Madrid appears in 5 of our itineraries across Spain,
ranging from 7–11 days. Every one is private, and every one can be
reshaped around the time you want to spend here.
The morning belongs to one of the world's greatest collections of art. Your private guide — an art historian who specializes in the Spanish masters — leads you through the Prado's most essential rooms: Velázquez's Las Meninas, which changes every time you look at it; Goya's dark paintings, raw and haunting; El Greco's elongated saints glowing with otherworldly light. The guide knows which galleries to linger in and which to save for another trip. After the Prado, a panoramic drive traces Madrid's grand cultural axis: the Puerta de Alcalá framing the sky, the fountains of Plaza de Cibeles, and the tree-lined Paseo del Prado connecting the three museums that form the Golden Triangle of Art — the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Reina Sofía. The afternoon is yours to return to any of these, explore the literary quarter of Barrio de las Letras, or simply sit in the Retiro and watch Madrileños row boats on the lake. We'll share our favourite neighbourhood spots for your final evening.
Private Prado Museum tour with art historian
Panoramic tour: Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza de Cibeles, grand boulevards
Your private guide meets you after breakfast for a morning that unfolds through Madrid's grandest chapters. Begin in the arcaded Plaza Mayor, where Habsburg kings once watched jousting tournaments and the cafés now hum with the clink of espresso cups. Walk through the atmospheric streets of Madrid de los Austrias — the oldest quarter, all wrought-iron balconies and quiet convents — to the Puerta del Sol, the symbolic centre of all Spain. From there, the Royal Palace: over three thousand rooms of Bourbon opulence, Tiepolo ceilings, and Stradivarius violins displayed in gilded cases. Lunch is a self-guided wander through the Mercado de San Miguel, a glass-and-iron jewel box of Spanish gastronomy where you'll graze on Galician octopus, Manchego, and croquetas. The afternoon and evening are free — perfect for the Reina Sofía, a siesta, or an early-evening gin-tonic on a rooftop bar overlooking the Gran Vía.
Private walking tour: Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Madrid de los Austrias
Your private guide meets you after breakfast for a morning that peels back Madrid's grand, theatrical layers. You'll walk the colonnaded Plaza Mayor where bullfights and coronations once drew thousands, slip through the arches into the maze of Madrid de los Austrias — the Habsburg quarter, where the streets are narrow and the architecture is severe and beautiful. At the Royal Palace, one of Europe's largest, your guide brings the ceremonial rooms to life with stories of the Bourbon dynasty and the artists who decorated their ceilings. The morning ends at the Mercado de San Miguel, a soaring iron-and-glass market where you'll graze on croquetas, manchego, and a glass of Ribera del Duero among the Madrileños doing exactly the same thing. The afternoon is free for the Reina Sofía, the rooftop bars of Gran Vía, or a siesta — you're in Spain, after all.
Private guided tour of Plaza Mayor & Habsburg Madrid
A leisurely Madrid morning — perhaps a coffee on the plaza, or a quick wander through the San Miguel Market where vendors have been selling manchego and olives since 1916. Late morning, you board the high-speed AVE train and watch the landscape transform in under three hours: the central meseta gives way to olive groves, then sunflower fields, then the flat golden plains of the Guadalquivir basin. Arrive in Seville by early afternoon and check into your hotel in the Santa Cruz quarter, where the streets are barely wide enough for two people and the balconies drip with bougainvillea. In the evening, we recommend a flamenco performance in one of Seville's intimate tablaos — we'll point you to the venues where the dancers are close enough to feel the stamp of their heels through the floor and the raw emotion of the cante jondo fills the room.
High-speed AVE train through the Spanish heartland
A final Madrid morning — perhaps a quick visit to the Prado, a last churros con chocolate at San Ginés, or a quiet walk through the Retiro before the city fully wakes. Your private driver transfers you to the airport for the short flight to Lisbon — barely ninety minutes in the air, but the shift is palpable: the golden plateau of central Spain gives way to the terracotta rooftops and blue water of the Tagus estuary. Your driver meets you at Lisbon airport and delivers you to your hotel in the Chiado or Baixa — the kind of neighbourhood where every cobblestoned street tilts toward the river. The rest of the day is yours: ride the iconic Tram 28, stroll through Praça do Comércio, or simply find a café terrace and order a pastel de nata with a bica.
Flight from Madrid to Lisbon
Private airport transfers in both cities
Free afternoon to discover Lisbon's light and hills
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