Templo de Debod, the free sunset. Javier Perez Montes · CC BY-SA 4.0
Templo de Debod
A second-century BC Egyptian temple, given to Spain in 1968, with the best free sunset in the city.
The temple is genuinely ancient and genuinely Egyptian: dismantled near Aswan before the Aswan High Dam flooded the site, given to Spain for its help with the rescue, and rebuilt here in 1972. It sits on a low rise with a reflecting pool in front of it and the whole western sky behind.
Everyone in Madrid knows this, which is why the lawn fills up an hour before sunset. Come anyway. It costs nothing, it is five minutes from Plaza de España, and it is the one view that gets people who live here to leave the house on purpose.
Before you go
- Best time
- The hour before sunset. Earlier in summer than you think
- Inside
- The temple interior has limited capacity and separate opening hours — check before relying on it
- Metro
- Plaza de España or Ventura Rodríguez
Published · updated · details checked
Researched from published sources rather than a personal visit. Check before you go.
Where it is
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