I did two different tours with Devour during my trip to Madrid…read more The first was the Madrid Prado Museum Tour & VIP Botin Lunch. I highly recommend this if you are interested in a streamlined visit to the Prado really highlighting and focusing on particular noteworthy works. This worked well for me because I'm not as familiar with some of the artists whose work are showcased here, and I learned A LOT by taking this tour. You also stop for a little tapa and vermouth before having lunch at Botin, which was quite an experience. It's a tough reservation to get on your own, and enjoying it as part of this tour is well worth it. The second tour I did was the Ultimate Spanish Cuisine tour. This tour stopped at a variety of locations. We sampled porra (basically thick churros) and chocolate, "pregnant" sourdough buns stuffed with chorizo, a variety of olives, vermouth, boquerones, olive oil, several hams, some fruit, a cheese selection with wine pairing, and cake. It was a delicious and well-rounded food experience. Montse was my guide for both of these tours and she is absolutely fantastic! After meeting her on the first tour, I told her I was taking another tour and her office was able to schedule her to be my tour guide again for the second one. She actually studied art so she was extra knowledgeable at the Prado, but also had so much to share about Madrid and answered so many of our questions. I'm so glad I booked these tours with Devour on my trip. I would definitely consider their tours for other cities I visit in the future as well.

Dani was amazing! He was entertaining and knowledgeable about the taverns, tapas and history he…read moretook us to. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and highly recommend this tour group.

This was my first time visiting Madrid. I was afforded the opportunity to experience a tapas tour…read morewith James. What a wonderful treat. James offered a personalized experience based on our wants and needs. He is well versed in the local cuisine and offered suggestions on drink pairings that met our group's needs. When we walked into an establishment it was as if we were regulars which made for a Madrileño experience. James offered additional recommendations for the remainder of our trip. The tour made for an excellent starting point to explore the city. Thanks James!

James is an amazing guide His insight on the city was great…read more The places he took us were all amazing he knew just what to order our group. 4 different couples met and became friends over tapas I can't recommend James enough! It's a must do when in Madrid

We did a private tour the first night. Our flight kept getting delayed but Luis was very…read moreaccommodating and flexible. He even picked us up from the airport and took us on the tour right after. We had garlic shrimp and chilled tomato with garlic soup at the first stop - amazing shrimp and wonderful balance with the soup. 2nd stop, we had Iberian ham and cheese plate - unique food source and experience. 3rd stop, Spanish omelette and peppers - both were excellent together. 4th stop, calamari sandwiches were my favorite. We topped off the evening with a delicious treat you can't get outside of Madrid - hot chocolate and crispy churros, a perfect combination as the weather became cooler at night. It was our first tapas tour and a wonderful experience - very knowledgeable on food and history. Definitely recommend this tour as your first stop. We even got great restaurant tips from Lius for the rest of the stay. All were great tips. When we went outside of his list based on a 4.5 star yelp review, it wasn't as good as his choices. He knows his food. And we are very picky.

After four days in Barcelona, the wife suggested a tapas tour in Madrid. I said, "Isn't that all…read morewe've eaten since we got here? What do we need a tour for?" Happy to admit I was wrong. Luis is a knowledgeable bloke with an amazing understanding of where to get the best of so many different delicious dishes, some traditional and some a bit modern. And we were with two lovely retired couples so the size of group felt just right. We both loved the historical insights, the food and Luis' enthusiasm. We ate tapas before coming to Spain but the tour will be a happy memory.

I had such a great time with the Tapas Lover Tour in Barcelona a few months ago, that I pushed the…read moreoperators to get their tour ready for my visit to Madrid. What was awesome was that I was the FIRST customer of the new Madrid Tapas Lover tour! And because it's new, it was just ME (and the guide and two guides in training) on the tour! We met up on time at the designated spot and started the tour, which ran just over four hours. Crossing over the evening hours, from start to finish. We made three defined stops at different restaurants in Madrid, walking our way between them. Short walks, with the tour guide pointing out the cultural sights as well. Perhaps because the Barcelona tour didn't really go past too many cultural sites is why this was new to me and it was neat. This was my first day in Madrid, so the extra information helped me with getting my bearings. Starting with a stand up tapas place (one of the oldest restaurants in the city) and then a place that was a bit more of a pub at the next stop and finally a spot that was a bit more of a high-end restaurant for the last stop. A useful progression from casual to fancy, and the tapas plates at each scaled upwards too. Toast points with chicken livers, savory pastries, beef broth, vermouth on ice at the first stop. Sliced tuna (I've never had tuna like this before!), pickled tomatoes, iberico ham, cheese and beer (others had wine) at the second stop, Rare beef (from a bull), croquettas, vegetarian paella, the most amazing cod, a fantastic sausage, and followed by TWO desserts. Accompanied by an amazing red wine for the first courses and a fruit forward crisp white wine for the latter courses. Raúl clearly worked hard to pick out the tour stopping points and the chefs at these places did an amazing job at presenting their tasty treats. English spoken clearly. Price clearly displayed on the web site. And very much well worth the money to be brought to these great restaurants and enjoy these terrific foods. Completely worth the five stars, too! My eating preferences were honored without question.

