My cousin and I are leaving for Spain next week. Instead of doing one of those "See Everything From The Postage Stamp Size Window Of A Bus," we'd like to take a small interesting walking tour. Any suggestions? We'll be in Madrid for two days. TIA Eli in VA

Hi eli255!!! Welcome to our Spain-Loving message board!!!

What kind of tour are you hoping to take? A historical tour or a "topical" tour? I can easily recommend the Stephen Drake Jones Wellington Society Historical Walking Tours of Old Madrid .

A lot has been posted about Madrid tours in the past. Here are just a few I found by doing a SEARCH:

Madrid walking tours , Madrid Walks? , wine tour in Madrid - highly recommended , Tour - Madrid - Everett Rice , City Tours (Madrid) , & MadridTours:Drake-Jones vs.Walks of Madrid .

Has anyone taken any other tours? I recall SOMEONE posted one which had a website, a smaller local Madrid tour company, but I don't recall where it is or what they were called.

If you're visiting other parts of Spain please feel free to ask questions about it in other threads/forums. Remember, this is an ALL SPAIN Message Board!

Good luck deciding on a tour and have a GREAT time in Madrid and throughout Spain!

Saludos, MadridMan

Another option in Madrid to the small bus windows is the open double decker tourist busses. They cost around $10-12 per day and you can buy a two day pass a little cheaper. You're out in open and what I like is you can really see the buildings and that blue, blue sky. You can get on as many times as you want for the same price each day and they run in the early evening as well. There are three routes that make a circle in Madrid and they overlap so you can go from the blue route to the red route, etc.
All the hotels/hostals have brochures for these buses and there are many stops to get on in the tourist places. Have Fun!
Sabalagirl

What about the walking tours organised by the Municipal Tourist Board?. The have a special summer programme still valind in September with several walking tours in English through the Madrid of the Hapsburgs, Madrid of the Bourbons, etc. It's only 3 euros per person and are guided by professional guides from the tourist board.

Check out Descubre Madrid . They have more than 100 different walking tours throughout the year.

Hi Eli255, you might also want to check out www.easygoin.org. It's very personalized, relaxed -- the very antithesis of cookie cutter, mass tourism. I did a half-day tour and it was well worth fees. The director is very knowledgeable.

I didn't get to take an "official" Madrid Walks tour but I did get to enjoy tapas and some partying with the charming wine expert Andres and a couple from England ... had a wonderful time and if you have a chance to "tapear" on one of Andres' tours, don't hesitate!

(By the way I also did try to get in touch with the Wellington company, but I tried in vain to call the number on the website for a few days and it was out of area and there was no voice mail ... perhaps you would have better luck.)

Enjoy Madrid!

Churrito