Madrid Gourmet Tapas & Local Neighbourhoods

Your Madrid gourmet tapas adventure will begin in front of the Opera House, in the oldest part of the city. After setting the scene, your expert local guide will lead you towards one of the most famous chocolaterias in town where we’ll enjoy a deliciously sweet breakfast of hot chocolate and churros! Energy levels sufficiently topped up, we will take a stroll around the city centre, as your guide shows you some key landmarks including Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Villa and regales you with historic tales about the Spanish monarchy and the people of Madrid over the centuries. Our second stop will be the first ever gourmet tapas market in Spain, Mercado de San Miguel (built in 1916), where we’ll taste a few different tapas dishes, as we chat about Spanish culinary culture, food traditions and the introduction of gourmet markets to the foodie shopping scene. Next, we’ll head over to Madrid’s only remaining cluster convent to buy homemade sweets. This is a proud tradition of Spain that’s slowly getting lost as younger generations change their perspective on religion. After our visit to the convent, we will leave the city centre and make our way to the neighbourhood of La Latina, there you will be surprised to discover hidden historical corners such as the remains of the old walls of Madrid, plus heritage Inns from the 18th century. One or two of these are privately owned but we have exclusive access to visit and admire them. Our third stop will be the local grocery market of La Latina, where an organic olive oil and wine tasting awaits… We’ll meet the owner who is focussed on helping small producers from all over Spain to promote their wines and olive oils. Spain is the orchard of Europe and its wine and olive oil industries are amongst the largest in the world. The agriculture is moving more towards organic production now, respecting the land and promoting high-quality products. This tasting will help you better understand this organic revolution! After the tasting, we will walk through the biggest flea market in Spain, El Rastro. Your guide will give you the lowdown on this popular market and for anyone staying in Madrid on a Sunday, we strongly recommend that you pay it another visit. The Lavapies neighbourhood is next on our foodie agenda, Madrid’s most multi-cultural neighbourhood and home to the original born-and-raisedMadrileños,a common name for the people of Madrid. This area has now transformed into an exciting (and tasty) fusion of world cultures. African restaurants rub shoulders with Asian shops and Indian cafés and local traditions mix with what’s hot on the alternative art scene. Along the way we’ll explore an old Inquisition prison and discover its stories. As we’re in a small group, we can enter small places like this without causing much of a disturbance. Your gourmet tapas tour of Madrid will end in Barrio de las letras, a very bohemian and chic neighborhood in the heart of Madrid. We’ll make a stop at the market of Anton Martin where you will taste organic cava paired with more delicious gourmet tapas dishes. Then we’ll go into the heart of this charming neighborhood where your guide will be happy to orientate you / help you get back to your accommodation and /or give you more tips on what else to see, do and eat in marvelous Madrid