A full circle behind glass
The cabin is fully enclosed and the circuit takes minutes, with no wind or sun on you, which is a real difference in July heat and January cold.
Carlos Delgado — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carlos Delgado — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carlos Delgado — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS — CC BY-SA 4.0
If you have been up the Circulo de Bellas Artes or a hotel terrace on Plaza de Espana, you have seen the centre close up. This is a different thing: the circuit is a full 360, but its real value is the western half, over the university campus, the Casa de Campo and the mountains behind. Worth half an hour if you are in Moncloa anyway, not worth a special trip across town.
Moncloa station on Lines 3 and 6 is a few minutes on foot: leave towards the Arco de la Victoria and you will see the tower. The large Moncloa bus interchange is in the same place, and the Museo de America is a short walk, so the two combine easily in one morning.
Clear weather decides everything: winter and the day after rain are far sharper than a hazy Madrid summer. Going up shortly before closing gives you low light on the facades, and in winter the last lift falls after dark, so you see the city lit. Tickets are normally bought at the tower without booking.
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The deal at the Faro de Moncloa is simple. A lift raises you in about a minute to a glassed-in cabin atop a tower built in Moncloa in the 1990s, you walk one full circle and come back down. No exhibition, no long route; you are paying for the height and the angle. The circuit is a full 360 through continuous glazing: the Royal Palace and the Almudena dome, the Telefonica building on Gran Via, the Cuatro Torres to the north, and on clear days the Guadarrama range behind the city. What the central rooftops do not give you is the western half. The university campus lies directly below, with the Casa de Campo spreading green beyond it to the southwest. For Gran Via and Cibeles close up, the Circulo de Bellas Artes rooftop suits better, and the Temple of Debod gives a free sunset. The glass keeps the wind and cold off you, and is also the drawback, since reflections spoil photos unless you press the lens against it. The nearest Metro is Moncloa on Lines 3 and 6, and the Museo de America is a short walk, so the two pair well in one morning. The tower closes on Mondays, so plan for that.
The cabin is fully enclosed and the circuit takes minutes, with no wind or sun on you, which is a real difference in July heat and January cold.
The university campus lies directly below, with the Casa de Campo spreading green beyond it to the southwest; an angle the central rooftops do not give you.
In winter and after rain the mountains show white to the north; on hazy summer days the horizon disappears altogether.
Avenida de la Memoria 2, 28040 Madrid