Best of Royal Madrid Walking Tour
Uncover Madrid’s royal past on this illuminating 2-hour city walking tour with an expert guide. Stroll through the city’s old Habsburg quarter to see beautiful Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Villa, and admire tree-filled, statue-dotted Plaza de Oriente and the imperious Royal Palace as your guide tells stories of the monarchs who lived here. Learn about the rise and fall of Spain’s Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties, stroll past hidden squares, convents and famous monuments, and discover how each monarch, strong or ineffectual, left their mark on the city.
Meet your guide in central Madrid and, if you wish, put on the supplied wireless earphones to ensure you can clearly hear your guide’s commentary. Then, get a lowdown on the Spanish capital’s tangled royal history as a curtain raiser for what’s ahead.
Hear how, in 1496, Spain’s Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand married their daughter, Juana, to the heir to the Holy Roman Empire, Philip, joining Spain with the mighty Habsburg Empire. Then, learn how after 200 years of Habsburg rulers, the crown passed to Philip of Anjou, the first Bourbon Spanish king, in 1714.
Start in the Habsburg quarter of old Madrid, and see the grand squares, palaces and other buildings that testify to its Habsburg legacy.
Start at Plaza Mayor, Madrid’s 17th-century central square. Admire the equestrian statue of Habsburg Philip III in the center of the lovely, arcaded courtyard, and hear how the square was built on a medieval marketplace and used for bullfights and executions until 1790.
See the Convent of the Carboneras and pretty Plaza de la Villa, home to Madrid’s former city hall; and then walk to Plaza de Oriente, the garden square that fronts the Royal Palace (Palacio Real).
View the statues of Spanish monarchs, including Philip IV on a rearing horse, and pose for photos outside the palace, former home of the Spanish royals.
Absorb the elegant façade and learn how the palace, one of Europe’s largest, was built by Philip V, Spain’s first Bourbon king, to replace an alcazar (fortress) that burnt down in 1734.
Continue on the royal trail to the Plaza de Isabel II, home to a statue of the 19th-century Bourbon queen, and finish at Puerta del Sol, the former site of Madrid’s eastern gate.
Here, see two of Madrid’s best-loved statues: one of Bourbon king Carlos III and the other, the emblematic Bear and Strawberry Tree (Oso y el Madroño), as you learn about their symbolic importance.
Your tour then ends here when you say goodbye to your guide.
