Madrid By High-speed Train With Prado Museum Private Tour

This is a ripoff and complete waste of time and money. You spend 7 hours on train and guided walking tour for 3 hours!!! and you are on your own after that. They charged $900 per person for this tour! It is a ridiculous tour and should be stopped

This tour starts in Barcelona at the Sants train station early in the morning. You will be sent tickets the day before and have to find your train and check into security @30 minutes before departure. The high speed train ride is smooth...and we reached speeds up to 300 km per hour. At the Madrid Atocha Station, our guide Natalia met us at the train station. Our train was a tad bit late, and came in a different track than expected, but we eventually found Natalia. We walked over to the Prado Museum, less than a mile away. It was raining, and Madrid is not really made for lots of rain, so drainage was slow. So if there is rain in the forecast,bring an umbrella and waterproof shoes. The museum is quite large, so we focused on paintings going back centuries - Spanish painters like Goya. Natalia explained the life of the artists, as well as the possible meanings of the paintings. We stayed at the Prado for an hour to two hours. We then took left and walked through the city center of Madrid for a few hours, stopping at some of the governmental sites, historic restaurants, historic shops, and city architecture and sites. Natalia explained the significance of these sites and how they played into the success of Madrid over the years. We ended at a city marketplace and bid Natalia farewell. We had about 2 -3 hours to walk back to the Atocha Train Station, which allowed us time to eat, take photos, or buy interesting souvenirs along the way. Our tickets for the train were for the early evening. We boarded the train and spent the last 2.5 hours of the tour speeding back to Barcelona at 300 km per hour. Overall, we enjoyed this tour immensely. We got to ride a high speed train, see the antiquities of Spain as explained by Natalia, either in art or architecture, spend time exploring on our own, and sampling Spanish cuisine.

Me and my family enjoyed Natalia’s wonderful tour guide today (Oct 7, 2024). She was courteous and also very knowledgeable in, for example, the background and stories behind all the great art works/paintings shown at the museum. Definitely, I gave her a 5-star, I recommend her and also the tour - if you like arts. BTW: With Natalia’s help, I was glad that there was no disconnect for my family to reach the meeting place, given that we have never been to Spain, never took the fast train or anything in Spain, don’t know any Spanish, and the tour was just on the 2nd day after our arrival to Spain. Thanks so much to Natalia.

Had a great time with Natalia and our group. We went to the museum and Natalia was really knowledgeable about the artwork and the history of each painting and of course the artist. We learned details of the artwork and artist and the history that was happening at the time. After that we took s walking tour to Madrid which we saw important places of Madrid including the royal palace. Overall great experience definitely recommend.

Train to and from Barcelona to Madrid was easy and fast. Laura was great. The tour of the Prado Muesum was quick and we could have stayed there all day. One guest was on a cane so the walking was a lot. We were provide a wheel chair in the museum. Laura did a good job taking us to city center in a taxi and and leading us to a great local restaurant. A map of the sites that one could see in the city center by shared pdf or print would be helpful. Thank you.

This tour was not as described. We managed to find our tour guide who rushed us through the streets to arrive at the Prado Museum. When we went to enter, she had to go and get something to let us in, and then again she disappeared. Apparently she had given instructions for us to someone in the group, when I expressed my concern on where she went and that we might have been left, her response was to ask me if I was afraid of Spanish people. No, I was concerned I would miss out on the tour we paid for. After the museum tour, which I found our guide to be very knowledgeable. We started four our walking tour, which was another race through the streets to Plaza Mayor. The guide talked to whoever could walk next to her, so if any information was given on the walk was lost on those of us in the back. We moved so fast, you were afraid to stop and take pictures. As you would be left behind. We were not shown the Mercado San Miguel, not the Royal Palace of Madrid, or Gran Via. All of which were in the itinerary.

Would not recommend this tour. You basically pay for a speed train ticket and to get into a museum. Not worth the $170+ per person.

Started the tour on our own in Barcelona at the speed train station, met the tour guide outside the train station in Madrid. We got there, waited for everyone in the group to arrive, then we started walking towards the Prado Museum, along the way we wanted to take pictures but the tour guide wouldn’t let us because we had to keep walking and we could take pictures on the way back (spoiler alert, we didn’t get to walk back that way). We got to the museum which was a 20 min walk or so, and the tickets were not ready for us, so we had to wait for the tour guide to get us tickets. Once in the museum, we walked through a few rooms, she briefly explained some art and then was on her phone through the tour. We would hear the voice messages she was playing on her phone through the microphone that would play in our ear pieces. Through the tour she also made some unnecessary comments and would often roll her eyes like she was over being around people. When the museum tour was over we walked about 30-45 mins and she dropped us off in the middle of the town square. She did not explain to the group which areas/landmarks/monuments we were walking by and was only talking to the person next to her as she was not waiting for the group to walk together. Then she left us on our own with about 2hrs of spare time to get lunch and walk 30 minutes back to the train. To be honest, this tour wasn’t worth the $185/person. I felt like I paid for a train ticket and to go into a museum which I only got to see half of. Our tour guide’s name was Cristina

visit to the museum was very good. About the walking tour - Guide was nice bu was not considerate of old people like me who can not walk that fast. Especially 40 degree days with the grade. I had to drop in the tour in the middle. Also on viator - meeting point was at Barcelona SANs however it was changed Madrid at the last minute

