Madrid Sightseeing Tour with Royal Palace Skip the Line

Very good way of seeing Madrid

My husband and I are very happy about the tour! Our guide Miguel is really friendly, nice, and knowledge about all the history and he is quite humorous too. The tour consists of 3 parts: about 1 hour of walking around the central area of the old city, and about 1 hour on a bus (passing by a few more districts), and then about 1 hour guided tour in the Royal Palace of Madrid. It is a good way of seeing all the historical landmark of the city and a quick way of understanding their history.

Fantastic Tour

Our guide was great about telling the history of Madrid's fantastic architecture and about the rooms and features of the Royal Palace.

Five hour tour of Central Madrid (walking], bus tour and royal palace

The tour , equally in Spanish and English, was about five hours long including walking around the central area, panoramic bus tour and royal palace visit. everything was spot on and the tour guide, Javier, was very knowledgable and also had a good sense of humour. Highly recommended to get a reasonable feel of the touristic parts of Madrid.

Skip this sham company

Horrible experience. Simply awful. Terrible communication and not friendly, please use another organization for your touring needs in Madrid. A guide for the Palace isn't necessary and the free walking tours available in Madrid were great for €50 less.

Skip the bus tour of Madrid City Highlights

Our guides were very good. But the first part of the tours was two hours on a bus and if I were to do that next time, I would just do the Royal Palace portion.

Good for Limited time

This was a good overview of sights in Madrid. We had limited time and wanted to see the city. The guided tour of the Palace was excellent! My only complaint is there are no hotel pickups.

Somewhat ok

We had our sightseeing first around the city by coach there are some nuisance in the bus that some are talking while the tour guide Isabelle is talking about Madrid , we had only one stop in the plaza del toro for some photo op but in other places that is nice to take some photos we didn’t. I don’t know maybe it’s better if you take the hop on hop tour bus instead. The next one is the royal palace our guide is good sorry forgot the name Sergio or Jorge but he’s ok.Threw some jokes there and then so it’s not too boring. That tour is okey the Royal palace tou.

English sightseeing tour disappointment

First you meet at the travel office. It is wall to wall with people, no where to sit, no directions given. We finally went and asked and your Viator paper ticket is not good on this tour, like it has been on every tour I went on. You have to wait in like and get the travel companies ticket. Also out front are local beggers because they know it's all tourists, the company never asked them to leave or to stop harassing people waiting for their tour. Then it's a little walk and down some stairs to the bus, we were fine but some older people really had a problem. The tour isn't as good as the Hop On Hop off tour and it's in english and spanish. I was under the impression it was only english, so every sentence was english then spanish, english, spanish and it made for non stop talking by the tour guide. I understand that we are in Spain and they speak spanish, I expect that, but not on an english guided tour. The Royal Palace tour was ok, but it would have been better to just do a regular tour through the palace. It's crowded and hard to stay with the group. Plus you don't have time to read the plaques by each item or in each room. I would not recommens this tour or tour company.

Not my choice

2 different tours joined as one Madrid highlites, very disappointing delivery of the tour my the guide, she was not interested or passionate about what she does. Was surpose to be in English and Spanish, English was an after thought. The palace tour was done by another guide, she was interested and informative. This part of the tour was great

Not the ideal tour

Took the Madrid and royal palace tour. Not impressed by our tour guide Isabella. I was hoping for an informative tour, but instead got a tour filled with yelling and no clear time limit on each bus stop.

Amazing Place, but A Difficult Tour

Our visit to the Palace was amazing. The Palace is a very interesting and beautiful. Our tour guide was not very good. She was a nice person, but she wasn't good at explaining the Palace in either English or Spanish.

Not worth it

The bus tour was a total waste and the palace tour guide was very informative but I wish we went on our own with self guided sets as I felt I was rushed through. Only good thing about bus tour is the guide told us of the places we can leisurely come on our own see. So if you do take this tour my advice is it to take tips from bus guide and then visit the places he/she suggests.

Hot and confusing

Not ship the line, waited in hot sun for 30 minutes. Asked for English speaking, but got two languages: English and Spanish, which made the tour longer and you would lose interest while listening to language you did not understand. Loved the locations we visited.

Tour guide was very sweet and...

