We wanted to do a "hop on/hop off" in Madrid; but apparently none of the tour bus companies have that 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. read more

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The bus is very hot with a cooling AC that can't be felt it's useless. No fan or mist. Your guide stopped 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. read more

Madrid City Tour - inadequate cooling that cannot be felt. This is a NON STOP TOUR YOU CANT HOP ON OR OFF. - Tours Near Me

Madrid is a magnificent city in every way- and taking this tour will help you see all it's beauty. Yes, it might be a little warm if you are there in the summer - and yes the audio can be hit or miss. And not all the drivers are outstanding. But you are in Spain, so sit up top of the bus, follow along with the map and soak in the City and all its history, landmarks and culture.. The tour is well worth the money - because you can not walk this city! read more

I enjoy seeing a new city on one of these get off and on open roof bus tours. If the weather is nice, definitely sit up top, the headphones provided allow you to select the language you prefer and throughout the bus ride you're being provided details about certain buildings, landmarks, neighborhoods, plazas, history of past events or annual events celebrated in the area. The info is prerecorded and not tailored to any local events, no recommendations or suggestions of what to expect at any of the stops. During spring months there are extended hours (until 10pm) the buses come by every 10 min or so. There are two lines, modern Madrid and old Madrid .. I enjoyed old Madrid (line one) better, I got off in several bustling neighborhoods with lots of shops and outdoor bar/restaurants that I would not have found on my own and definitely to far to walk to from my hotel. Bus stops are marked with a red stickers with their logo. There are a couple of places where both lines cross each other in case you want to see the other side of Madrid. Buy your pass at a number of newspaper stands through the city, don't loose the receipt the bus attendant gives you or you're done for the day and will need to purchase another ticket, if the earphones don't work right away check the volume on the keypad, for whatever reason it's always the volume turned way down low (I saw lots of people seat hopping until they figured it out). On Sunday, for several hours there are several road closures so check for temporary route changes. It's pretty obvious and there are taped signs at the stops affected so you know where to go for the next bus stop. read more

What a fun way to see the city--you can hop on and off as often as you like. Keep your paper receipt on you as we forgot it one time and had to go back for it as they would not let you back on without it. read more

Normally, I am not a fan of these hop-on/hop-off buses, but we got a good value out of it. We used to go places in the city that we wanted to visit. (There was no way for me to comprehend the city bus system routes.) We did not use the audio. Sat on top each trip as the weather was perfect. €90 for 4 people for a 2-day ticket read more

Buyer beware! The one day tour is not 24 hrs as we stupidly learned yesterday. Purchased 3 tickets at 7:40 pm for the day tour, only to find out it they were done at 10:00 pm when their day was over. $54 euros wasted. Had the audacity of telling me "oh you bought them online, sorry" Mucho cuidado, compramos 3 tickets por el "dia" el dia para esta compañia no es 24 horas. Los compramos a las 7:40 de la noche y solo eran buenos hasta las 10:pm - $54 euros por esa mierda! Tienen la audacidad de decirte, "oh los compraste online, lo sentimos" read more

Pay heed to the negative reviews. The audio is truly unintelligible. We paid for two days and got off after 1/2 hr and didn't go back on. Ii complained but only got boilerplate excuses; next will be a complaint to my credit card company. read more

Nice bus and people but audio was very poor. Not a great deal to see but still a great way to get acquainted with the city. Please improve your audio portion of the tour. read more

Great way to see the sights when crunched for time, and also a great way to use it for your transportation for the day. We were able see landmarks, go to the Real Madrid Stadium Tour, grab a bite to eat, hop back on, see more sights, get off at Calle Gran Via, do some shopping at El Corte Ingles, hop back on, sight see, hop off and do a tapas bar crawl, and hop back on to get dropped off where we started, close to our hotel. An informative audio program details each stop for both routes. ALOHA! Shaka Meter: \uuu/ \uuu/ \uuu/ 3 read more

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Firstly was triple charged when I bought two tickets. Still need to take this up with them. Second - the bus literally stopped so that our driver and assistant could enjoy their lunch (we watched and I took pictures). Third - it's not the city tours fault A bit man was I expecting more from Madrid. I'm from Toronto and it was so much shittier than Toronto. Like 89% crappier. Fourth - don't go to Madrid. Honestly - it's just not worth it. Skip it and focus on smaller towns that have amazing food at amazing prices! Madrid is a dump. read more

Madrid City Tour - Our driver and assistant stopping the bus for a snack. - Tours Near Me

