You will start your tour by visiting the beautiful Royal Palace of Madrid, the official residence of the Spanish royal family. Although having been a home to the Kings of Spain from Charles III to Alfonso XIII, today it is only used for state ceremonies.
We will then make our way to the Almudena Cathedral, a Catholic Church consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993. You will also see the Museo de la Catedral de la Almudena, a museum that is part of the church.
Next we will visit the Muslim Walls of Madrid, also known as the Arab Walls, located on the road Cuesta de la Vega. The walls are probably the oldest construction surviving in the city, and their construction is linked to the origin of Madrid.
After this we will walk along the Calle Mayor, a centric street in Madrid starting in the Puerta de Sol and ending at the Cuesta de la Vega. Created in the Middle ages, this road became the main thoroughfare of the city in the Early Modern Period.
Along the Calle Mayor we will see the Plaza de la Villa we will see the Plaza de la Villa, one of Madrid’s best-preserved monuments. Located in the historical zone next to the Puerta del Sol Gate it is one of the main medieval centres of Madrid.
You will then walk through La Latina, a historic neighbourhood in the centre of downtown Madrid. The area occupies much of the oldest section of Madrid and is filled with small narrow streets for you to explore.
A major marketplace during the 13th and 14th century, Plaza de la Paja is known for its crowed streets pulsing with life. However, one can find small moments of serenity in the most surprising places.
Plaza de los Carros is a nice little square with a lovely fountain. Here you can enjoy a nice drink and and take in the buzzing atmosphere.
Following on you will then see the Plaza de Puerta Cerrada, located in the La Latina neighbourhood of the historic center of the Spanish city of Marid. Built on a medieval Islamic fort, the La Latina neighbourhood is city’s oldest and one of its liveliest.
Afterwards you will see the Arco de Cuchilleros, a well-known historical archway with stairs leading to the 16th century Plaza Mayor, arguably the most famous plaza in Marid. Well-known historical archway with stairs leading to the prominent, 16th-century Plaza Mayor.
Afterwards you will visit the Mercado San Miguel, located in the heart of the city centre, next to the historic Plaza Mayor. This historic market is not only considered beautiful but is full of food from all around the country.
We will then head to Plaza Mayor, a grand arcaded square in the centre of Madrid. First build during the Habsburg period of Philipp III’s reign, it was once the centre of old Madrid, and is very popular with locals and tourists alike today.
Following, you will see the Real Casa de Postas, an administrative building, neoclassical in style which was the home to the telegraph service offices of the National Police force until it was bought by Madrid’s Regional Government in 1985.
Getting to the end of our tour, we will visit Puerta del Sol, a bustling square in the center of Madrid and one of the city’s most famous sites. It is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads and also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year.
Michele was a wonderful guide who explained the sights in detail, using examples and metaphors that made the history easy to follow. Walking through old Madrid with him was an amazing experience, and his stories brought the city’s streets to life. He made history feel less like a textbook and more like a very enjoyable stroll.
Enrique was very passionate about the history of Spain / Madrid and the architectures. We appreciate his recommendations with a few key areas to highlight in our few hours in Madrid and enjoyed a great lunch at Posada de le Ville. Thank you, Enrique!
I went on the tour on my first day in Madrid, what a wonderful introduction to the city! Thanks to Rosita our tour guide I am even more excited to be here and have a much more textured sense of Madrid. I highly recommend her!
Most wonderful walking tour filled with the history of Madrid from its origins and evolution to present day!! Jamie was a wonderful guide - fun to walk with, knowledgeable, and most helpful with any questions including recommendations on local eateries and other places to see in Madrid. A great tour to take in history and culture of a city in a short time!
We highly recommend this tour. You learn a lot of the history, architecture and behind the historical scenes information. Andrea, our guide was very special. Smart, funny, and very accommodating. I learned more about the Moors, Christians and Jewish people and how they interacted historically vs what we see today than I ever expected. And how it came to pass that Spain was ruled by Hapsburgs and Bourbons vs anyone of Spanish descent! Also learned where the best tapas places are, which is important!!
Our guide Almud was excellent. She was very informative and provided history of Madrid as we walked through Old Madrid.
Michele was a great quide, enthusiastic, friendly, happy to answer questions and led us all at a perfect pace. Highly recommend.
We had a tour with Michele. He is the BEST guide ever. He was explaining everything so nicely and very calmly! We really liked the tour. Thank you so much Michele❤️
This was a great tour with Andrea. She had a wealth of knowledge about the old town and tour was very informative. She was able to herd us cats through all the different areas and kept it fun for a long tour.