<p>Tour guide was very sweet and knowledgable. Large, Clean bus. I would have like to seen more of Madrid sights. Drove pass at of the sights. But the palace was a gorgeous tour!</p>

Grt tour, well organised

We loved our guide pablo, who was so knowledgeable and fluent in English. Will use them again. Thanks Julia travels

Disappointing... to say the least

Though the Royal Palace was beautiful this is perhaps the worst tour I’ve been on. The tour guide, I believe her name was Sylvia, was very unenthusiastic, on her phone throughout the tour, and was arguing with guests at one point. In addition the tour is advertised as 3 hours but was 4.5 hours and it said we would stop at the Hard Rock Cafe but instead went to the Museum of Ham which is totally fine but was falsely advertised. The service was terrible at this restaurant and they only paid attention to paying customers. We tried to order our included drinks twice but were ignored completely. It was a bilingual tour which I knew going in but the way it was done was very difficult to follow and it would perhaps be a better idea to split into an English and Spanish tour or rework the way the information is provided in both languages.

Never again, save your money

Was late starting the tour, when asked where the tour guide was, an employee got an attitude with me for asking a simple question. It was 8 minutes after 9 when I asked the question. They are un-accommodating for disabilities, tour guide was a little rude at times. If you book on viator cancel it viator will give you your money back if its before the 24 hours deadline.

Good value. We thought we had signed...

<p>Good value. We thought we had signed up for a walking tour and then the palace. However we got the sightseeing tour on a bus and then the palace. Turned out ok. Bus trip allowed us to see parts of city we probably would not have seen. The palace tour was wonderful. Excellent overview of the palace and excellent tour guide. Thoroughly enjoyed</p>

I really can't recommend this tour...

<p>I really can't recommend this tour. We were told to get off the metro stop, Opera, and walk to their office. Unfortunately we got lost at Sol3 floors underground. It would have been far better to tell us to take a taxi to the palace and walk one block to their office. We arrived late which was our fault and I understand that. However, in Spain, the guide/tour groups usually do not buy entrance tickets in advance. They wait until they know how many persons are in the group and purchase the tickets when outside the monument. When I asked about the entrance tickets to the palace which we had paid for in this tour, I was told we would have to go to the palace and buy new ones. This cost me another 20 Euros. If the guide was given tickets in advance, he would have known that 2 persons were missing they all have lists of passenger and all he had to do was leave the tickets at the office so that we could pick them up when we arrived. I'm certain that we were not the first people to arrive late. This organization pocketed the entrance fees in my opinion and made no attempt to be customer friendly. Something similar happened to us in Cordoba but--that tour group did did everything to satisfy us their customers. If you decide to take this tour, and you are not familiar with the Madrid metro system, take a taxi to the palace gate and walk to the office.</p>

Victor booked us on the wrong day...

<p>Victor booked us on the wrong day even though our printed receipt was for the correct day. Thus, we did not get to do the tour. I am not sure how this happened.</p>

My husband and I really enjoyed this...

<p>My husband and I really enjoyed this tour that was conducted by Carmen Gonzalez. She is an excellent guide who clearly knows a lot about Madrid and has a great passion for her city. As it was raining on the day of the tour, we stated off at the Palace. What an amazing place to see in Madrid, complimented by the fact that Carmen's knowledge of the place meant everyone on the tour really got a great understanding of each individual room they were standing in and the significance of the symbols in the rooms. We carried then on outside and saw many beautiful parts of the city, including Plaza Mayor -wow - its truly incredible! I would recommend this tour for sure and thank Carmen for the time she spent with us.</p>

Ok trip, it was on our first day in...

<p>Ok trip, it was on our first day in. Madrid and after staying an additional 3 days we figured the driver was taking us round and around the city multiple times<br/> The bus was a big bus and we were just 10 of us, they should have provided a smaller bus and maybe could have maneuvered the bus better and show us more<br/> There was stop at the Hard Rock Cafe other than a bathroom stop it made no sense to stop there<br/> We did a tour of the Palace and since we were the only ones who took that option we had the guide to ourselves<br/> It was a very quick guided tour around, for someone who needs more info or time to linger around, this would not work for them<br/> It was ok for us though a bit hurried</p>

Excellent tour round the palace a...

