What Is Santiago Bernabéu Stadium?

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has been Real Madrid's home ground since December 14, 1947, when it opened as Estadio Chamartín with a match against Portuguese club Os Belenenses. It was renamed in January 1955 to honor club president Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, the figure credited with building Real Madrid into a European power. The stadium sits in the Chamartín district, on the block bounded by Paseo de la Castellana and the streets of Concha Espina, Padre Damián, and Rafael Salgado — the same avenue that runs through Madrid's AZCA business district.

A multi-year renovation completed in late 2024 raised capacity to 83,186 and added a retractable roof, a new steel-and-titanium exterior facade, and bioclimatic systems. The visitor tour reopened in stages as construction phases finished, and by 2026 the standard route — museum, panoramic stadium views, dressing rooms, dugouts — is back in place, though the dressing rooms still close on match days and the day before, per the club's own visitor notice.

Tickets & Prices 2026

The official tour comes in four tiers, and pricing is consistently about €3 higher per ticket at the box office than booking online, so reserve ahead through the official site rather than assuming you can walk up:

• Classic Tour (self-guided): €37 online / €40 at the box office. Madridista Premium/Platinum members: €29 online / €32 at the box office. Covers the Real Madrid Museum, stadium panoramic views, dressing rooms (non-match days), the pitch-side dugouts, and temporary press room access.
• Classic + RM Games: €59 online / €62 at the box office. Members: €49.90 online / €52.90 at the box office. Same route plus the interactive RM Games zone.
• Classic Flexible Time: €44 online / €47 at the box office. Members: €36 online / €39 at the box office. Same route as the Classic Tour, but with a flexible entry window instead of a fixed time slot.
• Guided Tour: €56 online / €59 at the box office. Members: €48 online / €51 at the box office. Adds a live guide to the standard route.

Real Madrid's paid Premium membership (€35 per year) unlocks roughly a 20% discount across all four tiers, which pays for itself quickly if you're also buying a match ticket. Note that the Bernabéu tour isn't bundled into Madrid's general city sightseeing passes — if you're weighing whether one of those passes is worth adding to your trip for other attractions, see our breakdown of whether the Madrid Pass is worth it.

Opening Hours & Best Time to Go

The stadium runs the same hours nearly every day of the year:

• Monday–Saturday: 9:00am–7:00pm
• Sunday & public holidays: 9:30am–6:30pm

The tour is closed only two days a year: December 25 and January 1. On match days, the tour operates only until 5.5 hours before kickoff, and the dressing rooms and bench area close on the match day itself and the day before — the rest of the route (museum and panoramic views) stays open. Check Real Madrid's fixture list before booking if seeing the dressing rooms is the main reason for your visit.

For a calmer visit, aim for a weekday morning shortly after opening, before tour groups build up through midday. A slot in the last hour or two before closing is the next-best option for smaller crowds, though the dressing rooms may already be closed if there's a match that evening.

How Long to Plan

The official site doesn't publish an exact duration, but based on the length of the route, budget roughly 1.5 to 2 hours for the self-guided Classic Tour — enough time to move through the museum, take in the panoramic stadium views, and walk the dressing rooms and dugouts without rushing. The Guided Tour typically runs a little longer because of the added commentary stops, and Classic + RM Games adds another 30 to 45 minutes for the interactive games zone. If the Bernabéu is one stop among several on your trip, our 2-day Madrid itinerary shows how to fit it in alongside the city's other major sights.

How to Get There

The Santiago Bernabéu metro station (Line 10) sits directly beneath the stadium, making it the most direct option from central Madrid — expect roughly 15 to 20 minutes from the Sol/Gran Vía area with a change, often at Nuevos Ministerios, one stop south, which also connects to Cercanías regional trains and Metro Lines 6 and 8. Several bus routes run along Paseo de la Castellana directly past the stadium.

Tour visitors enter at Gate 84 on Avenida de Concha Espina. Driving isn't worth it: parking in the area is limited and metered, traffic backs up heavily around match times, and the metro is faster from almost any central hotel.

Visit Tips: Queues, Booking & Common Mistakes

Book your timed slot online through the official site as early as you can, especially for weekends, school holidays, and dates close to a home fixture, when demand for both tour and match tickets overlaps. Buy only through realmadrid.com or its listed authorized resellers — unofficial resale sites routinely mark up prices for a venue this well known, and some sell invalid tickets.

The most common mistake is booking a date without checking the match schedule first, then arriving to find the dressing rooms closed. If seeing the dressing rooms and dugouts matters to you, confirm there's no home match that day or the day before. The tour route also includes numerous staircases, per the official visitor notice, so factor that in if mobility is a concern, and note that security screening at the entrance is standard airport-style, so arrive with minimal bags.

Nearby Attractions

The Bernabéu sits in the Chamartín business district along Paseo de la Castellana, north of Madrid's historic core, so it isn't within walking distance of the city's museum district — plan on a roughly 20-minute metro ride to reach the old town's major sights. The Prado Museum, Spain's national art museum and anchor of the "Golden Triangle of Art," is a straightforward metro trip south along Paseo del Prado. The Royal Palace of Madrid, the official residence of the Spanish royal family, sits further west near the historic center. For a break outdoors between sights, Retiro Park, Madrid's largest central green space with its boating lake and Crystal Palace, is also an easy metro connection from the stadium.

Frequently Asked Questions