Spain » Madrid | 🏛 Madrid Walking Tour · Tapas Tour Madrid · Food Tour Madrid

Madrid: Tapas Crawl & Royal Palace Walk with Botín Dinner

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.95 (3,454 reviews) 97% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/33

Duration3h–3h 30m

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN · ES

Mobile ticketAccepted

Madrid's Oldest Bars & Palaces in One Evening

You taste your way through Madrid's oldest bars and neighborhoods in one evening, learning how locals actually go out for tapas while your guide walks you past the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, and centuries-old streets. Nine or more tapas, four drinks, and VIP access to Botín—the world's oldest restaurant—are included, with pickup arranged nearby and dietary options available if you email ahead after booking.

3h–3h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Begin at historic tavern with tapas and vermouth
Visit family-run Asturias restaurant and try cider
Guided walking tour past Royal Palace and Habsburg area
Enjoy tapas and wine cocktail at historic bar
Visit Plaza Mayor and learn its history
See Puerta del Sol plaza and cultural significance
Try garlic shrimp and wine at 1906 family bar
Special access tour of Botín restaurant and cellar

The Experience

"The secret is not to rush the vermouth," your guide says, setting down the glass at the first stop—a historic tavern in the heart of Madrid where the evening starts. You get a crash course in tapeo, the local art of going out for tapas, and it's not what tourists usually do. The vermouth is Spain's favorite aperitif, and the way it's poured, the way it's held, the way you move from bar to bar—that's what marks the difference between a visitor and someone who knows Madrid. Your guide walks you through it all, and you're already three minutes in before the first tapa arrives.

Then you're off on a 35-minute walking tour through the Habsburg neighborhood, past the Royal Palace—one of the largest royal palaces in the world—and through streets with buildings dating back to the 15th and 17th centuries. This is where the history walk happens, and it's woven between the food stops, not separate from them. You pass Plaza Mayor, where bull fights and public trials once happened, and Puerta del Sol, where your guide explains why these plazas matter to Madrid's story. The walking is moderate pace, and you're moving through real neighborhoods, not a museum.

The tapas stops are the spine of the evening. After the first vermouth, you're at a family-run restaurant that used to be a horse stable, trying Asturian cider poured the traditional way—you'll even pour it yourself if you want. Then a beloved bar in the historic center where locals have been ordering the same dishes for decades. Then the bar that's been open since 1906, where gambas al ajillo—garlic shrimp, Madrid's signature tapa—was invented, and you're eating it there with a glass of wine. By the time you reach Botín, you've had 9+ tapas and 4 drinks across the stops, and your feet know the old city.

Botín is the finale, and it's not a regular reservation. Your group gets special access before the restaurant opens to the public—you walk the lower floors, see the wine cellar, look into the oven where the cochinillos roast, pass art and tiled walls that have been there for centuries. This restaurant has never closed, not once, and the only way most people see the inside before dinner service is on a tour like this one. You sit at your table in what feels like a living museum, and the evening ends there.

What’s included

Your evening includes a local English-speaking guide, a 35-minute walking tour past the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, and Puerta del Sol through Madrid's historic neighborhoods, 9 or more tapas across multiple stops, 4 drinks (wine, beer, or soft drinks), and VIP access to Botín—the world's oldest restaurant—including a tour of the lower floors and wine cellar before the restaurant opens to the public. Dietary adaptations (vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-alcoholic) are available with advance notice to the Guest Experience team after booking.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Devour Madrid Food Tours

Is this one for you?A good fit if you want to eat and walk Madrid's real history in one evening without planning five separate reservations—the guide handles the pacing, the bars, and the stories, and the VIP access to Botín is something you cannot book on your own. Plan for a full evening of moderate walking and standing at bars; that is what lets you cover the old city and taste it at the same time.