A poet arrested in the middle of a performance, a convent turned into a square, the best-attended funeral of the Golden Age and a common grave, a gambling house, the actors' patron saint, the corner whose memory a journalist saved, and the box with the mixed bones of seventeen people where Cervantes may lie.
In just a few blocks, the most famous writers in the Spanish language lived, loathed each other and were buried. You start where the Corral de la Cruz once stood, the playhouse where Lope was arrested mid-performance, and carry on through the Plaza de Santa Ana and the theatre that stands on the site of another corral. On the Plaza del Ángel, Lope's funeral and a common grave; on Huertas, the letter Cervantes received "opposite" the house of a Prince of Morocco; at the Mentidero, actors and a cure the players took for a miracle; at the Ateneo, the stars torn down in 1952. Then the corner where Cervantes died: the house is gone, but an article by Mesonero Romanos saved its memory; Lope's house, which is still standing; Calle de Quevedo, with a feud between neighbours; and the Trinitarian convent, where Cervantes may lie. By the end, you'll understand why Lope lived on Calle de Cervantes and Cervantes is buried on Calle de Lope de Vega.
An outline of the walk. The full stories are in the app.
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
Walking directions are based on mapped pedestrian routes. Check local access and signs; the route is not an accessibility guarantee. Times are approximate.
Madrid makes sense square by square. Leave room for a terrace, an unexpected slope and a proper break when the sunshine gets strong.
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.
In Habsburg Madrid, people were locked up, tried in public and made things up.
A hundred paces from Sol, streets almost nobody looks at twice.
An app for self-guided audio walks. Choose a city and a route, then listen to the stories behind its streets. You decide when to start and when to stop.
Podtour is coming to iOS and Android. There is no confirmed launch date yet. Join the waitlist and we will let you know when it is ready.
No. Street walks and monument audio tours do not include admission tickets, transport or a guide accompanying you.
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.
Join the waitlist. When we launch, your chosen city is yours to explore.
Join the waitlist and get one whole city free when Podtour launches. You choose where.
Podtour manages your launch request with your consent. You can withdraw it and exercise your rights as explained in our privacy policy. Privacy details.
One city per person. All its Podtour routes in Spanish and English. Available at launch. Offer details.
podtour