep, and if you feel like it, check out the palace.

Not quite sure about your bags, but please note that if you have to carry your checked bags with you during the layover, please note you can check them onto your flight at Nuevos Ministerios metro station a few hours in advance, and then spend the rest of your time in the city without having to lug them around.

Here’s the home page for the Madrid metro: www.metromadrid.es .

So you could hit the Palace with your remaining time (preferably, oh, two to three hours), and then head to the airport.

(If you decide to do this, the Palace is at Opera station. Take line R from Opera to Principe Pio, then line 10 (direction Fuencarral) to Nuevos Ministerios, then line 8 (direction Barajas) to Aeropuerto.)

If you’re too tired to even think of this, at least find a café and have a chocolate - extremely thick, hot, hot chocolate. It’s amazing.

4

My advice would be to find a hotel as close as possible to the airport. Most hotels should be able to fix you up with a day room. Make sure your baggage is checked through to Cairo and pack clean socks/underwear etc in your hand luggage. The kids can then either sleep, watch TV or go swim in the pool. Don’t worry about the jet lag until you finish your trip.

Sight seeing might sound like a good idea, but (as you noted) you’re all going to be tired and jet lagged when you land in Madrid. Getting everyone even more tired prior to another five hour flight isn’t a good idea. Also, that ten hour lay over is going to be closer to seven by the time you’ve gone through passport control/customs and turned up for the final flight (do this at least an hour before the flight)

I found this place which has a pool, child/baby care and is next to the airport.

5

I would suggest a hotel for a morning nap and then a long, lingering Spanish lunch in a good restaurant. The tradition is to eat around 2 (so the kids will need a snack) staring with appetizers and lingering over coffee and dessert. So this could take up the entire afternoon until you need to be back at the airport for an international flight.

Unfortunately my knowledge is not current enough to recommend the right restaurant, but perhaps there will be one at your hotel, or the hotel could recommend one.

Enjoy your trip!