If what you are looking for is an amazing tapas bar crawl experience outside of the touristy…read moreneighborhoods curated by a true Madrileño then this is your tour! All of the spots that we visited were full of locals and life.... you could feel the energy and vibrancy of this great city. The food was spectacular (still thinking about that pork belly) and the portions were just right. Best part of the tour was that one of the guides, Raul, grew up in the neighborhood which gave us some interesting insight into the spots we visited. We also got to experience the relationship between the guide and all of the locals and owners of the spots, which made us feel as if were also locals! Would highly recommend to anyone looking for amazing tapas, great company and very warm, fun and knowledgable hosts!

The restaurant choices were excellent -- lots of variety. The food was delicious. We felt…read morewelcomed by the restaurants. Our tour guide, Jorge, is a top notch foodie guy with a great love for his city. It shows through. This was my 5th foodie tour, and it is my new favorite.

This review is for the Guided Wine Day Tour to Ribera del Duero from Madrid. It was about…read more$185-definitely a splurge, but totally worth it. You don't have to worry about driving (this is important because you are going to be drinking a lot of wine) and it is in a very comfortable Mercedes Minivan. You get access to 3 different wineries and sample at least 3-4 wines with the option to purchase a full glass (6-8 euros), light snacks to go with the wine, a knowledgeable tour guide, you get free time in Aranda del Deuero/Burgos (where we went into wine caves to sample some wine, this was our second stop) to have lunch-my small tour group of 5 all opted to dine at El Lagar de Isilla- recommended by the tour guide. We also stopped in Segovia for some pictures and drinks after the third and last winery. Be prepared to set aside a whole day for this tour, we left at 9 AM and got back around 8 PM. However,I never felt rushed and it was the highlight of my trip to Madrid. You get to see the beautiful countryside, drink exceptional wine, visit 2 historical cities, and meet new people. I highly recommend this tour.

Wine tour to Madrid…read more One of the best tours we've been on. Ismael, our guide and aspiring winemaker, was helpful, knowledgeable and jovial. Not only did we visit 4 wineries , we also had the opportunity to savour local food (cheese, jamon, olive oil) and squeeze a few historical sites enroute. The winemakers we met were reintroducing wines from a bygone era or producing in a style that not vastly different from two to three hundred years ago. There was plenty of good wine and food (including a sit down lunch) on this tour. Will definitely repeat!

I had a wonderful evening with Pablo on the food tour this evening. Reasonably priced at €65, we…read morewere together for nearly four hours, three stops and 10,000 steps on my FitBit. The tour started on time at the proper space, even though it was chilly and rainy. Pablo was there with a note. Lots of cultural information as we walked along. Pablo pointed out sights and explanations and interesting engaging stories. Cheese croquettas and red wine at the first spot, which was an interesting "standing-room-only" tapas place. The second, beer with a delicious platter of iberico ham and manchego cheese (my favorite!). The third, a carafe of sangria with tortilla (the Spanish potato and egg bake), chorizo sausages and a fabulous paella that was loaded with shrimp and pork and chicken. All of the food was amazing and delicious. I had a fun time with my new friend Pablo and we had a bunch of really yummy foods as we spent the evening touring downtown Madrid. Fun! [Review 12500 overall, 2290 of 2019.]

Dan Beers is one of a kind! Superb tour, food was great and tapas hopping is an amazing way of…read morehaving lunch in 10 different places in a row I rocommend Daniés tour so much, he is the real tapas man

OMGGGGGG YOU GUYS FELIX IS AWESOME!!…read more First off, do NOT go on this tour if you don't enjoy or want to learn about the fascinating history of Madrid. And by history, I mean, Felix goes all the way back to 200BC when the Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula, LOL. But if you want to get a better sense of Madrid (and Spain) and how it came to be and what you're looking at, then book this tour! My husband LOVED it and he does not often gush about people or things. I was also amazed that he said he prefers the smaller groups, which is exactly what I wanted/needed. I didn't want to be attracting a ton of attention as a horde of tourists, nor strain to hear at the back of a giant crowd. Second, be prepared to walk...a LOT. I can't remember how long the tour is advertised as (I was looking at so many sites, they all blended together), but it was probably almost 3 hours, but I'm sure if we'd told him to cut it shorter he would've. He is passionate about his work, about Madrid, about Spain, its people and its history and his love shows. We didn't walk the entire time because he does a broad overview of the Spanish timeline of who controls what before starting. But just be aware of the weather--it was early June and it was mostly pleasant when we met him at 11am, but the sun quickly got more uncomfortable as time went on, so wear sunscreen and good shoes and bring a water bottle (he'll even show you where to fill it up along the way). We didn't necessarily hit all the sites on the tour description because I think he kind of tailored it to us. We met at Puerta del Sol, strolled down Calle del Arenal to the Opera House, walked thru the Plaza de Oriente to the Royal Palace, over to Plaza de Espana, then to Templo de Debod, and the lookout over the city, over to the main Palace entrance and Almudena Cathedral and the ancient Moorish wall. We wrapped up in Plaza de la Villa where we tipped him and said goodbye (you'll have to bring cash). I noticed he skipped Plaza Mayor and Mercado de San Miguel, which was fine by us because we'd already seen them and I imagine it would've been packed with tourists and pickpockets :) Don't know if you can request Felix, but I know he does the Essential Madrid tour (that's the one we booked). Hope you can get him! ***Edit: so to get Felix, select the tour you want and then look to the right of the name of the tour and it lists which guide is leading the selected tour. Felix is named as "Under My Umbrella Tours."

