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DMC Destination Management Company
Madrid
He llorado en Venecia, me he perdido en Manhattan,
he crecido en la Habana, he sido un paria en París.
Santiago de Chile me atormenta,
Buenos Aires me mata,
pero siempre hay un tren que desemboca en Madrid.
Allá donde se cruzan los caminos,
donde el mar no se puede concebir,
donde regresa siempre el fugitivo,
pongamos que hablo de Madrid.
¿Te has parado alguna vez a ver los colores
que estallan en Madrid cuando,
al salir del metro en una tarde otoñal, el sol se va?
Joaquin Sabina
Itineraries
Madrid city tour
We will proceed to take a panoramic view of Madrid. We will enjoy all of the varied contrasts of this wonderful city. We will begin with the old part with the Puerta de Alcalá, Puerta del Sol, The Royal Palace, the bullring, The Debod Temple and the legendary Gran Vía. We will continue towards the more modern Madrid by going along the Paseo de la Castellana until we get to Plaza Castilla (Puerta de Europa), and go down toward the Plaza de la Cibeles, Gran Via and Plaza de Callao and end up where we started from.
Madrid de los Austrias
We will take a visit that will bring us to one of the most important historical moments in the history of Madrid. This is the "Madrid de los Asturias". This is the name Madrid received from the period in which the Hapsburgs reigned in Spain from 1516 to 1700. This reign started with Charles I, who enriched the city with palaces and monuments. The reign of Philip II is when Madrid grew considerably. In our visit we will visit the most remarkable monuments and buildings such as Puerta del Sol, Convento de las Descalzas Reales, la Casa de la Villa, la Casa Cisneros and Torre de los Lujanes, Plaza Mayor and San Isidro’s Cathedral.
Bernabeu Tour
You will be able to walk around the stadium at on your won, enjoy its space and mythical corners in the History of world football. The dream of every football amateur becomes real thanks to the Bernabeu Stadium´s tour. The tour includes: a panoramic view of the stadium, new museum, a walk around the outside of the field, presidential box, players tunnel, benches and technical area, press room, official store and for the first time access to the first team´s dressing room. Also, there are two new interactive spaces with “multi-touch” technology screens where you can find out about all of the Club´s history, a museum to touch and live.
Madrid Shopping Tour
Could there be any more original way of getting to know Madrid than through its shopping, commerce, avant-garde and life style? We offer a program where we will pick you and a personal shopper up who will accompany you for a private shopping walk through the neighborhood of Salamanca. You will enjoy the best shops and fashion designer showrooms. The aim of this activity is to optimize your time to go to the shops that you are really interested in regardless of the type of product (fashion, antiques, art galleries, decoration.)
Madrid Cuisine
Let’s get to know Madrid through its gastronomy. The offer that waits for you in the capital of Spain is varied, from simple homemade dishes to more elaborate menus in luxurious restaurants. We also invite you to participate in a tradition that is part of the city’s life, like going out for “tapas”: small portions of food with genuine fans. Also, it’s the perfect excuse to go around the historical city center. You can feel the popular and animated ambience of its inns and taverns and walk around the tapas area, which are many. The ones that stand out are from the old part of the city center, with places such as Sol, La Latina, Santa Ana square, la Cava Baja, Cava Alta and Plaza Mayor. You have to take advantage of the occasion to visit taverns with centuries of history. Many of them are decorated with tiles, marble tables, columns and wooden benches: going inside is like going back in time. If you prefer more imaginative and cutting-edge tapas that are of a more sophisticated elaboration and original presentation you can go to the neighborhood of Salamanca where many of these establishments abound. We can not forget San Miguel’s Market situated in the heart of Madrid, near Plaza Mayor. It was once a supplies market frequented by the local neighbors of the area who made their daily purchases. The building was finished in 1916, following an iron and glass architecture that was developed in the XIX century (like the Palacio de Cristal, el Mercado de la Cebada, Atocha Train Station and even the Palacio de Comunicaciones. It was opened in 2009 after a long remodeling and is now unrecognizable, since it went from being a traditional market (now in disuse), to a touristy tapas place (too touristy it could be said) but it’s inevitable when something is so well- maintained and situated.
San Miguel and San Anton Markets Tour
We offer a guided tour of two of the main markets in Madrid, San Miguel and San Anton markets. These two historical markets in Madrid have been converted into an authentic gastronomic joy. You can enjoy a unique experience from experts. They’re functional spaces that combine the most modern design with classical culinary offers, from ingredients that are sometimes unknown to the public, to gastronomic suggestions made in the considerable range of stands and shops that we will show you. We will take the opportunity to sample the tasty tapas offered.
Cooking Classes
We will learn to prepare traditional Spanish dishes where life-long recipes play the leading role (although the cook that is teaching the class will add his secret touch) or new experimental recipes, where the imagination and presentation of the dishes free our creativity and we can discover the chef we have inside. To complete the classes we combine them with visits to markets renowned for their diversity, quality of products and gastronomical and cultural interest. Another recommended option is to combine cooking classes with wine tasting.
Madrid and surroundings
Madrid is not only rich in culture and art in its own city, but you can also take some trips to the surrounding areas which we could qualify as unique experiences with great historical content.
St. Lorenzo os Escorial
50km away from Madrid we will visit one of the most famous monasteries in the world. This giant construction was built by Philip II, as a royal pantheon. Thus fulfilled the promise made to St Lorenzo whose temple had been desecrated by the French during the siege. Its floor has the shape of a grill, the Saint´s martyrdom device. The construction took 21 years, Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan Herrera worked on it, who introduced his trademark style of free-standing inner and outer decoration. You will visit the Main chapel, the kings pantheon, hall of thrones, Philip II summers palace and the little Prince´s house.
Aranjuez
44km away from Madrid we can find this village, (which not only offers us its delicious asparagus, or as an inspiration for the famous “Aranjuez Concert” by Joaquin Rodrigo) but also a fantastic Royal Palace from the XVI-XVII centuries. The China Hall and Hall of thrones stand out on the inside of this Palace. We include a visit to the Casita del Labrador with its interesting collection of clocks and porcelains and its famous gardens, such as the Parterre, La Isla and El Principe which stand out.
Alcalá de Henares
30km away from Madrid we find this old university campus of great cultural tradition which reached its maximum splendor in the Renaissance. We will visit the University, the plateresque façade founded by Cardinal Cisneros in 1498, and inside we will find the auditorium, Patio Trilingüe and Santo Tomas de Villanueva courtyard. Also we can highlight its walls from the XV century, the Magistral church from the XV century, the Bernadine convent, from the XVII century, and Cervantes´s house (where the distinguished author lived).
Toledo
70km away from Madrid we find Toledo, “World Heritage City”, a city-museum of great artistic beauty and one of the most ancient in Europe, denominated “City of three cultures”, since Christians, Muslims and Jews lived here together. Its buildings mostly cover all periods of history (Arabic, Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance and Baroque) El Greco resided here, the great painter of the XVI century, where in 2014 is the 400th anniversary of his death. We will dedicate an entire day to visit this wonderful city in depth.
+34 639 15 52 31 dcombet@events4u.es
+34 649 97 06 22 mmgai@events4u.es