Just had the most wonderful Madrid Tapas, Taverns & History Tour!! The food and beverages were…read moreexcellent, especially the garlic shrimp at La Casa Del Abuelo. The history was fascinating. But the real star was Gabriela, our guide. Her knowledge of and enthusiasm for Madrid are deep, and after seeing the city through her eyes, you will love it, too!

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.

The Devour company has been our go-to company while staying in Spain. We took the Devour Madrid…read moretour our second night there and had a blast. So when the time came to visit Seville, we just knew we had to book the Devour tour. We took the Tapas, Taverns, and History tour, since those were our main points of interest. What an awesome night on the town we had! We learned so much about the rich history of Seville and ended up wanted to extend our stay. Our tour guide taught us beyond what we would've just read about. On top of that, she was so friendly, funny, and a bastion of knowledge. The tour started at the beautiful Plaza de la Encarnación and ended in Plaza Nueva. In between, we made sure to bookmark all the stops and historic points of interest, as we wanted to go back and revisit. Our tour consisted of five of the best historic taverns and eateries from this great city. Along the way, we learned about the influence and footprints left by Julius Caesar, Christopher Columbus, Moorish conquest, to the dark days of the Spanish Inquisition. Also, we got buzzed on great wine! These Devour food tours are the best and I highly recommend them to anyone in Madrid and Seville. ¡Vale!

Fantastic introduction to Seville, tapas, and the neighborhoods. Our guide, Sara, was awesome:…read moresmart (spoke five languages), helpful, and fun! I highly recommend taking a food tour with the Devour company when in Spain! The small group size--just two parties of two couples (four adults and one baby)--made the experience very enjoyable. I highly recommend a tour!

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!

We had an 8 hour layover in Madrid and emailed Silvia to see if she could arrange for a car to pick…read moreus up at the airport and deliver us to her for a walking tour of Madrid to see the highlights of the city. She did a wonderful job and we were very happy with her knowledge and pleasant personality. Would recommend her highly.

Silvia simply the best amigo…read more We booked the tour with Silvia in Madrid on 2 July for evening tour and also 4 July for full day tour in Madrid. We also have her in Barcelona 6 - 8 July. Silvia a wonderful person with great personality. in addition she had been to Indonesia where we came from. She knows Madrid and Barcelona inside out not only foodie but also galleries. We had great time with her tasting real local foodie from tapas to the oldest existing pork restaurant in the world! Anyone should try and bring home Jamon Iberico Bellota 5J from Jabugo, Huelva. She enlighten our knowledge about the city, people, foodie etc. In Barcelona, she arranged dinner for her friend to home cook local Catalan Paella in her beautiful home in city center. We become like friends and when she come to Indonesia she will be our guest. This experienced open up our eyes regarding Espana, the people and especially foodie. Madrid and Barcelona definitely a must visit with her. Thank you Silvia.. Muchas Grazias Looking forward to seeing you in Indonesia.

Had a great experience on this walking tour led by Jovan. He was engaging, energetic, and knew his…read moreway in and out of the city. Very knowledgeable about both history and food which was appreciated. This tour highlights historical aspects of Madrid's Plaza Mayor, theories behind the architecture of the city, the conquest and reconquest of the city, gastronomical highlights, and some fun trivia. The tour itself is 3 hours long with a break in the middle where the group stopped at a cafe to get drinks and use the restroom. Wear comfortable shoes! While the tour is officially free, tips are highly encouraged to continue the existence of the company and its excellent tour guides.

My husband and I signed up for the "Majestic Madrid Walking Tour" with Sandemans on the second day…read moreof our trip to Madrid. Our guide Mark did a great job showing us the city while giving us an entertaining history lesson. Not only was he very knowledgeable on the history and culture of Madrid, but he was also very friendly and took the time to get to know our group and answered any questions we had. The tour takes about 2.5 hours with a 10-15 minute coffee/bathroom break in the middle. Definitely plan to wear comfortable walking shoes, as the tour covers quite a bit of ground. Our tour started at Plaza Mayor (just took for the red Sandemans umbrella) and ended at Plaza de Isabel II. While it is free to sign up, remember to bring cash if you choose to tip your tour guides at the end. Overall, the tour was a great introduction to the city of Madrid. We learned a lot (always remember 1561!) and highly recommend the experience!

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!

Great. Wonderful. FUN! I don't know where to start for this review. Madrid Tapas Trail was a last…read moreminute addition to our Madrid trip, as our initial tapas tour guide "wasn't sure there would be enough people to do a tour." I suppose it fell into the 48 hour "cancellation" . Frantic, we scurried to find a new tour, as a tapas tour was a highlight of our stay in Madrid. Not the best way to begin our Spain adventure. However, Emily responded within HOURS of my request for a tour during our stay. We made arrangements for a tour in two evenings. Emily took us to tapas locations off the beaten path and also great social, traditional locations. Emily chose locations that would serve pescetarian dishes, accommodating my dietary needs. We sampled amazing wine, but also fabulous beer and sangria. She was great to talk to and easy going, making the night light, enjoyable, and memorable. Emily went above and beyond the call of "tour guide". She emailed us great restaurant recommendations, directions, even a reminder about the Madrid marathon and possible road closures before and during our stay! Unbelievable! (And quite useful!) The irony- the other travelers scheduled on the tour that night had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. Emily still ran the tour for the two of us. Professional indeed! Madrid Tapas Trail is a must do in Madrid!

We spent our honeymoon in Spain in Sept 2012 and at the last minute, decided to take a tapas tour…read morein Madrid. I emailed the tour and Emily (our tour guide) got back to us right away and was very accommodating. Initially we wanted to take the tour on a Sun but they didn't have availabilty so she added us to the Fri tour. Emily and Juan (co-tour guide) were very knowledgable about the various types of tapas, wine and cerveza that we enjoyed. They took us to multiple tapas bars and knew exactly what to order. Each bar had a special dish and we tried them all. Our first stop was a place that specializes in ham and fried egg "nachos"....need I say more? Absolutely delicious! We had a great tour group and interacted very well with each other and our tour guides. We still keep in touch with Emily and Juan to this day. Buena suerte amigos!

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!