We enjoyed our personal tour with Isabel of the Old City. She definitely is knowledgeable and passionate about her city! We have been to Madrid several times but this off the typical path experience has left a lasting impression of the history behind the formation of the city and its colorful stories and events. Isabel provided the information in an engaging and relatable way. We learned so much without being overwhelmed. Very organic and impromptu stops at unexpected turns. Babylon, you have a gem guide in Isabel!
Excellent walking tour with Alfonso as the guide. He was knowledgeable,interesting and extremely enthusiastic. He made Madrid come alive and I learned a lot. Would strongly recommend the tour.
This was a nice tour around Madrid. We saw some great buildings and sights as well as learneing plenty of history. Well worth our time. Would recommend.
Flo was an excellent tour guide , in top 5 % of any I have experienced. She was well informed, thoughtful, paced well, and balanced history with her own experiences, Highly recommend this tour
Isabella was fantastic. A thorough and thoughtful historian of the city! Highly recommend.
Alfonso was very knowledgeable, amiable, open to questions and entertaining—he mad the tour a very interesting experience.
Amazing guide Flou !! We had a wonderful time !
Isabel was an excellent tour guide. Very informative and knowledgeable. She made it very interesting. It was a lot of walking but she found places for us to sit every once in a while. Would highly recommend.
Andrea is very knowledgeable and covered places that were not on our previous walking tour. Excellent!!!
The walking tour of Madrid with Jake as our guide was excellent. Jake provided so much history and geopolitical information in a very engaging manner. He covered the history of Spain interspersed with explanations of the architecture of the beautiful buildings in Madrid as well as providing recommendations on different types of cuisine. He even discussed the history of flamenco dancing. The tour was presented chronologically and the history of Spain was discussed in detail but in a manner that was easy to understand. The discussion of the various government in Spain, the civil war, dictatorship, and the current republic was presented as an absorbing story focusing on the rulers and the people of the country. It was as if we were having a relaxed and enjoyable discussion over a meal with friends. This is a tour I would absolutely recommend.
Almudena was a great tour guide. She was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the Madrid’s history. Would recommend to anyone.
Isabel was amazing. Her knowledge of Madrid and Spain and its history is spell-bounding. She is so enthusiastic and accommodating and really cares about your experience with her and your experience in her country. Book her if you can. She does not disappoint.
Flo was very good ! Good anecdotes and mix of culture and history
Very detailed and informative tour, with very engaging guide
Flo gave us an unforgettable tour of Madrid’s Old Town! Her passion and excellent knowledge of the city really brought the history to life. On top of that, she is incredibly warm and friendly, making us feel welcome. If you are looking for a top-tier guide in Madrid, book a tour with Flo!
Rosita was a fabulous tour guide! She made sure to explain everything in great detail and kept asking if we had questions!
We had an absolutely wonderful tour of Madrid with Flo. By pure luck, it ended up being just the two of us with her, and it felt like having an incredibly knowledgeable local friend show us the city. Flo’s English is impeccable, and her knowledge goes far beyond dates and landmarks. She has a deep understanding of European history and politics and is wonderful at connecting Madrid’s past to the bigger historical picture. What made the tour especially memorable was her storytelling—this isn’t about racing from one attraction to the next or checking sites off a list. Flo helps you understand the stories, people, politics, and events behind the places you’re seeing, which makes the city come alive in a completely different way. She also has a lovely, light sense of humor, and the conversation flowed so naturally that the time flew by. We learned a tremendous amount while genuinely having fun. If you enjoy history, great storytelling, and actually understanding a city rather than simply seeing it, I can’t recommend Flo highly enough. One of the highlights of our time in Madrid!
Sergio was our guide for our Madrid Walking Tour. He was an excellent guide - enthusiastic, knowledgable, and thorough. He gave us great context for the city, interesting history and showed us both historical and local current culture, food options and places of interest. It as a great into to Madrid.
Sean was awesome and so knowledgeable and passionate about his city. We saw so many cool things and learned so much about the history of Madrid. Highly recommend! It was our first day in Spain and it was a wonderful start to our trip!
Very knowledgeable guide. She slightly adjusted the tour to accommodate a person on the tour but made in such a way that we learned along the way
The history of Madrid is diverse and this tour shows buildings and sites from the Moors to modern day. Spain and Madrid is the adopted home of our guide Michele and his love and enthusiasm is apparent. He was the best part of the tour. His explanations of the various historical periods of Madrid and Spain helped put it into context.
Rosita provided an excellent customer service experience and outstanding customer awareness and answered questions around the history of the places we visited.
