THE 10 BEST TOURS AND EXCURSIONS IN MADRID

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This list of best tours and excursions in Madrid It will help you to complete a visit to one of the cities with a greater cultural and leisure offer in Europe.

Tour the Gran Vía, soak up the best art in its important museums, see monuments and palaces, take a cane on the terrace of some beautiful square, relax in the Retiro park, cover the neighborhood of La Latina or San Mercado Miguel, looking for a bargain in El Rastro or getting lost in the Chueca or Malasaña neighborhoods, are just some of the many experiences the city offers.
And if you have some extra days, near Madrid you have cities with a great history like Toledo, Segovia, Ávila or the Monastery of El Escorial, which you can visit in a day by train, car or bus from the capital.

Based on the many times we have visited the capital, on our last visit we wrote this guide of what to do in Madrid in 4 days, we have made a list of what we believe, are the 10 best tours and excursions from Madrid.

1. Excursion to Toledo

Toledo is one of our favorite cities in Spain and one of the best excursions in Madrid of a day Known as the city of the three cultures, since Christians, Jews and Arabs lived together for centuries, Toledo preserves buildings and monuments of all of them, which makes it an authentic open-air museum.
Also declared a World Heritage Site, this old walled medieval city has many places of interest from the moment you cross the main entrance, the Bisagra Gate, a moment that we are sure, you will not forget.
In addition to walking throughout its historic center, we recommend following this Toledo guide in one day and completing this list of places to visit in Toledo essential.
A good option to learn more about the history of the city is to book this guided tour in Spanish by the Toledo of the 3 cultures.
To go from Toledo to Madrid the fastest and most comfortable option is to take the high-speed train from the Atocha Station, which takes half an hour. Another cheaper alternative, if you do not have a car, is the bus from the Elliptical Square Station, although the journey takes more than an hour.

Another option, which is very worthwhile, is to book some of these excursions from Madrid with a guide in Spanish to tour the city knowing the history of each place:

Toledo

2. Guided tours of Madrid

Madrid is a city to live day and night, enjoying a perfect combination of art and culture with leisure and good food. Its historic center concentrates the most famous squares, buildings and streets starting from the Royal Palace of Madrid to Puerta del Sol, among which is the magnificent Plaza Mayor, one of the most essential places to visit in Madrid.
You can follow the route through Madrid walking to the Puerta de Alcalá, located next to the Retiro Park, an ideal place to walk and disconnect from the city and then leave on one of the sides of the park to meet the Prado Museum, holder from one of the most important art collections in the world and not far from the Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums, two other essential visits in Madrid.
At sunset we recommend walking along the Gran Vía full of theaters and large buildings to the Temple of Debod, to see one of the best sunsets in the city.
And at night you can not miss the neighborhoods of La Latina, Malasaña or Chueca or the covered markets such as San Miguel or San Antón, ideal for tapas and enjoy the atmosphere.

To know the history and not miss anything important about the city you can book some of the best tours in Madrid with a guide in Spanish:

Main Square

3. Segovia

Segovia, a World Heritage Site, is one of the cities that fall in love at first sight and another one of the best excursions from Madrid in a day.
In addition to passing through the historic center and seeing its two great architectural jewels, the Aqueduct and the Alcazar, we recommend you follow this guide from Segovia in one day and complete this list of places to visit in Segovia.
The easiest and fastest way to get from Madrid to Segovia is with the high-speed train that leaves from Chamartín station and takes less than half an hour and another cheaper option is to take the bus at the Moncloa Transport Interchange, with The one that will reach Segovia in just over an hour.
You can see the schedules and book tickets for all routes and cities using this recommended search engine.
If you do not have much time and do not want to miss anything interesting, a good option is to book one of these excursions in Madrid:

Aqueduct of Segovia

4. Guided tours of the main Museums of Madrid

Around the Paseo del Prado is the triangle formed by the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza Museums, separated by less than 10 minutes walking. Depending on the days you have, you can choose to visit one, two or the three best museums in Madrid, since they all have recognized collections of paintings worldwide.
If you only want to enter one, we recommend you choose the Prado Museum, one of the most important in the world with great paintings by masters such as Goya, Titian, Velazquez, El Greco or El Bosco, among others. The museum is huge, so it is advisable, especially if you are not an expert in painting, to focus on the most famous works such as Las Meninas from Velázquez, The Naked Pestle and the May 3 in Madrid from Goya, The Knight's Hand on the Chest from El Greco, The Three Graces from Rubens or The Garden of Earthly Delights from El Bosco. To complete the list you can follow this guide of the works to see in the Prado Museum essential.
To avoid the queues that are formed in the access it is highly recommended to book the fast ticket online in advance, for the same price as at the ticket office.
The Reina Sofía Museum has its icon in the immense painting of the Guernica, one of Picasso's masterpieces, although you will also find works by Dalí, Miró or Kandinsky.
For more information you can consult this specific post about the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum located in the Villahermosa Palace has a large collection with works by Van Gogh, Caravaggio, Dalí, Rembrandt or El Greco, among others.

