Four days finish central Madrid. What justifies the next three sits outside the city, and none of it is decided on the day: it is drawn by lottery, released on a fixed date, or won by arriving early.
A week in Madrid is the first length that reaches the sierra without giving up the city. The Montejo beech forest draws its places at 9.30am on the 1st and 16th of every month, La Pedriza caps access at 75 vehicles on a first-come basis, and Las Dehesas at Cercedilla sells its 240 places in advance. Back in the city the Temple of Debod releases its sessions on the 15th of the previous month.
What has to be arranged before a week in Madrid? Two things, each on its own calendar. The Montejo beech forest draws places at 9.30am on the 1st and 16th of every month. The Temple of Debod releases its sessions on the 15th of the previous month. La Pedriza takes no bookings at all and holds 75 vehicles.
Three doors, and none of them opens the same way
What separates a week from four days is not more museums. It is a set of things whose date falls before the trip does.
The Hayedo de Montejo runs free guided walks, but the system opens at 9.30am on the 1st and 16th of each month with the places for the following fortnight, applications stay open for five days, and they are drawn by lottery. Without a pass there is no entry, in booking the Montejo beech forest.
The Temple of Debod is free, according to the Ayuntamiento, and sits inside the city, but runs just as far ahead: each month’s sessions appear on the 15th of the month before, up to 6 tickets at a time, and the booking expires ten minutes after its slot, in how the Temple of Debod is booked.
La Pedriza ignores that logic entirely. No form and no draw: 75 spaces at the La Camorza barrier, filled in arrival order, with a free shuttle from the village at weekends, in driving to La Pedriza.
| What | How you get in | When it is decided |
|---|---|---|
| Montejo beech forest | Lottery, free places | 1st and 16th at 9.30am, five days to apply |
| Temple of Debod | Timed booking, free | 15th of the previous month |
| La Pedriza | 75 vehicles, first come | The morning itself, early |
The nine days when one season has ended and the other has not
A long trip runs into seasons that a short one never notices.
The region’s five monitored bathing spots open 15 May to 15 September, according to the Comunidad de Madrid, and outside those dates they still exist as places but with no scheduled water testing, in Madrid’s rivers and reservoirs.
The city’s municipal pools keep a shorter season, 15 May to 6 September, and work in fixed sessions with an exit time, in Madrid’s summer pools.
The two do not end together, and that nine-day gap is exactly what catches out a September visitor. Between 6 and 15 September the natural bathing spots are still in season and every municipal pool has already shut for the year.
The pools are not free-flow either. Sessions run 10am to 3pm and 4pm to 9pm, an adult pays €2.25 a session and an over-65 €0.70, and for the hour in between no session is running at all.
How the seven days split
Days one to four, the city. Both central axes, the districts and the first day trip, in four days in Madrid.
Day five, the second trip out. With six usable days once the Monday is discounted, two or three of the four monuments fit, at €14, €9, €6 and nothing respectively, in day trips from Madrid.
Day six, the sierra. Montejo if the lottery came through, La Pedriza and its 75 spaces if you are up early, or any of the spaces with no cap at all, in how Madrid’s nature access works.
Day seven, the margin. It absorbs whatever the weather, the draw or a closure ruined earlier in the week.
That last day is not padding. Fenced parks close completely in a red weather alert and the warning does not arrive days ahead, in why the Retiro shuts in high winds.
What even a week cannot guarantee
Seven days cover the city and the region, and some things still depend on the calendar rather than the length of the trip.
Patron saint festivities, Christmas dates and any activity a town hall declares of general interest extend closing hours by two hours, in when bars and clubs close in Madrid. Landing on one of those is luck.
Two dates are worth more than an extra week. On 12 October and 18 May the royal sites open free with no nationality condition at all, which is the only time that clause disappears, in the two convents you can only enter with a guide.
If the length is still undecided, the day-by-day breakdown is in how many days you need in Madrid.
Frequently asked questions about a week in Madrid
What has to be booked in advance for a week in Madrid?
Two things with calendars of their own. The Montejo beech forest runs a lottery at 9.30am on the 1st and 16th of each month, and the Temple of Debod releases sessions on the 15th of the month before.
Is a week in Madrid too long?
Only if you stay in the city. Four days exhaust central Madrid, and what justifies the next three is the Sierra de Guadarrama and the towns rather than more museums on the Paseo del Prado.
When is the bathing season in the Madrid region?
From 15 May to 15 September at the five monitored bathing spots. The city’s municipal pools run a shorter season, 15 May to 6 September, and work in fixed sessions with an exit time.
How do you get into La Pedriza?
By arriving early. There is no lottery and no form, and the car park at the La Camorza barrier holds 75 vehicles on a first-come basis, with a free shuttle from the village at weekends.
How many day trips fit into seven days in Madrid?
Two or three without forcing it. All four destinations with a monument close on Mondays, so a week with one Monday leaves six usable days. El Escorial is €14, Aranjuez €9 and Alcalá de Henares €6.
What can a week in Madrid still not guarantee?
Anything driven by a calendar rather than a duration. Patron saint festivities and certain declared dates extend nightlife by two hours, and a red weather alert can close the fenced parks with no notice.
Four days of city, two of region and one of slack, with two draws that start before the trip does.