Âm thanh Madrid Tour đi bộ

The Madrid de los Austrias Walk starts at Puerta del Sol, the point every road in Spain is measured from, and crosses the arcaded Plaza Mayor and the old government square of Plaza de la Villa before reaching the Royal Palace and the Almudena Cathedral facing each other across the Plaza de la Armeria. From there the route follows the palace gardens north through Plaza de Oriente and the clipped hedges of the Sabatini Gardens, finishing at the Temple of Debod, a real Egyptian temple on a hilltop that's one of the best places in the city to watch the sunset, about 2.8 kilometers and 37 minutes.

The Madrid Prado and Retiro Walk starts at the Cibeles fountain and climbs to the triumphal Puerta de Alcala, then enters Retiro Park for its boating lake and the glass and iron Palacio de Cristal reflected in its own small lake. Coming back out past the spires of San Jeronimo el Real and the Prado museum, the route follows the Paseo del Prado south past the vertical garden at CaixaForum to finish inside Atocha station's indoor tropical garden, about 4.3 kilometers and 60 minutes, the longer of the two routes.

Both walks stay mostly flat with only gentle climbs, so the real variable is the Madrid sun, fierce and shadeless across the big squares in summer. Start early or save the walk for late afternoon, when the light turns gold on the palace stone and the Retiro fills with rowers and street musicians, and you can finish either route just as the city sits down to a late Madrid dinner.