Madrid Old Town Guided Walking Tour in German

The Royal Palace, Plaza de Oriente and the opera house

The tour starts at Plaza de Isabel II, by the Ópera metro station, where your guide gives an overview of Madrid with a map. A few steps away stands the Teatro Real, the city's opera house, inaugurated in the mid-nineteenth century. Behind it opens Plaza de Oriente, a formal square of gardens, fountains and statues of ancient kings of Spain, leading to the eastern facade of the Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace of Madrid was built in the eighteenth century on the site of the old Moorish fortress and later royal alcázar, which burned down in 1734. With more than 3,000 rooms, it is the largest royal palace in Western Europe and is still used for state ceremonies. On this Madrid walking tour in German you admire it from Plaza de Oriente and from the Plaza de la Armería esplanade, while your guide explains its history; visiting the interior requires a separate ticket.

Almudena Cathedral

Facing the palace across the Plaza de la Armería is the Almudena Cathedral, Madrid's cathedral. Its construction began in the late nineteenth century but was completed only at the end of the twentieth, when it was finally consecrated in 1993. The result is a mix of styles: a neoclassical exterior designed to match the palace, a neo-Gothic nave and a crypt in neo-Romanesque style.

The cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin of Almudena, patron of Madrid, whose name comes from the Arabic al-mudayna, the citadel, a reminder that Madrid began as a Moorish fortress called Mayrit in the ninth century. From the terrace beside the cathedral you can look over the Casa de Campo park and, on clear days, the Guadarrama mountains.

Calle Mayor, Plaza de la Villa and the San Miguel Market

From the cathedral the walk continues along Calle Mayor, the historic main street of the old city, lined with elegant buildings and some of Madrid's oldest shops. Your guide tells the stories behind them and points out remnants of the original Madrid that many guidebooks miss. Plaza de la Villa, a small square just off the street, holds some of the oldest civil buildings in the city, including the fifteenth-century Casa de los Lujanes with its Gothic-Mudéjar tower and the former city hall.

A few minutes further, the Mercado de San Miguel is a beautiful market hall of cast iron and glass opened in 1916. Today it is a lively gourmet market where stalls serve Spanish specialities, and your guide explains which local dishes are worth trying in Madrid, from croquettes to calamari sandwiches.

Plaza Mayor

Plaza Mayor is the grand arcaded square at the centre of old Madrid, completed in 1619 and rebuilt several times after fires. Surrounded by uniform buildings with hundreds of balconies, nine archways and the painted facade of the Casa de la Panadería, it has hosted markets, bullfights, coronations and public celebrations over four centuries.

Is Plaza Mayor worth visiting? It is a must on any Madrid old town tour, and your guide explains its history and the life of the square through the ages. Nearby is Plaza de Puerta Cerrada, named after one of the old gates of the medieval walls, which the tour also visits. The area around these squares is part of the so-called Madrid of the Austrias, the oldest district of the city, and the starting point of the famous tapas quarter.

Puerta del Sol, Kilometre Zero of Spain

The tour ends at Puerta del Sol, the busiest square in Madrid and the symbolic centre of Spain. In front of the Real Casa de Correos, the old post office now used by the regional government, a plaque on the pavement marks Kilometre Zero, the point from which Spain's national roads are measured. The square is also known for the statue of the bear and the strawberry tree, the symbol of Madrid, and for the clock whose chimes on New Year's Eve are followed by the whole country.

Finishing here makes it easy to continue your day: shopping streets, metro lines and many of the city's main sights are a short walk away. If you book this walking tour at the start of your stay, you will have a clear idea of how the city fits together and what else you want to see.