There was a ton of traffic when we went so I will not fault them for that, but it was not worth the money. It stopped every 200 feet in the already high traffic tourist area and then only a few other places. The driver left to get food with no warning while we all just sat in the bus for 15 minutes it was weird read more

Guide was unintelligible, recording directed us to things we couldn't see, could see very little out the bus windows...we bailed after half a dozen stops and walked back. What a waste of money. read more

Have much enjoyed Hop On Hop Off. bus tours in other cities. The Madrid City Tour was AWFUL! Waited 1.5 hours for a bus that had room for us. Spent most of the tour crammed into the lower level where seeing anything was difficult. Stood in the isle for part of the tour. Very OVERCROWDED and very UNPLESANT. read more

It was a terribly long wait, well over 1.5 hours and we were told buses arrived every 15 minutes, not true. Then no seats. It was over crowded and a safety risk. We could not see the sights. The ticket person could make the system take our prepaid tickets. Such a disappointment. read more

Not all that impressed. We waited for over an hour for city tour bus to pick us up at the designated stop in the morning. As for the tour most of the buildings look somewhat alike. The buses are clean and staff is pretty friendly. It's cheaper than taking a taxi all over town. Otherwise not a favorite hop-on-hop-off bus tour I've been on. read more

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We have takeN many bus tours in different countries and cities and this one was one of the worst. The audio was mostly music with very little information about the journey. Many of the audio portals on the top decks weren't working. One of our buses had to stop and make us switch to another bus. We waited over an hour at two of the stops for the next bus. Would not recommend if you plan to hop on and hop off. If you get on and stay then you will get to see the entire map. read more

Madrid City Tour - Top deck view - Tours Near Me

It's Holy Week/Semana Santa - probably the busiest week of the year. We tried to get same-day tickets online but they were sold out for Friday and Saturday. We had already walked from Plaza Mayor to the Prado Museum and then back to Puerta del Sol, so we figured there wasn't much more of central Madrid that we were missing. But I was wrong! By chance we were able to hop on a bus at the Puerta del Sol stop and buy our tickets on board. We did route 2 which I'm so glad we did because we never would have seen this beautiful part of modern Madrid otherwise. We then easily transferred to a bus on route 1 without having to wait more than 5 minutes. We then got off at the Royal Palace for a tour. Of note, there were some route disruptions in the afternoon/evening due to the processions for Holy Week. I have attached a photo of the changes (if anyone plans on going during Holy Week). I am also posting a picture of the bus stop signs (though not all stops are marked and some stops are just marked with a small sticker). read more

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Visiting here for two days and then off to Barcelona. The bus tour offered several stops but most times it was very crowded. There were times where we waiting over 20 minutes for a bus. Then once it arrived the driver either said it was full or to take the next bus. They advertise that the stops are every 15 but I would disagree. I like the ability to listen to the person through earphones which they provide. They offer several different languages. It's a double decker bus so you can sit upstairs or down. The price was 26 euro for two days. You should do it if your a tourist. read more

I hate playing tourist, but when it comes down to it, there is no shame in it . . . that's why I don't mind doing bus tours! Madrid's City Bus Tour is standard: convenient and semi-comfortable double decker vehicle; gratis (and painful) earphones to listen to the audio tour and bad jazz filler music; and a really great way to see the sights and get a layout of the city. $21 for all day on/off service at major sites, not a bad deal. Cheers! RS read more

They have a very inefficient system for travel. You get a receipt that they tell you not to lose among all the other receipts that day. So I did happen to misplace my receipt. When I go to enquire if someone found it on the bus, the only place it could've been, I just got, "You're going to have to buy another one." Not even an "I'm sorry that happened to you." Just a haughty attitude with an implied, "You're an idiot." I'm sorry that I lost 21 euros (there are cheaper bus tours btw), but in the end not sorry I didn't take the bus. I had a much better time seeing the city from the streets rather than from the distance of the bus. read more

Tickets can be bought @ almost every local newspaper stands. Bus has wifi capability, but you first need wifi to register to gain user ID and password emailed to you. Better off register with a computer before heading out there. Or stop by a local Starbucks. They also offer crappy earphones for the audio tour, bring your own for better audio. read more

Madrid City Tour - Tours Near Me

we attempted to go on a tour on a Tuesday morning outside of peak season. we bought tickets in advance and then spent 50 mins waiting at a bus stop with 4 buses going past with no availability. the company can see we have not been able to use the tickets but refuse to refund us read more

