Dear readers,

The Making of Madrid has been going for more than two years now and over this time I’ve accumulated a vast store of fascinating factoids and intriguing anecdotes about my adoptive city. Keen to share this information with others, I decided to do a few one-off tours and found the experience so enjoyable that I’m ready to make this a regular thing. That’s why I’m delighted to announce the launch of The Making of Madrid Tours.

If you’re keen to find out more about Madrid’s history, why not join me? To book a place on any of these tours you can follow the link to my Meetup page, RSVP via my Facebook page, or simply send me an email. For all the tours I’ll be adopting the free tour model, that is guests will be asked to tip at the end. Any contributions will be gratefully accepted!

There are currently three tours on offer: “Madrid, the Early Years,” “Lavapiés: Defiance in its DNA,” and “Retiro: Construction, Destruction and Reinvention.” Further details can be found below:

Madrid, the Early Years

This guided tour around the oldest parts of Madrid will cover the city’s origins as an outpost of Islam up until the demise of the Hapsburg dynasty. Starting in the Plaza Mayor and ending up at the Royal Palace, the tour will reveal how a Protestant smear campaign still colours our view of the Spanish Inquisition and expose a conspiracy to destroy the original royal palace that implicates the king himself. Along the way we’ll visit a secret garden, examine some of the few surviving medieval buildings in the capital, and visit the remains of the original city wall.

Lavapiés: Defiance in its DNA

Starting off with the tribe of manolos who first settled here and ending up in the multi-cultural present day, this tour will cover Lavapiés’ long and turbulent history from the foundation of Madrid up until the recent riots. Highlights include a visit to a medieval dungeon and an 18th century corrala.

Retiro: Construction, Destruction and Reinvention

A guided tour that traces the evolution of Madrid’s most iconic park from royal spiritual retreat, to decadent pleasure palace, to public park. Highlights along the route include the remains of the old palace, the now defunct House of Beasts, and the ghastly tale of Madrid’s first and only human zoo.

And finally, something extra!

In addition to running these tours, I hope to start arranging group outings to places of historical interest around Madrid. I’ll be announcing details on my Meetup page so keep an eye out.

Since this piece was written, I’ve added more tours to my repertoire, so check out my website if you’re interested in hiring me.