<p>Excellent tour round the palace a must not miss. Would have been better if you could have seen in he bullring and the football stadium though</p>

A good way to see the major sights (and more)

Our tour guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. The city bus tour was great, and we saw many monuments, buildings, plazas and learned about Madrid's architectural history and neighborhoods. But we especially enjoyed seeing the Royal Palace and glad that we took our tour guide's suggestion to eat lunch at the Palace Cafe after the tour. The food was delicious and very reasonably priced, plus as our tour guide said "now we can honestly say that we have eaten at the Royal Palace in Madrid!" She was also very helpful and gave us great tips on where to go afterwards for sightseeing and shopping in the nearby neighborhood.

We had booked and paid for this...

<p>We had booked and paid for this tour. When we got to the meeting location we were sent on the wrong tour which was just for the Royal palace! The tour was very boring. You can easily do it by yourself.The guide first said things in Spanish and then translated into English. Very irritating.</p>

Very nice. So good that i want do 2...

<p>Very nice. So good that i want do 2 times the same tour!</p>

The only way to see and appreciate...

<p>The only way to see and appreciate the palace is on a guided tour. We had a great guide and it was worth every penny. Do it!</p>

Really loved this tour but...

<p>Really loved this tour but disappointing the palace wont allow photos inside. Nevertheless its still a wonderful place to go and Id definitely recommend this tour.</p>

Overall good tour but time in Royal...

<p>Overall good tour but time in Royal Palace was limited.</p>

This is a good tour. Our tour guide...

<p>This is a good tour. Our tour guide, Martha, was very knowledgeable and answered all questions posed to her. The palace, though, no longer the official residence of the royalties was magnificent.</p>

This a good tour to see whats...

<p>This a good tour to see whats available in the city and decide if you want to return to certain locations. Drive you around the neighborhoods and you are shown the Real Madrid Stadium and Plaza de Toros. The guide was very knowledgeable. The highlight was the tour of the Royal Palace. It was very grand.</p>

Sightseeing nMadrid gave us the...

<p>Sightseeing nMadrid gave us the highlights which we found useful to go back and enjoy them more. The Royal Palace is beautiful- our guide gave us a lot of information regarding the palace.</p>

Love our tour guide, great...

<p>Love our tour guide, great information, she was full of energy and so funny. Palace tour was amazing. A must see. Info on history of the city was great. Gave me insight and appreciation for Madrids history.</p>

The tour of the Royal Palace was...

<p>The tour of the Royal Palace was excellent, our guide clearly enjoyed his job and we learned a great deal and if I were rating that part only I would give five stars. The sightseeing on the bus was ok, though the guide was less enthusiastic. The biggest issue here was the contact, Julia Travel, which was incredibly understaffed and disorganized. We got there by 8:45 and the place was a sea of tourists going on different tours. No one knew exactly which line to stand in and we nearly missed the bus we were supposed to take.</p>

The city sightseeing tour takes 3...

<p>The city sightseeing tour takes 3 hours of this nearly 5 hour tour and is mainly passing the sites on the bus. Only a couple of stops to get out and take photos. Gives a taste of the city but cannot get the flavour of the city on this tour. The Royal Palace section of the tour is the highlight with an hour and a half walk through various amazing rooms in the Palace. Very sadly no photos allowed. At the end of the tour able to have free time to walk the grounds and the gardens and tour the Cathedal next to the Palace.</p>

Didn't enjoy the city sightseeing...

<p>Didn't enjoy the city sightseeing part as much as I would have liked to but the Royal Palace skip the line tour was wonderful!</p>

Another great Viator way to skip the...

<p>Another great Viator way to skip the lines. A must see when in Madrid.</p>

The tour guide was an older man who...

<p>The tour guide was an older man who didn't have his heart in it. We spent 20 mins on a bus waiting for a replacement bus because apparently the microphone wasn't working- but indeed it was working fine!. The tour was also half in English/Spanish and this was wasteful. They should have 2 tours at once and not waste time for those that don't speak the language.</p>

The first part - panoramic...

<p>The first part - panoramic sightseeing of Madrid is really a euphemism for see stuff while you're riding on the bus. First, not much to see in my opinion, second, the guide's narrative would've been useful if we could understand half of it. In my opinion, a tourist guide must have a good command of the language in this case, English. It's essential for the job. This guide was just bad. It was tiresome to focus in discerning the meaning, so even though I really wanted to learn more, I just gave up on listening after a while. There was a completely unnecessary stop/break at Hard Rock Cafe I know, authentic, some deal the agency has with them, I'm sure and we're just sheep so that feeling wasn't all that nice. The second part od this tour was MUCH more pleasant. We were led by another guide to the Royal Palace. She was extremely knowledgeable and easy to understand. The Palace is beautiful and worth a visit. I recommend you book just a visit to the Palace and skip the drive-around as it was worthless.</p>

I do not recommend this tour. This...

