A REAL TEMPLE
Queuing up for the Bernabéu Stadium Tour, it becomes apparent that THIS is the highlight of some people’s trip to Madrid. For a few, THIS is the highlight of some people’s lives. Clad in Real Madrid jerseys (I mean kits) and donning Christmas-morning-wide smiles, the anticipation of museum goers is palpable. If you were only looking at these fans, you’d swear it’s gameday (I mean matchday), but then you realize it’s 10:00 am and other than standing beneath one of the world’s most iconic stadiums, you’re in a typical Madrid neighborhood.
For soccer (I mean football) fans, Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is an obvious stop. For the uninitiated (I mean American), this may seem like an uninteresting or boring visit. In reality, you are visiting a temple to a team that is worshiped worldwide. Raúl, Zidane and Ronaldo are the all-time heroes of Real Madrid. That would be like Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan and Tom Brady all playing for the same team. I realize they all played different sports and that doesn’t make sense, but I’m trying to create a sense of scale for how colossal Real Madrid is as a football club.
Football clubs measure success by the amount of hardware in their trophy case. Well, just like the Prado down the street, this museum doesn’t have enough space to display the club’s entire collection. Real Madrid can state that they’re the best club of the 20th century and nobody can objectively refute that – silverware doesn’t lie. The club was dubbed Real, ‘royal’ in Spanish, a century ago by King Alfonso XIII, and have lived up to the crown in their club emblem ever since.
The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is being overhauled for the 21st century. Like most successful football clubs, Real Madrid doesn’t just rely on past glory, it has an eye on the future. The museum is no different. Sure there are artifacts galore on display: trophies, kits and soccer cleats (I mean boots), all to be expected at a museum. But, it’s also a museum of the future with impressive hologram and multimedia displays.
After this Real Madrid immersion it’s time to see the stadium itself. You are permitted to circumnavigate the stadium with plenty of panoramic photo ops. As you make your way down to the playing field (I mean pitch) you will pass through the executive box, the dressing room and the tunnel. This is the part where the superfans you saw in the queue outside have their heads explode. It’s incredible access and as a visitor it is breathtaking to alter your point of view from that of a fan to a player at groundlevel.
The tour culminates with an opportunity to have your picture taken with the Champions League Trophy – Real Madrid has been champions of Europe 14 times. This is the kind of photo where an official museum photographer snaps the shot and then tries to sell it to you. We went with my parents on this tour and their interest level was at best a mild curiosity. However, they got swept up in the fandom fervor and left with an official commemorative photo.
We recommend the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium tour as an exciting counterbalance to the historical and classical sites around Madrid. And we have first hand anecdotal evidence that it appeals to multiple generations at once. Be advised that being in the actual stadium and making our way down to the field was difficult with a stroller. There were several sets of stairs and narrow aisles to navigate. If we had to do it again, we would’ve ditched the stroller and carried our toddlers around the stadium.
When you exit the stadium, take note of the lack of parking. 80,000 fans walk or take public transportation to see Real Madrid play in the middle of an otherwise unnoteworthy area of the city. If you want to take your fandom to the next level, the ticketing office is just around the corner. When’s the next match?
Be advised, should you go to a match, every human entering the stadium needs a ticket. There’s no such thing as a lap child or BabyBjorn exemption.
Note through 2023: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium finishing a €893 million renovation. This will undoubtedly launch the already state-of-the-art museum into the stratosphere. Unfortunately, this means sections of the tour are periodically closed. We recommend holding off on a tour until the overhaul is complete in early 2024.