Madrid is Spain’s largest city and capital, and is also one of the largest cities in all of Europe. Madrid is also the countries soccer capital. There are more soccer stadiums in Madrid than in any other Spanish city. There is a permanent, heated debate across the country regarding which team is the best ever: Real Madrid or Barcelona. But, in regards to which city is the “soccer capital,” there is no discussion, Madrid wins by a landslide despite FC Barcelona is a super club too! You can learn more about Barcelona stadiums in this section.
Is the Bernabeu tour worth it? Well, we have done it several times, and we believe it is worth every Euro and every minute of your time. You will need to book in advance, don´t get to the stadium without a ticket or you will waste your time.
In this link you can find the best OFFER to visit the Benabeu.
The tour to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium is a must-do for all soccer fans, no matter your team. Tours are available nearly all days of the year, even when there is a match! (though on those days tours stop 5 hours prior to the start of the game).
The tour to this soccer stadium in Madrid is amongst the top 3 tours visitors enjoy in the city. An there are good reasons for it. The tour is organized in a very professional manner and has many highlights all soccer fans will love, especially Real Madrid´s supporters.
You will visit the dressing rooms, benches, dugouts, technical area. You will visit the pitch and the player’s tunnel to get that special feeling all players sense when they are about to start a game at the Bernabeu.
The tour holds many interactive areas, a large room with the most important trophies, articles that belonged to famous players, and much more.
The Santiago Bernabeu soccer stadium in Madrid is the home of one of the top sports teams in the world: Real Madrid. This imposing coliseum is located in the heart of the city, right on the Castellana, Madrid’s main artery. The Stadium is named after Real Madrid’s first great super star: Mr Santiago Bernabéu.
Mr. Santiago Bernabéu de Yeste was born in Albacete in 1895. He began his career as a goal keeper but transitioned to the forward position. He joined Real Madrid’s first team in 1914 (which was then named the Madrid Foot-ball Club), and he was an immediate success. He became the teams leading scorer and the perfect running mate for Real Madrid’s other super star René Petit. Bernabeu played until 1927 for Real Madrid. He retired as the Clubs highest scorer and as one of the teams toughest players. During his time as a player the team won 10 titles and he would go on to the clubs front office.
Bernabéu held the position of team director for 35 years, the longest tenure of any Real Madrid director. During his time at the Helm the team won 16 Spanish league titles, 6 Spanish cup titles and 6 European cups and becoming one of the top teams in Europe. The club also excelled in basketball during this period wining 19 Spanish league titles and 6 European cups. But, perhaps, Bernabeu’s most lasting contribution to the history of the Real Madrid Football Club was the construction of the stadium that carries his name. More information on Real Madrid here.
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is located on the Paseo de la Castellana, in the Chamartín district of Madrid, Spain. It was inaugurated on December 14, 1947 and currently has a capacity of 81,044 spectators. The stadium is listed by UEFA with the highest distinction, “elite stadium”.
On June 22, 1944, the Mercantile and Industrial Bank granted a loan to Real Madrid President Santiago Bernabéu to acquire the land adjacent to the old Chamartín Stadium. The old Chamartín had fallen into disrepair after the Civil War, although Real Madrid continued to play there until 1946.
On September 5, 1944, architects Manuel Muñoz Monasterio and Luis Alemany Soler turned in the first models of the new stadium. On October 27, 1944, the grounds were blessed, and Santiago Bernabéu himself laid the first stone. While the stadium was being built Real Madrid would play at the Metropolitan Stadium in the 1946-47 season and in five days of the 1947-48 season.
The stadium was inaugurated on December 14, 1947, with a friendly match between Real Madrid and C.F. Os Belenenses de Portugal, under the name of “Estadio Real Madrid Club de Fútbol”. The venue had a capacity of 75,145 spectators.
The Bernabeu is located at the heart of the financial district in Madrid. It is even strange to find the stadium here. When it was first built this area in Madrid was basically empty. The Bernabeu Stadium is one of Madrid´s most visited tourist attractions.
By Metro: Line 10. Station Concha Espina
By bus: Line 27 is probably your best option. It stops near El Prado, Cibeles and stops next to the Bernabeu.
The Wanda Metropolitano is home to one of Europe’s top teams and the second best team in Madrid: Atlético de Madrid. Of course, Real Madrid and Atlético have an intense, cross-city rivalry and is considered to be Madrid “blue colar” team.
Atlético just recently moved to this ultra-modern stadium from the mythic Vicente Calderon stadium that was located in the center of town. The Wanda Metropolitano stadium is located slightly outside the city center where it enjoy easier access and parking and can offer a wider variety of events and spectacles.
The Vicente Calderón had been the teams stadium since 1966 Atlético de Madrid made the move in 2017 and hasn’t looked back.
There has been a stadium in the same place where the Wanda now stands since 1994, but is wasn’t until 2017 that the installation was properly renovated that the team made the permanent move. The stadium currently sits 68,456 fans, the third largest in the country and second largest in the city of Madrid.
The Wanda Metropolitano offers visits to to the stadium and the teams museum, you can even walk out onto the pitch and see the stadium as the players do. More on Atletico de Madrid here.
The Wanda Metropolitano is Atletico del Madrid current stadium. This new, impressive stadium is located far from the Vicente Calderon stadium where Atletico played for decades. These two scoccer stadiums in Madrid are amongst the citie´s top tourist attractions.