<p>I do not recommend this tour. This tour felt more like a bus hop through the city with tickets to the palace. This is a bilingual tour, but our guide mainly spoke in Spanish. A Russian family accompanying us felt the same way. We didn't get anything out of this tour and it ruined our day.</p>

Good introduction to the city followed...

<p>Good introduction to the city followed by a visit to the palace.</p>

The overview of the tour delivered...

<p>The overview of the tour delivered for the most part. We did indeed see the highlights of the city. We did not get some of the items promised on this trip - primarily due to Workd Pride events keeping our bus from stopping for a much needed beverage at the HardRock cafe and no restroom break for quite a long portion of this trip. When we did finally stop to use the restroom back at the bus station - but this became something our guide was unable to gain control of the group resulting in her screaming into,the restrooms for people and our driver to get out of the restrooms. So this was also the main reason for our low rating- our guide. Although very knowledgeable on the subjects we saw - she had a mean streak about here that made the trip uncomfortable. She ignored and was quite rude to a woman who was trying to find out information on her tour- this gave Julia Travel, the Tour Organizer selected by Viator, a very bad reputation in guest service. She also seemed to rush us at every point during the tour leaving little to no time to tale a photo. Case in pint, at the Royal Palce we were lucky enough to see a Chznging of the Guard happening in real time. Instead of letting us watch a few minutes, she rushed us along telling us this isn't important and happens every day and no one in Madrid pays attention to this ceremony. Just sad really that guests are treated like cattle and yelled at and hearded around by this woman. Perhaps had we had another guide the rating might be higher, but this is what we thought of her. Also - she seemed to have an agenda against the World Pride guests ruining her city, when what we saw , looked to be more welcoming at all their venues then anything demonstrated by this woman the four hours we were in her care. Be ready for bilingual explanations of everything you are seeing - which is also a drag if she decides to make less of the English translation of the same site once you have already passed it. Not a great introduction to the city - but we saw a lot of stuff - just presented in a very unfriendly way.</p>

Worth booking this trip for the palace...

<p>Worth booking this trip for the palace alone, lovely informative guide.</p>

Pros:<br/> Air conditioned...

<p>Pros:<br/> Air conditioned bus<br/> Appropriate stops at interesting places<br/> tour guide fluent in Spanish and English<br/> Cons:<br/> Had to wait at Palace entrance in sun and again inside to begin tour after several larger groups went ahead of us<br/> Tour office/starting point was hard to find Even our cab driver needed extra instructions<br/> Multiple different tours to different places were beginning at around the same time and place making it crowded and confusing.</p>

This place is just beautiful. After...

<p>This place is just beautiful. After getting out you just feel the need to redecorate your house. There is so much history and royalty.</p>

I would not book a trip now without...

<p>I would not book a trip now without a city tour booked via Viator. They are all so great. Great guide.</p>

Overall, we enjoyed this tour. Good...

<p>Overall, we enjoyed this tour. Good trip to see the highlights of Madrid. I do wish that we had headphones for the first portion of the trip so we could hear the guide and follow along. This was a big group tour, so unless you were at the very front of the line you missed out on what the tour guide was saying at each stop.<br/> We did receive headphones once we got the the Royal Palace, which I was very happy for.</p>

Excellent tour, I highly recommend...

<p>Excellent tour, I highly recommend Viator, great destinations and great providers as well.!!!</p>

The first part of sight seeing was...

<p>The first part of sight seeing was good but I am very disappointed from giided tour to the Royal Palace. We were asked the Royal Palace guided tour would start at 12:30. <br/> We went to the palace and met our guide who took us to the place where we were supposed to collect devices to hear her while she is talking about the history of palace. Staff said they dont have devices we have to wait. We waited for sometime and when asked again we got an answer they still dont have them and not sure when would they receive the devices back etc. We were again asked to wait for some more time which we could because we had to go for another tour which was scheduled for 3:00pm same day. We just visited it on our own without understanding anything about the place and left. It was very badly managed and for us it was waste of time and money.</p>

A great tour. A little slow to get...

<p>A great tour. A little slow to get going but we were well informed on the tour and showed us a great deal of the city. The major squares and buildings. The tour of the Royal Palace was guided and was excellent.</p>