We did a similar bus in Munich several years ago. So we thought we would do it here also. It's a good way to see the main highlights, and give you ideas for things to see later. We did the complete circuit, and then during the second run (you can stay on the bus all day if you like) we began hopping off to see things we noted the first time. Get off, wander around, then get back on the next bus. I like it. We ended up doing these tours in every city we stayed for more than one night. read more

When we hit here I was originally not impressed with Madrid. Once I got the City Bus Tour under my belt I totally changed my mind. The Architecture of Madrid is unmatched! Everywhere you look there's a historic building, church, structure or monument that's dedicated to a Saint, General, El-Presidente or leader. I completely enjoyed the tour & am going back for some more tomorrow afternoon. read more

Madrid City Tour - Madrid City Hall & the Madrid Palace. - Tours Near Me

Good way to see the city. The system is confusing thou. Route 1 and 2 are not clearly shown. Hard to know what stop you are at. Staff is not particularly helpful nor are they patience enough to explain. Got to pay attention. Good thing though is you can always loop around. Have much better experience in Barcelona. read more

****BEWARE***** Before you waste your money your money this is by far the worse Hop On Hop Off tour I've ever been on. Where do I start. The guided tour doesn't match the audio, the tour map doesn't match location (see the Hard Rodk is in the wrong place. The buses will change course then you have no idea what you are seeing. Tour 1 is the only real tour and honestly you can Walk around and see everything since its a compacted area. Tour 2 is a waste of time but they need to try and add value. On the tour the guy who sells tickets will broadcast ADs which interrupts the un-synced audio (maybe that's a good I this but do you need to keep selling me stuff). All the buses are super dirty and seem like they are not maintained well. If you really want to wast 50 euro then go ahead otherwise I would save it for some tasty tapas or the Prado! read more

MUST EXPERIENCE! As a native New Yorker, I've always thought the city tour buses were cheesy and just a way to make more money off tourist willing to spend. This is completely not the case in Madrid, Spain. First off, you can purchase tickets just about anywhere. Local newspaper stands, hotels, tourist shops. Etc. the prices are very affordable! My boyfriend and I wanted to explore every nook and cranny of Madrid so we opted for the 2 day bus pass. You basically have unlimited trips for 2 days for under 30€ pp. I can't remember exact price. There are 2 ROUTES... Route 1- Historical Madrid I loved this route. In my opinion, it is completely pointless not to get off at any stop. We maximized our experience by checking out almost every single location. My absolute favorite was the "Palacio Real" stop. We immediately jumped off. Do yourself a favor and check out this breathtaking location. By far, my favorite place I've ever visited. We probably ended up staying 3-4 hours and even visited the famous "Cathedral". There was a mass in session so we sat for a few minutes. It was one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. There is an outdoor bar/restaurant right down the hill so we stopped there for a while. Don't be afraid to EXPLORE the neighborhood! Also, check out the "Jardin Botánico" and "Museo Prado" stop. The tour guides are very helpful and as you drive through the city you wear headphones ( choose your language) and learn the history behind every monument and location. The architecture is stunning! Route 2- Modern Madrid This was a very chic tour. We drove into all the rich neighborhoods and shopping centers. Definitely very modern. You MUST check out the soccer stadium "Santiago Bernabeu" stop and go for an exclusive inside tour. You have to buy separate tickets but it was absolutely worth every penny. We even got to go into the locker rooms and actual field. It was immaculate! Madrid City Tours is amazing and the best part is you can hop on/off any bus at anytime and just catch a next one. Very inexpensive way to get around and get a real tour of the beautiful city. I don't think you'll be disappointed! read more

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Unreliable. It is supposed to be 8 minutes between buses but we waited 20 minutes on Gran Via and when it finally arrived it was too full and took no new passengers. I want a refund. I wasted my time and money. They are not managed well. Tried again later. waited 25 minutes and still no bus. COMPLETELY FALSE ADVERTISING. THEY COULD NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS ANYWHERE ELSE. IF U CATCH ONE ONCE, NEVER GET OFF BECAUSE THE NEXT WILL NEVER COME. read more

The main failing of this tour is the 'audio guide', aside from the fact that it seems out of sync with the location and is constantly interrupted by the driver announcing stop numbers... It is decidedly flat and non engaging. Whilst the pre-recorded information is short and fairly thin, it manages to evade any sense of inspiration and excitement to 'hop off' and check out the city. Instead it lists dull factual information, dates, figures, architects names etc which quickly becomes very boring. What this tour is lacking is a live host/guide to interact with the tourists onboard, enthusing about the city, sharing top tips, stories, anecdotes and suggesting good cafes, restaurants and additional information. To sum up: dull and uninspiring read more