Our guide, Sergio, was very knowledgeable and provided insightful information throughout the experience. He made the tour engaging, informative, and enjoyable. If you're planning a visit, I highly recommend asking for Sergio! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flo was the BEST tour guide! If possible, request her! She was the most knowledgeable tour guide I’ve ever had, and not only that but I LOVED the way she presented all the historical information with such passion. She is so engaging and the beauty of this tour is that since it is semi-private, she was able to speak to us in Italian instead of English to better accommodate my family! The information we received on this tour was unmatched to the rest of the tours we received on other Madrid tours. She also gave us fabulous recommendations for food and other sites to see! BOOK THIS TOUR if you are deciding between multiple!
Floriana was an excellent guide - great historical perspective and enthusiasm for her subject. Really gave us a sense of the historical evolution of the city - a perspective not available by visiting individual points of interest.
The walking tour provided a good background for the city and its important sites. The guide Michele was very knowledgeable and was able to answer just about all of my questions. I now have a good idea of which sites I will follow up on. In addition Michele provided us with recommendations for eating and shopping. It was an enjoyable tour and I highly recommend the tour and guide Michele.
Wonderful tour! Highly recommend as a fun and thorough landscape and history of Madrid. Andrea did an amazing job of being insightful, thorough, and entertaining. Loved seeing the city and learning so much!
As it was our first time in Madrid we chose this tour as a way to see some of the more spectacular locations in the city with the benefit of a guide. We met Fernando at the agreed location at the palace and were pleasantly surprised that we were the only 2 in the group. Fernando was a fantastic guide, he was very knowledgeable about Madrid and it's history. He showed us many wonderful places that we would never have found on our own. It really helped us to back to some of the places again. Would highly recommend this tour and Fernando if you can get him.
Andrea V was amazing. Super sweet and knowledgeable and texted us restaurant options, other sites, etc….ask for her!!!!
This was a very informative tour. Andrea is very knowledgeable about the history of Madrid. Also her narration made it interesting
Great tour on a very warm first day in Madrid for us. Sergio gave us great information as well as history that my husband wanted since he's a history buff.
Wonderful tour experience with Sergio. He is so knowledgeable and engaging. Learned so much in the short time we were together. Highly recommend this tour and as for Sergio as your guide!
Our tour with Jake was enjoyable and informative. He was a wealth of information on everything we saw - and some we didn’t (I learned more about Toledo from Jake than I did on our tour of Toledo!). The highlight was a stop at a cloistered convent where the nuns make cookies that we bought through a lazy Susan so the nuns didn’t see us. I highly recommend the tour and Jake!
This was a great intro to the city of Madrid. We got great historical info on each area and got a good feel for the city. Sergio was an excellent guide and catered to our interests as well as giving great synopsis of the Madrid areas. I recommend doing this tour especially at the beginning of your trip. We got ideas of where to explore and eat as well as background info.
This truely was a small tour of only 4 of us and really opened our eyes to the old Madrid! Definitely gave us a greater admiration for the city and so pleased we did it. Our tour guide was lovely and very enthusiastic and made the history of Madrid come alive! Just a warning that it was over 3 hours long and as it commenced at 11am it was getting very hot by the end Maybe an earlier start could considered
We have done several walking tours in Madrid, each with a different focus. Sergio did an amazing tour of the history of Madrid and walking tour of the old city, neighborhoods La Latina and Las Letras with lots of pearls regarding where to eat and activities. Thank you Sergio for a wonderful experience!
Jake was great. We saw amazing sights and learned a lot of Spanish history. And he recommended tapas bars, restaurants, a Flamenco show, and even the best churro shop. The highlight was a visit to a cloistered convent where we bought cookies made by cloistered nuns.
Jake was the best tour guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and he was expert and history, culture and food. I would highly recommend him. Ramona R.
Jake was excellent and amazing and nice. A very knowledgeable guy with hidden gems to show you about Madrid.
Our guide, Leticia, was absolutely wonderful. She was extremely knowledgeable, engaging, and had a great sense of humour which made the tour really enjoyable. What stood out most was how she improvised on the spot to make the experience more interesting and interactive rather than just following a script. She also gave us plenty of local recommendations for food and places to visit, and every recommendation turned out to be excellent. 5 stars for Leticia — we would 100% recommend doing a tour with her!
Incredible tour of Old Town Madrid! Our guide, Floriana, was amazing—so friendly, welcoming, and incredibly informative. She knows the city inside and out and shared so much fascinating history with us. Highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to know the history of Madrid!
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