A good option when you visit these 3 museums, especially El Prado, is to do it with a guided tour with an expert in art and history that helped you understand each work, which is also considered as some of the best tours in Madrid, with You'll also skip the entrance lines.

Prado Museum

5. Ávila, one of the best excursions in Madrid

Ávila impresses at first sight by its huge wall that surrounds the medieval old town and that makes it another of the best excursions in Madrid.
In addition to walking through some sections of this wall of more than 2500 meters in length and getting lost in its historic World Heritage Center, we recommend you follow this Ávila guide in one day and complete this list of places to visit in Ávila essential.
The best way to get to Ávila from Madrid is by bus from the South Station or by train from Príncipe Pío Station. Both means of transport take about an hour and a half, although the bus is a little cheaper.

To learn more about the interesting history of this walled city, you can book one of these excursions from Madrid in one day:

Avila Wall

6. Guided visit to the Royal Palace

The visit to the Royal Palace or Palacio de Oriente, built in the 18th century and one of the largest in the world, is another of the best tours in Madrid.
This palace combines tourist visits with official events such as ceremonies and receptions of the Spanish Royal Family and the visit inside the building usually lasts an hour and a half, which is divided into a tour of the royal halls and the visit to the Royal Armory , which has one of the most important weapon collections in the world.
An interesting way to know the history of the palace and the most curious anecdotes is to book this guided tour in Spanish with which you will save the long queues that form in the access or this one that includes the visit to the Almudena Cathedral.
If you do not want to take a guided tour you can reserve the ticket online without queues and take an audio guide or a free brochure with the description of each room.
To get to the Royal Palace you can take lines 2 and 5 of the subway and get off at the Opera stop.

Royal Palace

7. El Escorial

One of the visits we made the first time we were in Madrid was that of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a World Heritage Site and another of the best excursions in Madrid.
Considered for a time the eighth wonder of the world, it is a huge monumental complex of the sixteenth century, which has in addition to the convent, a royal palace, a pantheon, a library, with more than 40,000 valuable old books, and a basilica.
This monastery is inhabited by monks of the Order of St. Augustine and stands out for its great cloister, the main staircase, the chapter rooms, the large collection of relics and the beautiful gardens of the friars.
In the Royal Crypt, known as the Pantheon of the Kings, there are the mortal remains of several monarchs and queens of Spain that resided in the two palaces of the El Escorial complex: the Palace of Philip II, with a large Hall of Battles, and that of the Bourbons.

To get to El Escorial from Madrid you can take a suburban train at the Chamartín Station or the bus from the Moncloa Interchange, being in both cases a one-hour journey.
A good alternative to learn more about the history and curiosities of this huge complex is to book this tour on the Felipe II train with a guide in Spanish, located between best excursions from Madrid in one day.

El Escorial, one of the best excursions from Madrid

8. Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

One of the most visited places in Madrid, with more than 1 million visitors a year, is the Santiago Bernabéu football stadium.
In this sports venue, located on Paseo de la Castellana, Real Madrid plays, one of the most legendary teams with the most followers in the world.
With capacity for more than 80,000 spectators and almost 250 VIP boxes, this stadium can be visited every day from 10am to 7pm and during the tour of the stadium you will see the playground, the changing rooms, the box, the benches, the room press, the store and especially its museum, where all the titles conquered by the club are exposed.
To get to the stadium we advise you to take the metro line 10 and get off at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium stop.
A good way to save your queues is to book this ticket in advance.

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium

9. Basin

The city of Cuenca, a World Heritage Site that has as its great jewel the well-known Hanging Houses and the nearby landscapes of the Enchanted City, is another of the excursions in Madrid Best valued by travelers visiting the capital.
To explore its historic center located over 1000 meters above a hill, we suggest you follow this guide of Cuenca in one day and complete this list of places to visit in Cuenca essential.
The best way to get to Cuenca from Madrid is to take the high-speed AVE train from Atocha Station that will leave you at Fernando Zóbel station in less than an hour and from this station you can take line 1 of the bus that goes up to the Main Square.
A more interesting option with which you will know the history of the Hanging Houses and the city is to book this excursion with a guide in Spanish that includes a walk through the incredible landscapes of the Enchanted City.

Basin

10. Warner Park

The fun visit to Warner Park is our latest recommendation from the list of best excursions from Madrid in one day.
This theme park of the famous movie studios of Warner Bros, is perfect to spend a day with family, couple or friends as it has several roller coasters such as Superman, Batman or the Coaster Express, where you will release large amounts of adrenalin.
You can mix these attractions with shows such as the Crazy Police Academy or Batman Begins, always accompanied by the most friendly characters from the Warner factory such as Tweety and Bugs Bunny.
The most comfortable alternative, if you do not have a car, to visit Warner Park is to book this excursion that includes one or two day tickets.
Another way to get there is with the 412 bus that leaves from the Villaverde Bajo-Cruce Station (subway line 3) or the C3 commuter train that leaves Sol or Atocha to Pinto and then take the 412 or 414 bus to the entrance of the Park.