Madrid summers are no joke, with temperatures reaching up to 40, sometimes 50 degrees in July and August. Luckily, locals are able to endure this blistering heat by escaping to one of Spain’s islands or by visiting all the many public pools and rooftop pools that the city has to offer. But despite the popularity of these amazing locations, there are still a lot of people out there wondering – does Madrid have a beach?
To answer it plainly, no. The city of Madrid is land locked with no direct access to any ocean coastline. However, if you like lakes and are willing to take a day trip outside of the city center you’ll find that there are actually some very nice beaches near Madrid that you can visit to escape from the city heat! In this article we have listed our favourite beaches near Madrid, ones located just one or two hours outside of the city!
1. Alberche Beach
Alberche Beach is a beautiful riverside beach in the region of Madrid. People flock to the sandy beach on weekends where they can swim, rent boats and have picnics at the many tables around the beach. Though it might not have the atmosphere of a tropical beach, it’s only a 1 hour from Madrid. This is a perfect location for a spontaneous day-trip out of the city!
2. Embalse de Picadas
This lake is surrounded by a beautiful pine forest, allowing you to be completely cut off from the city. The Embalse de Picadas swimming area is also located on the Alberche River, but closer to the reservoir and the man made dam. The recreation areas offer a lot of space, as well as shade to enjoy the day. You can prepare a picnic or a BBQ, because there is space and equipment to meet all those needs. The fresh water plus the gorgeous landscapes make this one of the top desired locations in the Madrid province!
3. Madrid’s Urban Beach
The Urban Beach in Madrid is one of the amazing developments that came with the city’s Madrid Rio Project. This location is a strange combination between a beach and a pool, but nonetheless, it totally qualifies for this list. At the Madrid Rio Park there are three oval shaped wading pools – water no higher than your knees – surrounded by grass, picnic tables and of course, along the river itself. This becoming a prime location too cool off especially with all of the other activities available to everyone at the Park.
4. La Lancha del Yelmo
Located between the provinces of Avlia and Madrid, lies the Lancha del Yelmo. A reservoir in the middle of nothing but nature. People come here to swim, sail, canoe, fish, bike and hike. It’s the perfect escape for a weekend or even a day outside of the city. The body of water itself is the Pantano de San Juan, a river that runs through much of the region. And where you can find several other swimming spots along the river banks.
5. Warner Beach at Parque Warner
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Ok, we know that this has more in common with a pool than a beach, but it’s called a beach, so we’ve included it! Parque Warner is a wonderful theme park in Madrid that also features and incredibly cool water park known as the Warner Beach. The park is fully equipped with water slides, a man made beach and adventure zones for all ages to enjoy. The best part about it is it’s only a thirty minute drive from the city center!
Maravillosa Beach in Valencia
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Valencia is perfect for a quick weekend getaway to the coast and it is only about a 3hrs by car and 1hr 40mins by train. If travelling by train, you can easily go a for a day-trip! Valencias beach is large, clean and its generally calm waters make it great for those who want to have a dip in the ocean. The beach is surrounded by great restaurants serving the cities traditional Paella! If you decide to spend a full weekend in the city, be sure to check out the Center of Arts and Science near the beach. Here you can enjoy Europe’s largest aquarium and art gallery and a science museum!
5 Comments. Leave new
Valencia is 3h 45mins by train.
Would suggest looking at google before writing this wrong information.
Hi there AC, If you take a gander at the Renfe website you’ll notice there are most definitely trains that can take you to Valencia in roughly 1.4 hours. As always, there are various trains of various speeds with various stops. If people wish to look at all the train options then they only need to look it up themselves as that is not the purpose of this article!
Thank you very much for your contribution.
Valencia is 1hr 48 minutes on AVE train. There are lots of these each day. Perhaps try being less judgemental and more helpful with your comments
By train less than 3h45 min
Hi im in city centre is it easy to get to a beach or just a pool by train or bus I have 2 teenage gransons that want to go swimmimg