Madrid Through the Centuries: From the Moorish Wall to the Memorial Forest

This tour tells the story of Madrid in chronological order. You start where it all began: at the remains of the ninth-century Moorish city wall, when Madrid was still called Mayrit and was a small border fortress. Right next to it stands the Royal Palace, built on the foundations of the old Alcázar and complemented by the Habsburg armory. At the Convent of the Encarnación and the Senate building, you get to know the courtly and political Madrid of the centuries that followed.

After a lunch break near the Puerta del Sol, the route takes you to the Gran Vía, where the Telefónica Building recalls the Civil War, when the front line reached almost to the city center. At the Museo de Historia de Madrid, the impressions of the morning come together into a complete picture: city models, paintings, and everyday objects show how a royal seat grew into a metropolis. At the National Archaeological Museum, you then go back even further and see which cultures shaped the region before and during the Moorish era.

The tour ends at the Bosque del Recuerdo in Retiro Park, a quiet memorial to the victims of the March 11, 2004 attacks. The tour is suited to anyone who wants not just to see Madrid but to understand it, and who enjoys exploring on foot. Art museums are deliberately left out so that there is enough time for history.