My parents, who are seniors and not tech savy had gone on this trip. Christina the tour guide was extremely lovely was very helpful and communicated well with my parents. 5 stars to her. My parent's most cherished part of the trip was the mother and daughter who were also on the tour who had helped and befriended them. The reason why I had deducted stars is because there is incorrect information for the tour. It states that the start and end point is in Barcelona; however, this tour has you travel from Barcelona train station to Madrid station on your own and then back from Madrid to Barcelona on your own. Although they provide you with the tickets for the train, you still have to navigate the busy train station on your own. This was not communicated to us until the night before the trip which was past the cancellation deadline. If we had known beforehand that there would not be a guide throughout the trip, we would have not booked this for my parents since we knew they would have a challenging time navigating train stations/whats app etc. We were able to contact someone from the company and they had someone meet my parents at the Barcelona station to assist, but they still had to go on the train and back on there own. Thank you to the mother and daughter who had let me parents tag along with them - they would have had a hard/stressful time coming back to Barcelona without you!

The tour guide Cristina was kind and knowledgeable the tour itself felt rushed but really enjoyed spending the day with the couple that was a patt of the group tour.

The most memorable thing was the train ride.Iit was quite enjoyable,but it was unclear where to go. They made no attempt to find us and yelled at me because I couldn't find her. There was really no tour. She ran us from place to place. We weren't allowed to read signs in the Prado and that was the only part of the trip. .It was terribly misrepresented AND THERE WAS NO TIME FOR ANYTHING. DO NOT TAKE THIS TRIP. THE ONLY THING WORTHWHILE WAS THE TRAIN RIDE. The tour was 10n until 1 with the description on the Viator app not even close. Our guide was barely an English speaker and told us nothing but to get a taxi to take us back to the station. Without a doubt my worst experience ever.

Our Guide was Christina and she was very amazing. She was knowledgeable about Madrid and the history of the city. Christina took lots of photos of us and showed us all the locations we were interested in. She made sure that everyone was engaged and understood the information she was telling us. Warning: as this tour is a day trip in Madrid, you will need to wake up extra early to catch the 7:00 am train and you’ll be walking for 2 hours around the city from the moment you hop off the train, not including the 2 hours of free time you get. I did 6,000+ steps by 12:00 pm and 11,000 steps by 2 pm. However, I would really recommend coming to Madrid & taking this tour with Christina.

Unfortunately after booking this trip way ahead of time, one days before the tour I received a call canceling do to not enough people 🙄

To start, our guide Christina was lovely and in no way does this review reflect upon her. The booking indicated we would be met by the guide at Barcelona station. No, tickets were sent for the train. Time indicated started at 7am - tickets were for 8:10 train. Seats for 2 were not together, nearby, but still.... This was entirely a walking tour - if you take it, be prepared to walk A LOT! Had to wait in line to get into museum - there was no indication this was 'skip the line' tour but still, spent quite a bit of time waiting to get in. There was no time to independently view any of the art. Walking then with no time to stop until ending at the 'palace' then returned to train station alone. Summary: just by tix to the museum if that's what you want to see, get your own train tix and go at your own pace.

Our day trip to Madrid was nothing short of amazing, with a great tour guide. Natalia was very easy going and knowledgeable about the city. It was cool how much info she had on the paintings at the prado museum. This agency also made it easy to get to and from Madrid via speed train. Highly recommended this trip.

We had a terrible time connecting with the tour. The instructions leaving from Barcelona were not clear. We nearly missed the whole tour. Once we arrived in Madrid, things went more smoothly. Virginia Leineweber

It was a great tour! Cristina was very knowledgeable and patient on the tour. The museum was a great experience. Madrid is a wonderful city.

Natalie was very knowledgeable great tour! Wish it was longer would have liked to have spent the entire day with Natalie

The tour was amazing! Natalia was our guide and she was very knowledgeable about all the history. She gave great recommendations and showed us everything to see in Madrid. It was a great experience! If you have a day, definitely check out this tour.