Great way to get around? These people reviewing are crazy! If you want to spend your whole day standing in line on the street instead of actually SEEING things then this"tour" is for you. It's a rip-off and a waste of your money. DON'T DO IT! read more

I took both tours and enjoyed what seems like the entire city. Learned lots of history and took lots of pictures. I spent the whole afternoon riding around for just 22 euros. Great price and I could get on and off as many times as I wanted to. read more

So we found New Madrid tours on line prior to our trip. Tour started on time. Our guide, a nineteen year resident name Edward, greeted us with a broad smile and a pep in his step. The tour hit all of the highlights, however; it was the discussions and history that made our three hour tour. My daughter made a comment that Edward's way to describe past events in history, taught her more in 15 minutes than her 11 grade World history teacher. Ohh and did I mention it is free? If you want to tip, you do. read more

This is a fabulous way to take in all the sights, get a little history, and see different parts of the city above ground.

After riding the bus tour in Barcelona - the Madrid city tour just couldn't compete. This bus tour drops you off at all of the sights and lets you hop on and off at your leisure. There are different routes to see different parts of the city, and you get an audio guide (offered in different languages) with complimentary headphones for information about the city. However, the actual audio guide itself needs some work - it's not very detailed and the audio doesn't always match up with where the bus is. The tickets are a little expensive (we bought ours from the hotel), but it's worth it to see a lot of Madrid at once and to avoid walking everywhere. I don't think I would do this tour again, but it definitely wasn't bad. read more

After a day or two of walking around Madrid u tend to run out of places to see on your own simply because (a) u don't know where u are going & (b) u have no idea on what to really look for .... Enter the Madrid City Tours now of course u can find this in most big tourist areas & there is always the factor of wether u should do it or not ? Well in Madrid it certainly served it's purpose it really is a great way to experience a lot the city has to offer without having to guess on what your next site seeing spot will be. U can get tickets pretty much anywhere u see a sign for the city tour , we happen to get our tickets at our hotel lobby something that was easy & convenient. We went with the day pass this was 21 Euros per person. Make sure to keep your receipt as this is your ticket the rest of the day. It so happens that towards the end one of our friends just couldn't find the receipt, we were only going a stop or two & they were nice enough to let them board. Now am not saying u can get away with losing your receipt but this time they made an exception. When catching the bus it tends to get a little confusing only because u don't really see a separate stop for the city tour ? Reason for this is u catch the city tour bus just like u would catch a normal bus right at the bus stop. As u hop on & off u will notice separate bus stands mark with the city tour this makes it easier to find. The Madrid city tours was a lot of fun & a great way to get a lot of site seeing done certainly a most if u have the time. read more

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21 euro a ticket is nice expensive but it is by far the best way to see lots of attraction from street. Of course, I may take the subway next time. The pop on and off is the best part of it. It's stops are right in front most of museums and palaces, which gave you freedom to manage you visit time. Its schedule is very 8-10 minutes a bus, but do not trust it in the evening. It was very quick during the day, but we were waiting at the mayor square around 1900 for 30 minutes without seeing any buses coming. And we ended up walking back to our hotel in that winding and chili night. read more

Skip it! It is more efficient to take a cab where you need to be and probably cheaper. They don't give you enough information about what is near the stops. You needlessly end up walking great distances because they don't tell you if you stop at this stop there is more than one thing to see. We waited 20 minutes for a bus to come. We were on a bus that skipped stops. Never again. read more

This was the absolute Worst Hop On Hop Off we have ever been on!!! We had to wait thru a total of 4 buses and 45 minutes before we got on initially. Unfortunately getting off at a spot doesn't work any better!! This service does not have enough buses for their demand!! I have taken these tours in London and Paris and have never had to wait on a bus due to overcrowding!!! They are absolutely horrendous!!!! DO NOT USE THEM!!!! You are better off walking!!! I wish I could have given them a Minus score!! read more

We had to wait over 45 minutes for our bus in the rain and the covers on the top deck that supposedly keep the rain out do nothing. We were soaked. And the floor was flooded with water so every time the bus turned or stopped it gushed across the floor so we had to pick our feet up. read more

Madrid City Tour - The water on the floor of the top deck - Tours Near Me