The stadium has a capacity of 68,456 spectators, with its bleachers divided into three levels, forming three continuous rings except for the upper tier on the west side.
It was inaugurated as a stadium owned by Club Atlético de Madrid on September 16, 2017. The first match played was between Atlético-Málaga which Atletico won (1-0).
Originally, this sports venue was inaugurated on September 6, 1994 as an athletics stadium, promoted by the Community of Madrid, being popularly known as “La Peineta”, due to the appearance of its main tribune.
In 2002, its ownership was transferred to the Madrid City Council, 12 forming part of 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic candidatures of the city of Madrid. Finally, the consistory signed a patrimonial agreement with the Club Atlético de Madrid in 2008, by which the property of the enclosure was transferred to the rojiblanco club, after the reform project
The first football club that was recorded in Madrid was the Cricket and Football (Club) of Madrid, born in 1878 and legalized a year later, being the first existing club in the capital dedicated to the practice of this sport and one of considered the first “protoclubes” in Spain. However, the still recent and little-known sport in the peninsula means that very few are legalized in the first instance, and it is played in an amateur way.
In 1928, the First Division of the Spanish Football League was established. Due to the disappearance of Gimnástica and Español, the honor of being part of the ten founding members of the new competition, thus participating in its first edition in 1929, fell to Real Madrid and to Athletic de Madrid, between whom was already an important rivalry, disputing the so-called Madrid derby. Racing, given its worst performance in the National Championship during the previous era, would be the only representative from Madrid in the first edition of the Second Division.
After the creation of the League, soccer clubs would continue to emerge in the region, such as the CD Betis San Isidro10 in 1931, the National Aviation Club in 1939 (founded in 1937 in Salamanca, first transferred to Aragón and then to Madrid in 1939 and extinct shortly after signing an agreement that same year with Athletic Club de Madrid), in 1945 the Club Deportivo Colonia Moscardó, in 1946 the Club Getafe Deportivo (predecessor of the current Getafe Club de Fútbol), in 1948 the (later Real ) Aranjuez Football Club, in 1971 the Alcorcón Sports Group, in 1975 the Fuenlabrada Football Club or in 1976 the Rayo Majadahonda. All of them would compete, along with the clubs founded before professionalism that still survived, to rise to the top flight of professional football.
Real Madrid and Atletico de Madrid are 2 of the world´s best soccer teams, but In recent years Madrid has had 5 pro teams in the first division: Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid, Rayo Vallecano, Getafe FC, and C.D. Leganés.
Overview The Santiago Bernabeu soccer stadium in Madrid is the home of one of the top sports teams in the world: Real Madrid. This imposing coliseum is located in the modern heart of the city, right on the Castellana, Madrid’s main artery. The Stadium is named after Real Madrid’s first great super star and is one of the most visited attractions in Madrid. Mr. Santiago Bernabéu de Yeste was born in Albacete in 1895. He began his
Overview: Wanda Metropolitano The Wanda Metropolitano is a spectacular stadiumd, home to one of Europe’s top teams and the second best team in Madrid: Atlético de Madrid. Of course, Real Madrid and Atlético have an intense, cross-city rivalry and is considered to be Madrid “blue colar” team and that plays at the Bernabeu Stadium. Atlético just recently moved to this ultra-modern stadium from the mythic Vicente Calderon stadium that was located in the center of town.
The soccer stadiums in Madrid are among the country´s top tourist attractions. But Madrid has a lot more to offer than just football!. You can find here more information about Madrid tourist attractions.
You can also find the location of these stadiums in our Madrid interactive touristic map as well as restaurants and other attractions you can combine with their visit.
We also recommend you to have a look at our Madrid travel guide where you will get lots of inside information on Madrid and things to do adapted to your travel style.
You can find additional information about Real Madrid and updated team and players information in the Real Madrid club website
Madrid and its “Paseo del Arte” (The local name given to the distance between the top 3 art galleries in Madrid (The Prado Museum, the Thyssen Bornemiza and the Reina Sofía museum) set Madrid amongst the top art destinations in the world.
Besides this 3 top museums, there are other smaller art galleries which would stand out at most cities in the world: The Real Academis de San Fernando, the Lazaro Galdiano museum he Casa Sorolla museum and the Cerralbo Museum.
Madrid is one of the few cities in the world, if not the only one, that can claim to enjoy so many Unesco heritage sites at less than 1 hour drive from the Capital.
Fascinating medieval villages where local gastronomy remains unspoilt, top palaces and gardens (El Escorial, Aranjuez, La Granja) or one of the world´s most impressive medieval walls in Avila. Add the famous hanging houses of Cuenca, the wines of Ribera del Duero, the windmills of Don Quixote, or the elegance and beauty of Salamanca and you will start to consider Madrid as a perfect base from where to enjoy day after day amazing destinations.
We have left to the end of this list Segovia and Toledo, 2 of the World´s bes preserved medieval cities and, in both cases, ancient capitals of Spain.
Each 15th of May in Madrid is the festival of San Isidro, the patron of Madrid. For a period of five days, locals take to the streets to celebrate their pilgrimage in the Pradera of San Isidro and also to enjoy music, dancing and Madrid cuisine in the gardens of the Vistillas.
The day before the party, in the streets of downtown Madrid, you can hear the excitement from the Parade of Giants, announcing the arrival of the Proclamation that occurs on the afternoon of the 14th on Plaza de la Villa.