The tour was amazing! Natalia greeted us at the station and from the very beginning, she was a wonderful guide. She was very knowledgeable about the art in the museum and gave great recommendations as we walked the streets of Madrid. The whole day was a great experience! If you have a day to spend, we would recommend this tour. Natalia was awesome and made it special.

Very welcoming, made sure we were taken care of. Very nice experience doing this tour on one day from Barcelona. We did it and walked the city

Nice day trip. Train is very comfortable. Guide is knowledgeable and made the experience pleasurable. I recommend it.

Majed was a fantastic tour guide and he gave us some excellent information on the artists inside the Prado Museum. He really guided us around the city and shown us the highlights. It was fantastic to see the Prado and all that Madrid has to offer.

If you're looking to spend just a day in Madrid, this is a great tour. Majed is an excellent guide - friendly and knowledgeable! He took us through Museo del Prado in a very effective manner that allowed us to see all the highlights and allow for plenty of time to experience the city.

Our guide, Majed, was great! He was very informative and made sure we always knew where we were. His guiding through the Prado was priceless. We would have missed so much! His knowledge of the paintings was something we never would have gotten on our own.

Good day trip from Barcelona to the capital of Spain. The Prado Museum has a huge collection that is almost impossible to see in a single day. Natalia did a great job of hitting the highlights/important pieces in the collection with a good amount of history related to each piece. Not much of an art buff, but enjoyed the experience. Walking around, Natalia gave a great overview of the city and provided a lot of history regarding different monuments, museums, and buildings throughout the downtown area. I do with the tour would have included entrance to the Palace instead of the Prado Museum, but the tour was still pretty great. Would recommend the tour to those that want to see Madrid and learn some history about the city instead of just walking around without any reference to the history of the city.

Great day trip to Madrid. Started at the Barcelona train station where we meet with a representative who assisted us to the station and guided us on where to go. Nice smooth 2 and a half hour train ride. Arrived in madrid and our guide Natalia was waiting for us. From there we walked to the Prado museum. Natalia showed us the highlights/masterpieces and gave is alot of information on the artists and the time period. From there we walked around the city to the palace. Tons of great history was given along the way. Before the tour ended she gave us a map, and showed us some great places to stop and eat. We had alot of fun and would recommend the tour to anyone interested in a quick highlight your of madrid.

We received a warm welcome at both the places. First we were received near Barcelona station by Isabelle and she guided us till we went past the security check. We had already received the iryo fast train tickets on the previous day. Natalia was our guide for the day who was waiting for us at the Atocha station in Madrid. Next Natalia took us to Prada museum and explained in detail about the evolution of different painting styles and pinpointed the specific features in paintings to make us understand. We were new to paintings and after seeing from the different perspective that Natalia gave us, we are looking forward for the similar observations when we visit Louvre and other museums. After Prada museum, the trip continued to the beautiful streets of Madrid covering some important buildings like fountains, four seasons hotel, Royal palace, Placa de Mayor etc and at last she gave us a map with directions to explore ourselves. We even tried Churros with hot chocolate at San Gines and it was so tasty. Thanks to the entire team for organising this and executing this perfectly. We are in love with Madrid and we have touched the bear. So we will surely visit again 😊😍🐻🇪🇸

Majed was a phenomenal tour guide! Despite the pouring rain, we had a wonderful time. He was so knowledgable, informative, and kind. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together and it was nice to get to know Majed a bit. Highly recommend the tour and Majed as a guide!!

tour started in barcelona then got the fast train to madrid 2.5 hours then met Natalia our tour guide and which she was great and she showed us the museum and the city including the palaces great history in this town

Good tour. Educational, exciting fun smart good site,, good times good lessons, nice guy, good Goya museum, nice weather

Madrid, a beautiful city. If you want to know or start to know Madrid, nothing better than staying in a central neighborhood. I like being near a favorite attraction. Since every day I'll stop by and I won't be left wanting to go again. Then, one neighborhood per day is recommended. on foot if it is handy.Madrid is very comfortable and transports too. Getting around is easy and inexpensive within the city. Museums are beautiful and there are free days not to spend. They're so big and so big to see that you'll still get tired. It is good to go and see something that especially interests you.For example if I read about Las Meninas, seeing the picture will be more interesting. Eat tortillas with or without onions are very rich.There are famous places .but to know which is the best, you have to live in Madrid.It is like pizza in BSAS, anywhere you eat well ,but you will like one more than the other .. so do not calculate so much. enjoy walking and shopping in Lefti, Zara,Primark,Cote Ingles...and in other stores. If the budget is low, the Carrefour ,Dia or other Mercadona market is the best! will save you from the prices" tourists. Get lost in the city, Go to Chueca, the letters Sun, walk and walk , and on Sunday the Trail to buy even one thing.Take photos, but just to remember what you saw.The rest is to look If there is sun, enjoy is the best sun I felt.