The Spanish capital city offers travellers the opportunity to discover its streets in many possible ways. On one hand, you could find classic walking guided visits to uncover the national and local cultural heritage, while on the other side, avid backpackers could choose an alternative experience to feel the ‘madrileño’ essence. For instance, the architecture tours in Madrid which were developed in a responsible and a sustainable way.
Their point of view is completely off the beaten path, and they will show you how rich are the Spanish designs. In that sense, it’s true that building codes have changed over the past centuries and so we have addapted the way in which we’ll explain you the cost-effective and efficient manners that architects usually build up their constructions. Nowadays, they use materials which do not only offer a higher quality, but could also be considered as contemporary elements.
Whether it’s your first time in town, or you’ve previously visited it before, here is a glimpse of what you should expect from our alternative services:
- Technical analysis of buildings which show different uses along time.
- Complete understanding of Madrid city life & architecture
- Insiders’ comprehension of the local history
Why did the architecture tours in Madrid take into consideration the sustainability for the offered services?
Travelling trends changed almost a decade ago. While it’s still possible to join cruises and large groups of travellers, responsible tourism is what appears to be the new way for a trip’s planning. That’s the reason why we created the architecture tours in Madrid.
At first, you should know that we run respectful guided visits. That means that we won’t stand in groups larger than 15-18 participants per guide. In that manner, there couldn’t be any neighbors who complained because of our attitude toward the local citizens.
Moreover, the content featured by our professional architects will emphasize the 17 millenial goals developed by the United Nations, in relationship with the buildings’ hidden stories. Does that sound appealing to you? Have you ever heard about this global commitments?
Taking responsibility for tourism
As you may have read in our website, Cooltourspain is a local project that does not only offer architecture tours in Madrid. All our services, including this technical but friendly guided visit, focus on creating an impact. We consider ourselves as mind changers.
What is the current urban planning doing in order to make people’s life easier? Is Madrid city center friendly with pedestrians and bicycle users at the same time? Despite the fact that things have changed over the past few years, Cooltourspain’s team members think that there is room for improvement in different urban aspects.
We’ll offer visitors a unique interpretation of the local and national ecosystems. From residential and interior designs, to industrial and commercial. You would never imagine how important is the ecological balance in arquitecture! Let us give you few examples.
What kind of buildings are showcased during the architecture tours in Madrid?
Taking into account that our groups are organized on demand, the architecture tours in Madrid may feature any given characteristic within the field. Furthermore, they serve as the perfect experience for students from EADIC or COAM alumni, among others. Thus we would be happy to organize a tailored service for your group.
Here is a brief list of the locations where we’ll stop to explain interesting facts:
- Churches. For example: Iglesia San Cayetano.
- Food and flea markets, such as San Fernando or El Rastro
- Theatres and socio-cultural centers.
- Vintage design shops.
However, you should note what was the most authentic housing style in town. For your information, a ‘Corrala’ was the common type of building during the XVII century. They featured a rectangular pattern on their construction, as well as an interior patio with views from any balcony.
Promoting values according to the XXI century society.
We will also discuss about what happened during the Spanish Civil War, its consequences to the urban landscape and how the society has changed over the decades. Our arquitecture tours in Madrid promote a critical thinking attitude, whether you join us on foot or by bike.
The most ecofriendly of our activities will take you along Manzanares River. It’s during this bike route where you’ll check buildings such as a former slaughter house turned into a contemporary art center, and several anciente bridges, ie. Puente de Segovia and Puente de Toledo.
Lastly, you should know that there are different routes offered daily by Emilio and the rest of the team. Similarly to what happened with our street art tours in Madrid, we quit from our day-to-day jobs in order to dedicate to what really fulfilled our professional interests. We’re those kind of entrepreneurs who decided for a life change. From working to others, to working for our own project.
Where do the architecture tours in Madrid take place?
Our architecture tours in Madrid started in 2016 around Tirso de Molina area. However, the audience’s great acceptance, including numerous positive reviews and comments, made us think twice about what we were offering. Thus we came with the idea of expanding our guided visits to other parts of the city.
In fact, some of those areas also offered us the opportunity to tak about architecture from Madrid’s heights. If you joined us, you’d get the chance to photograph a panoramic view of the city center, with the beautiful mountain range that decorates the background parts of the frame.
The last neighborhood where we’ve curated our walking activities will take you to ‘Los Austrias’ area. Are you interested in visiting the residential buildings, and small bars where the most glorious generation of novelists and Spanish writers lived and meet fellow creators? Do not miss the opportunity!
Is Lavapiés an already gentrified area?
The truth is that one of the biggest challenges found in our daily jobs is the movement described as ‘gentrification’. Have you ever heard of it? Our architecture tours in Madrid raise awareness on that topic, making it part of our explanation. Is it something that you could only find in Embajadores district? Not really…
It affects globally and it’s part of the capitalism. What in the past used to be a decayed area, it now features big brands and chains. Event the appartments where Spaniards live, not host Airbnb appartments. In other words, locals forced somehow to move to other districts because of the rental pricing. Some people involve it with street art. Would you agree? Do you think that graffiti murals are responsible of it?
Which rooftops and panoramic views will you get to see during the architecture tours in Madrid?
As we stated earlier, Cooltourspain’s professional freelance guides will take you on a different and original adventure. That’s to say, they will show you the urban landscape from the heights. The architecture tours in Madrid, in this case, will feature several terraces and rooftops along Gran Via street.
To start with, our guests will have the opportunity to check Circulo de Bellas Artes. CBA’s rooftop is located next to Cibeles square in Calle Alcalá, 47. It’s from the 7th floor of this iconic building where you’ll be able to photograph a 360º panoramic perspective. For instance, you will observe:
- Colón Square and its famous twin tower.
- Cibeles & Linares Palaces
- ‘El Pirulí’, a former communication tower
It would be important to note as well that entry tickets are not included in the guided visit’s fee. CBA charges 5€ per person, whereas Hotel RIU will charge 10€ if you’re visiting its rooftop during the weekend or in the weekday’s afternoons. Come check the best views in town with us!
Unvealing the cities’ secret gems
Lastly, we will check the art-decó at Museo Chicote and the interior designs at Loewe store. As you may imagine by now, our architecture tours in Madrid were tailored for travellers eagered to explore the off the beaten parts in town, putting emphasis on architecture. Moreover, there will be stories about famous people such as Ava Gardner, Ernest Hemingway and Pedro Almodovar.
For your information, any of the tours showcased within this article may take between 2.5 and 3 hours to be completed. If you were interested in purchasing tickets for the activities, you could contact us via phone or whatsapp at +34638399784 or via email to info@cooltourspain.com. Alternatively, you also have the option to fill in the following form.
Public tours require a minimum participants for the experience to kick off. They may be led either in English or Spanish language. Cost per adult is 36€, while teenagers pay 18€. Similarly to what happens with the rest of Cooltourspain’s tours, kids under 6 years old do not pay. However, you should note that the activities are suggested for people over 16.
Cooltourspain’s opinion about the architecture tours in Madrid
We love showing the Spanish capital city to other in an alternative way. Join our architecture tours in Madrid to support a local project which has offered its experiences to over 3,000 guests per year. Still, we would appreciate if the city council would ban the free tours which are harming our industry. They should pay the same taxes as we do. Don’t you think so?
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