Tours of the City
Walking Tours
The Patronato Municipal de Turismo (tel: (91) 588 2900; website: www.descubremadrid.com) organises a number of 90-minute walking tours (in English), costing between 3-6 each (concessions are available). Two of the more popular tours are ‘Hapsburg Madrid’, including the Royal Palace, major churches and monasteries and taking place on Saturday at 1000 (May-Sep) and ‘Legends of Old Madrid’, an informative and entertaining introduction to the city (summer only). Both depart from the Oficina Municipal de Turismo, Plaza Mayor. Other organized walks by the Patronato Municipal de Turismo include ‘Literary Madrid’ and ‘La casa de la Villa’.
Bus Tours
Madrid Vision (tel: (91) 779 1888 or 541 6321; fax: (91) 383 0766; website: www.madridvision.es) bus tours depart daily from Puerta del Sol, and run every 10 to 25 minutes, depending on the season, 1000-2100 (summer) and 1000-1900 (winter). There is a choice of three routes – ‘Historic Madrid’ (including the main sights of the Hapsburg and Bourbon city), ‘Modern Madrid’ (including the Paseo de la Castellana and Santiago Bernabu Stadium, Real Madrid’s football ground) and ‘Monumental Madrid’ (exploring the Gran Via). Cassettes with English commentary are provided on the tour, which runs for approximately 75 minutes, except route 3, which lasts for about 40 minutes. The hop-on-hop-off trip costs 13 for one day or 17 for two days (concessions are available) depending on the option chosen.
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Tours of the City