This was a tour I did not expect much because it was FREE !…read more Made a free online reservation before leaving for Madrid for our group of 4 and initially did not expect much because it was a no cost tour. Upon arrival to the Opera metro station, our guide: Rodrigo was there half hour early with his bright red Strawberry Tour umbrella. A lot of people stopped by and inquired about the tour because the umbrella said "gratis". Rodrigo greeted us with humor and enthusiasm - had us sign in and took a group photo of us all. He asked each tour participant if they had any allergies or dislikes. Rodrigo really showed he cared about our experience before we took off tapas eating! There were 11 of us who were in the group and all were accommodated perfectly at all the businesses. Sure enough, our first tapas stop was within easy walking distance from the metro station. Rodrigo explained before stepping into the business of how things will go, how food will be paid, what is served, specialties of the house, etc... All 4 stops were just amazing. At each stop, you can decide what you want to eat with your beverage of choice. He also will share the common tapas items (olives, nuts, chips, etc)... Cost was about 5€ per person at each place. We ended up at a final place: cider tasting event where we had to pour the cider from above your head to your cup near your knees. The cider is a rough, rustic apple fermented drink that is bad tasting from the bottle, but when poured at a height, the air mixes with the beverage and tastes a bit better. Very low alcohol in the hard cider.... We paid Rodrigo what we thought the tour was worth at the end of the tour - about 10€ per person = 40€ was our tip to Rodrigo. An excellent event that I highly recommend - especially those who are unsure of what to expect or pay a large amount to an unknown tour operator. You pay only what you think it's worth to you! A very good business model indeed!

Ogo is a great option if you're looking for an organized way to sightsee the historic parts of…read moreMadrid and learn a lot along the way. There's no fee, but tip as you feel comfortable at the conclusion of the tour. It was very easy to find and meet the tour guide. They call to meet 15 minutes early to make sure everyone has time to locate them in the center of the square. The tour didn't include much walking, and would be doable for many ability levels. We saw sights including the Puerta del Sol square, plaza mayor, the oldest restaurant in the world, town square, the palace and more! Our tour guide was very animated and extremely well-versed in Spanish history - you could definitely tell it was a passion of hers. Many of the things we stopped at you wouldn't have otherwise, and our tor guide provided a lot of in-depth history of the country.

We took two wonderful tours with Javier! He gave us a great overview of the city in the general…read moretour, and we loved being able to focus on Madrid's rich culture during the Literary Tour & Paseo del Prado excursion. Javier is so knowledgeable and engaging. We look forward to going back and taking more Ogo Tours in the future!

We wanted to do a "hop on/hop off" in Madrid; but apparently none of the tour bus companies have…read morethat option any longer. There were several different tour bus companies, all red and all with similar pricing. We went with Madrid City Tours on the recommendation of our hotel. It was €28 pp and the start/end location was right near the Prado Museum. The ticket price includes two separate loops, but we only went to the one that went through the historic District. We sat on the top floor, under the canopy, but being summer in Madrid it was still really hot. (Especially when the bus would be stopped in traffic.). The historic loop took just over an hour and there were plenty of sites on both sides of the bus. We saw the Prado, City Walls, parks, statues, and other areas of interest. I was kind of disappointed that we could not get off at any of the areas that looked interesting and get pictures, especially since the bus was moving and pictures didn't always come out great when the bus was in motion. As you board they give you a set of headphones; and the city narration is done in all of the most common languages. It was easy to hear and understand the information. We enjoyed our tour; but after 1 hour of sitting on a bus, we didn't really want to do the second loop that goes to the financial area and sit on a bus for another 2 hours. We really had no complaints about the bus. It was clean and had plenty of open seats. We would have preferred the "hop on/hop off" option.....hopefully they will be allowed to operate that way again in the future. Overall it's a good way to see much of Madrid without renting a car.

The bus is very hot with a cooling AC that can't be felt it's useless. No fan or mist. Your guide…read morestopped to use the bathroom and didn't offer anyone else an opportunity. No water or cooking relief, you're on your own while you are stuck for 1 hour and thirty to forty five minutes depending on traffic. You can really take time each day to explore the sites they drive you to. Never will be too soon for Thai again.