Last updated:
Madrid is the capital of Spain. The Royal Palace of Madrid is a royal palace in Madrid. The Prado Museum is an art museum in Madrid. Puerta del Sol is a square in Madrid. The tours below show the city in four ways: on a private tour of its landmarks, with a game on your phone, through football, bars and wine, and on day trips beyond the city.
Two private tours of the best-known landmarks, one short and by car and one that fills half a day. More tours and ideas for the city are on the page for Madrid.
A private chauffeur collects the group at the hotel for two hours of panoramic stops at the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian temple moved to Madrid, and at the outside of the Royal Palace, with a drive through the centre in between. The private vehicle and the hotel pickup and drop-off are included; entry to monuments is not.
Five hours with a private guide who sets the pace, with about an hour and a half of travel between the stops: the Royal Palace, Gran Vía, the Puerta de Alcalá arch, the Cibeles fountain and Plaza Mayor. It runs in English only, and entry to monuments is not included.
Two games you play on your phone at your own pace, with no guide: one through the literary quarter and one across the main squares and avenues.
A walk, a treasure hunt and an escape game in one, played with an app from Plaza Mayor through the streets where Cervantes and other Golden Age writers lived, with a stop at the church where Cervantes' remains were rediscovered. It lasts two hours and has no time limit; you need a charged smartphone with a data connection, and food and museum entry are extra.
A game of GPS directions, questions and search tasks that leads from Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol along Gran Vía to the cathedral and the area of the Prado Museum. Plan about three hours, start on any day at any time and pause whenever you like; the app speaks English and five other languages.
Five afternoons and nights built around a match, a bar route or a glass of wine, each led by a local host, a guide or a crew leader.
Six hours in a small group with a lifelong supporter: tapas and drinks in a taverna near the stadium, a walk through the neighbourhood and a seat on the long side of the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu. The match ticket and the host are included; the match depends on the fixture list, and getting there is up to you.
A guide takes the group by public transport to the club's home stadium for a match, with a walk and a short history of the club before kick-off and a visit to the club shop. The ticket and the guide are included; the fare, food and drinks are not.
Five hours of bar-hopping around Sol with a guide, with a welcome shot at each stop, discounts on drinks at every venue and a route that changes from night to night. Alcohol is part of the evening; it runs in English and Spanish.
Five hours across three bars and a club, with a crew leader between the stops, one free shot, free entry to the last club and drink discounts. Food is not included, and the night runs in six languages.
Three hours in a small group through one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, with four stops that pair Spanish wines, at least one from the Madrid region, with cheese, cured meats, croquetas, tortilla and dessert. Guide, tastings, pairings and entry to each venue are included; the tour is not for guests who avoid alcohol.
Six trips outside the city: three to the royal monastery of El Escorial, two to wineries near Madrid and one to the Ribera del Duero wine region.
Five hours with a licensed guide to the Monastery of El Escorial, built for King Philip the Second, and the Valley of Cuelgamuros, a memorial to the Spanish Civil War. Return transport and admission to the valley are included; the monastery ticket is bought on site.
A private trip for up to seven people in a minivan, with a driver who gives the history along the way: about an hour into the Guadarrama foothills, then the monastery and the Valley of Cuelgamuros. Pickup and drop-off in Madrid are included; entrance fees and food are not.
Eleven hours with a licensed guide by coach to El Escorial, the Valley of Cuelgamuros and the old town of Segovia, with a guided visit inside the Alcázar and free time in the city. Admission to the monastery and the valley is included; lunch is not.
Four and a half hours in a group of up to eight with a sommelier: a drive of thirty to forty-five minutes to a family winery, a walk through the vineyards or a cave and a tasting of at least three wines. Return transport is included; hotel pickup is not.
Six hours for a group of at most eight: a historic family winery in Colmenar de Oreja with three wines tasted, then a lunch with wine and a guided walk in Chinchón, a town around an arcaded main square. The private transport starts in central Madrid and is included.
Eight and a half hours for up to eight guests with a sommelier: two wineries about two hours from the city, a vineyard walk when the weather allows and at least six wines in total, with snacks at the second winery. Return transport from central Madrid is included; lunch is not.
They range from two hours, for the quick private city tour and the Don Quixote game, to eleven hours for the full-day trip to El Escorial and Segovia. The bar crawls take five hours, the wine pairing in La Latina three and the Real Madrid matchday six.
Three are private: the two city tours and the minivan trip to El Escorial. The three wine trips outside Madrid take up to eight guests.
Match tickets come with both football experiences, and the full-day trip to Segovia covers both the monastery and the valley. On the half-day trip you buy the monastery ticket at the door. On the two city tours, the minivan trip and the two games, entry to monuments and museums is not included.
The Chinchón trip includes a lunch with wine and water, the La Latina tour includes the food and wine pairings and the wine trips include tastings. The Real Madrid experience includes tapas and drinks before the match, and the bar nights include a shot and drink discounts. On the other tours food and drinks are not included.
All fifteen run in English and thirteen in Spanish; only English is offered on the private half-day tour and on the Don Quixote game. Four also run in German and in French, four in Italian, and one each in Portuguese and Dutch.
Thirteen can be cancelled for free: the bar crawl in Sol up to seven days before, the Atlético match up to thirty days before, the four wine tours up to two days before and six others up to one day before. The Real Madrid matchday allows one day or thirty days, depending on the match. The two private city tours are not refundable.
Sources: Wikidata (CC0).
