Temple of Debod

Templo de Debod

A real Egyptian temple, with the sun setting behind it

⚠ Interior closed Mondays

Hours

Park always open. Interior Tue–Sun & holidays 10:00–20:00 (10:00–19:00 from 15 Jun to 15 Sep), last entry 30 minutes before; closed Mondays, 1 & 6 Jan, 1 May, 24, 25 & 31 Dec

Tickets

Free; booking ahead online recommended for the interior

Address

Calle de Ferraz 1, in the hilltop park north-west of Plaza de España

In the middle of a pond on a hilltop stands an Egyptian temple more than 2,000 years old. Egypt gave it to Spain in 1968 as thanks for helping save monuments from the Aswan Dam floodwaters, and it was rebuilt here stone by stone. This is where Madrid comes to watch the sun go down: the Casa de Campo woods stretch away to the west, with the palace and the cathedral dome in silhouette to the left. Once the sun drops, the floodlights come on and the gateways reflect upside down in the pond.