Half Day Private Madrid City Tour

Royal Palace of Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest in Western Europe and one of the largest in the world. With over 135,000 square metres and 3,418 rooms, it has witnessed centuries of Spanish history. It is one of the few official seat of a Head of State that is open to the public. Almost 2 million visitors come every year to discover its rooms, works of art and treasures that are unique in the world.

If you’d like to get a sense of the city, a walk along the Gran Vía is a superb place to start. It’s Madrid’s entertainment, shopping and cultural nerve centre, a buzzing avenue often full of life until dawn. By day it throngs with shoppers stopping by the many malls, high-street stores like H&M and Zara and luxury boutiques. In the evenings there are couples arm-in-arm, stepping out to the cinema or a musical. And after dark the street pulses with many of Madrid’s top nightclubs. Sights to spot as you stroll include the vast Telefónica Building, built in 1928 and an early example of a skyscraper.

Puerta de Alcala

This grand Neoclassical triumphal arch was commissioned by King Charles III to celebrate the arrival of the monarchs to Spain's capital city. The monument was designed by Francesco Sabatini and built between 1769 and 1778. Nearly 30 meters high, the elegant granite entrance gate makes a grand impression. The facade is adorned with sculptures, capitals, and decorative reliefs. Just below the monument, at 54 Calle Alcalá, is Madrid's fanciest patisserie shop VAIT Pastelerías, which offers exquisite cakes, cookies, pastries, chocolate candies, and hot chocolate.