Before the battle, a convent with a legendary clock and a street called Desengaño, "Disillusionment"; after it, the artillery park: a captain who disobeyed, a mother who fought alongside her sons, a coal merchant who survived, two bricklayers on their way home for lunch, a statue that moved six times and a girl with three different deaths.
The second of May 1808 wasn't the work of just two captains: it was the work of a neighbourhood. You start on Calle del Desengaño, with its legend of the mummy and a resident who died that day, and at San Plácido, the convent founded by an engaged couple who never married. Along the Corredera you meet the coal merchant who led the armed locals and survived three days of mock executions; around San Ildefonso and on Calle del Espíritu Santo, other neighbours with a name and a trade. In Plaza del Dos de Mayo: the arch that was left standing, Captain Daoíz who decided to disobey, Clara del Rey and the women who carried ammunition, and a marble statue that has moved house more often than many people in Madrid. Just round the corner, on Calle de Velarde, an old coal shop that ended up as a temple of the Movida: La Vía Láctea. You finish on Calle de Manuela Malasaña with the question that gives the neighbourhood its name: how did that girl really die?
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.
A hundred paces from Sol, streets almost nobody looks at twice.
In Habsburg Madrid, people were locked up, tried in public and made things up.
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.
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