Cost of Tour: 16 Euro
Tenants: Real Madrid
Opened: 14 December 1947
Renovations: 1953, 1982, 1992, 2004
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| The tour starts |
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| View of the field and growth lights |
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| Some of the hundreds of trophies in the museum |
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| View of the players tunnel and coaches boxes |
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| View from behind the goals |
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| The seats are comfy! |
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| REAL MADRID! |
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| Away teams' dressing room |
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| Plenty of comforts for the players post match |
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| Answering a few questions after the tour |
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| View leaving the stadium |
The Real Madrid stadium is more commonly known by the name of its founder, Santiago Bernabeu, and is used to host Real Madrid´s 1st team matches and the occasional concert. Located in the Northern centre of the city on the side of the main North - South Paseo de la Castellana the stadium is well conected by both Madrid´s Metro and Bus systems.
Whilst the site has been used for football since 1902 it was only when Santiago Bernabeu took over the club presidency that the present day Real Madrid stadium came into being (see here for club history).
In 1947 the current stadium was inaugarated with a match between Real Madrid and Belenses.
The 1947 stadium, and indeed its evolution to what we see today, was down to the then forward thinking of Santiago Bernabeu. He saw a Madrid public that had suffered through the Spanish civil war and wanted to give the city something to cheer as well as a monument to the city´s greatness. His plan was for a two tier stadium of 55,000 capacity which many thought to be excessive and way ahead of anything else in Spain at that time. Santiago believed correctly that if a stadium of such size was built people would come just to see the stadium and would want to be associated with it. Thus when 10 year guaranteed seats and or terrace entrances went on sale the 1st "bond" scheme entered into football history.
The original two tiers are still in use today although they have been heavily adapted to make the stadium all seater as well as provide TV and concession stand services.
So as not to impact on the then neighbouring residential community the 1st tier of the Real Madrid stadium was excavated below ground level. This being the case the exterior superfiche still astounds many 1st time visitors who cannot believe the stadium capacity when viewing from the outside.
Regular further development has seen tiers being added and the stadium remodeled as land became available. The latest addition to the stadium was completed in 2005 when 5,000 extra seats were added to the East side of the stadium.
It has hosted the European Cup final on three occasions: in 1957, 1969 and 1980, and the UEFA Champions League Final in 2010. The finals for the 1964 European Nations' Cup and the 1982 World Cup have also been held at the Bernabéu.
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