Where Cervantes Feuded: A Self-Guided Madrid Tour

Duration1h - 1h 30m

Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before

Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away

TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted

LanguagesEnglish

Private tourOnly your group will participate

Overview

Madrid is one of Europe's most layered capital cities, where royal ambition, literary feuds, and financial rivalries are written into every street corner. On this self-guided audio tour, you'll follow a route from Puerta del Sol through the aristocratic Jerónimos neighborhood to the cobblestoned Barrio de las Letras. The tour starts at Puerta del Sol, where you'll find Kilometre Zero, before heading along Calle de Alcalá. You'll pass the Metrópolis Building, its dome covered in slate scales and 24-carat gold leaf, and the Instituto Cervantes, a former bank whose vaults now hold sealed letters from notable figures, to be opened in the future. You'll then enter El Retiro Park through the Puerta de la Independencia and walk among the Paseo de la Argentina's stone ghosts – statues removed from the Royal Palace after a queen's recurring nightmare about them tumbling down. The tour ends at Puerta del Sol, right next to Pastelería La Mallorquina.

What's included

Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
App for Android and iOS
Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start

Smartphone and headphones
Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
Food and drink
Transportation

What to expect

Pass by

Pass the Cervantes Institute, housed in a former bank whose vaults now hold sealed letters from notable figures. You'll discover that these letters are meant to stay unopened until a future date, guarding secrets for generations to come.
Pass by

Marvel at the Bank of Spain, guardian of an underground vault said to flood automatically if intruders break in. You'll hear how this dramatic defence has become one of Madrid's most enduring urban legends.
Cibeles Fountain
Pass by

Discover the Cibeles Fountain, where the lions are actually two mythological lovers condemned to pull a chariot for eternity. You'll learn how this punishment myth has been immortalised in stone at one of Madrid's grandest intersections.
Pass by

Admire the Cibeles Palace, a building so grand that locals sarcastically nicknamed it Our Lady of Communications. You'll see why its sheer scale earned this cheeky title from Madrid's own residents.
Puerta de Alcala
Pass by

Explore the Puerta de Alcalá, a neoclassical gate with two completely different faces. You'll uncover why its design shifts dramatically depending on which side you approach from.
Pass by

Wander among El Retiro Park's Paseo de la Argentina, home to stone statues removed from the Royal Palace after a queen's recurring nightmare. You'll walk among these exiled figures, still standing decades after their royal banishment.
Congreso de Los Diputados
Pass by

See the Congress of Deputies, guarded by bronze lion statues cast from cannons captured in war. You'll stand before these battle-forged guardians of Spain's seat of democracy.
Museo Nacional del Prado
Pass by

Pass the Prado Museum, one of the world's most celebrated art galleries. You'll take in its grand neoclassical facade before continuing through the aristocratic Jerónimos neighborhood it calls home.

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

This tour starts at Puerta del Sol. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

End point

This tour starts at Puerta del Sol. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

Additional information

Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.