Templo de Debod Viewpoint — Attraction in Madrid

If you’re a photographer or simply someone who appreciates stunning views, the viewpoint at the Temple of Debod is absolutely unmatched in Madrid. I visited during golden hour and it completely exceeded expectations.

The location itself is already impressive—an actual ancient Egyptian temple set on a hilltop in central Madrid—but what really makes it stand out is the panoramic view over Casa de Campo, the Royal Palace, and the cathedral. As the sun begins to set, the entire sky lights up in warm orange and pink tones, casting beautiful reflections on the water around the temple. It’s an ideal setting for silhouettes, long exposures, and golden backlight portraits.

I brought my camera and was able to capture some of my favorite photos from my time in Spain here. It’s not just great for professionals; even if you’re taking photos on your phone, you’ll leave with something frame-worthy.

Highly recommend arriving about 30–45 minutes before sunset to find a good spot, as it can get busy. But it’s totally worth it. This is my #1 recommendation for golden hour photos in...

Interesting piece of Egyptian history. I couldn't find much info before the visit so I'll write what I found out. It can be visited inside but you have to queue. You have to queue even if you just want to walk the temple ground, walk under the gateways, take photos outside the temple etc, you meed to join queue.

The visitor sign says max 10 people at a time and for max 20 minutes. They were letting in 5-7 people every 5 minutes or so. All together, we queue for 45-50 minutes. We were there at about 5.40pm. So if you want to see the temple inside, plan ahead. Don't expect to arrive there and go in and out in a few minutes. It's something worth seeing if you've never seen an Egyptian temple. The capilla was the best part. I went to Egypt years ago and visited the temples around Assuan, but I decided to have a look at the Temple of Debod anyway. It just took too much of my time as I wasn't prepared to queue to get in. I wished I had known it in advance. Hope this helps...

Having visited the Temple of Dendur in New York, we had to visit this Temple, as it was also saved during the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt. Tickets are free on line, just must reserve a time slot. Absolutely worth the small effort to see this important Egyptian temple. Observing the hieroglyphics and structure was a unique experience and better than the Temple in the NYC Met. Very cool map display of all the temples displaced by the dam and where they are today.

The guards were very strict about the entry and the staff in the temple were very kind to give us information in English in the temple. No water for photos of the reflection...