Madrid has a story on every corner.
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One city per person. All its Podtour routes in Spanish and English. Available at launch. Offer details.
A square, a tavern, a neighbourhood reluctant to sleep. Walk through royal Madrid and the city of its residents: literature, uprisings, markets and corners worth a second look.
Start with “From Puerta del Sol to Plaza Mayor”. You start beside the Bear and the Strawberry Tree and find out how a crossroads worth less than the Plaza Mayor became the point from which Spain's roads are measured: a clock that replaced a bell, a post office with a guardroom where the staircase should have been, the afternoon of the Mamelukes in 1808 and the Kilometre Zero plaque. Along Calle Mayor you reach the mentidero, the steps where Madrid heard all the news, and then walk into the Plaza Mayor: five names, plaque by plaque, a bronze horse that came from Florence and blew up in 1931, the false fire alarm of 1631, and houses eight storeys high standing over the moat of the old town wall.
Then there’s “Crimes and Legends of Habsburg Madrid”. In Habsburg Madrid, people were locked up, tried in public and made things up. You start in front of the Court Prison and follow the condemned on their way to the Plaza Mayor: what an auto-da-fé really was and where the fires did not burn, how Rodrigo Calderón fell in the very square he used to ride across, and how much truth there is in La Calderona's balcony.
For another side of the city, try “The Gran Vía: From Zarzuela to War”. The Gran Vía was sung about before it was built. You start in the Plaza del Rey, in front of a sixteenth-century house stormed in the Esquilache riot and next door to Godoy's, and hear how in 1886 a musical revue turned an avenue that never arrived into a joke: "Well, you'd better wait sitting down.
Choose by neighbourhood or by the stories that interest you: each route shows its distance, stops and approximate duration before you set off. The audio is written for walking, with a clear distinction between documented events and local legend. Download it in the app, put on your headphones and pause whenever something catches your eye. English and Spanish are included.
The heart of Madrid in an hour: a bear that moved house, a clock that gave back the time, a hidden staircase, the Second of May in Sol, the gossip steps of Calle Mayor, and a square that burnt three times and had five names.
Explore the free walk
The map shows where each walk starts. Choose a theme below to find the stories you like.
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
Madrid makes sense square by square. Leave room for a terrace, an unexpected slope and a proper break when the sunshine gets strong.
Our Madrid guide has suggestions for one, two and three days. Start with one area rather than trying to fit every walk into a day; leave room for travel between neighbourhoods and any indoor visits.
Hills: from Sol towards La Latina and Lavapiés you head downhill; the return makes itself felt. The Royal Palace area also overlooks a slope. Underfoot: stone paving, cobbles and some stepped passages. The free route includes the steps around Arco de Cuchilleros; it is not presented as step-free.
“From Puerta del Sol to Plaza Mayor” is the free route: 11 stops over 1.04 km, with an approximate duration of 43 minutes. You can see its map and stops on the route page.
For plenty of walking: spring and autumn usually give you more flexibility than summer heat. May · San Isidro: celebrations and a festive atmosphere; some areas become crowded.
Download the audio in the app before heading out, then listen offline. Loading the online base map and calculating a new route from your location require a connection.
Every route includes Spanish and British English. The English version is adapted for English-speaking travellers, rather than translated word for word.
Join the waitlist, choose a city and confirm your email address. When the app launches, we will email you with access details. No card is required. You can also try one free route in every city.
Yes. Your own access is included and you can choose 0–5 guests: up to 6 people including you. Each guest saves up to €0.50 on a walk, €1 on a pack or €2 on a whole city compared with buying separately. The counter shows the total before you confirm one payment.
After paying, share your purchase’s invitation link. Each guest opens it in Podtour and accepts their place on their own iPhone or Android phone. They must redeem it within 30 days of purchase. Unclaimed places then expire and cannot be recovered or renewed. Access accepted in time is kept. Opening the link does not use a place; one account takes just one place, and no more people can join once all places are taken.
No. Choose all your guests before confirming the first purchase. Afterwards you can share the places you paid for, but you cannot increase their number or restart the 30-day deadline.
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