Madrid in a day:
The Prado, the Royal Palace, and the historic center
Destination
Madrid, Spain
Duration
4 hours
Tour size
Max 18
Language
English
Overview
Let us take the lead in Madrid, while you take in the icons: the Prado, the medieval center, and the Royal Palace. Four hours, three of the city's biggest sites, and a local expert leading the way with skip-the-line entry at both attractions.
- •Step inside the Prado with skip-the-line entry and meet Las Meninas up close
- •Get close to the works and worlds of Goya, El Greco, Bosch, and Velázquez
- •Walk the medieval heart of Madrid through Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol
- •Enter the largest working royal palace in Europe with skip-the-line entry
- •Trace the dynasties that built Madrid, from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons
What's included
- Skip-the-line ticket to the Prado Museum
- Skip-the-line ticket to the Royal Palace of Madrid
- A local English-speaking expert guide
- Group of 16 maximum
You will visit
- The Prado Museum
- Las Meninas by Velázquez
- Plaza de la Villa
- Plaza Mayor
- Puerta del Sol
- The Literary Quarter
- The Royal Opera House (exterior)
- The Royal Palace of Madrid
Get a taste of Madrid in a day
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What to expect
The Prado: Las Meninas and 200 years of Spanish royal taste
You'll start at the Prado, the Spanish royal collection turned national museum, with skip-the-line entry straight into the galleries. Your guide will walk you through the museum's most important works: Goya's black paintings, El Greco's elongated saints, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, and the room that holds Las Meninas. The Velázquez is the painting the museum is built around, and your guide will tell you exactly what to look at and in what order.
The historic center: from Habsburg square to kilometer zero
From the Prado, you'll walk into the medieval heart of Madrid. Your guide will take you through the Plaza Mayor, built by the Habsburgs as the city's grand square, and the Puerta del Sol, the literal kilometer zero of Spain where every road in the country is measured from. Along the way, you'll cross the Literary Quarter, where Cervantes and Lope de Vega lived within blocks of each other, and the streets are still inlaid with quotes from their work.
"I tell people to look for the mirror at the back of Las Meninas first. The king and queen are only in that mirror. The whole painting hinges on it."
David,
WalksDevour Madrid guide
"The Royal Palace has more rooms than Versailles and Buckingham Palace combined. We see about 30. That's enough to understand the rest."
Lola,
WalksDevour Madrid guide
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Frequently asked questions
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