Madrid Hop on Hop off Bus Tours

Walking around Madrid is a delight, but walking certain distances can be tiring (and in summer, the heat must be added to the fatigue). Fortunately, there are tricks to get around Madrid and one of them is the tourist bus.

Many companies offer guided bus tours to take you around the capital in comfort while they explain the main points of interest. I'll tell you about the best ones.

This is the official tourist bus of the city of Madrid and also the cheapest option. It follows the methodology that you will have seen in many other cities: you buy a ticket for one or two days and during that time you can ride the bus as many times as you want and get off and on at any of its stops.

All of these buses are double-decker and air-conditioned as they are designed for increased use during the summer. In addition to the ticket that will allow you access to the bus, you will be given a discount voucher booklet that will be available at different places in the capital that you can go to during your visit (from museum tickets to restaurants or shops).

How it works

You can use this bus to get around the city as if it were a metro or a regular bus, with the difference that the stops on the two routes that make up its route are designed for those who are getting to know the city as tourists.

However, if you are going to buy a one or two-day ticket to use the tourist bus, I recommend that you do the whole route (or routes) at least once because I guarantee that it can be quite a pleasant ride during which you will also have an audio guide available in 12 languages. If you can also do it at night, go ahead; it's worth seeing the city lit up and the atmosphere of its streets at night.

Itinerary

In Madrid, the tourist bus has 37 stops distributed along two different and circular routes connected to each other. During these routes (lasting an hour and an hour and twenty minutes at the end of the tour) you will see practically all the points of interest in the Spanish capital:

Some stops on Route 1

Some stops on Route 2

If you're looking to see Madrid's Royal Palace without waiting in line and on a guided tour, this package combines a bus tour of Madrid with a tour of the Royal Palace (highly recommended to give context to everything you'll find inside). It lasts approximately four hours, is available in English and Spanish, and throughout the tour you'll be accompanied by an expert guide who will tell you the secrets of the city.

The Royal Palace of Madrid, in Italian Baroque style, was the former home of the Spanish royal family. Today it is one of the most visited in Europe and also one of the best preserved; in addition to its collection of clocks, weapons, tapestries and other objects, inside there are works by Goya and Velázquez. If you want to know more about the Royal Palace you can read this other article: Madrid Royal Palace Tours.

Itinerary

of the bus

Another interesting option to combine the bus tour of Madrid is to visit the Prado Museum, the most important museum in Spain and one of the most important in the world.

This bus tour of Madrid with a visit to the Prado Museum lasts about 4 and a half hours. During the tour, you will always be accompanied by a local guide who will put into context all the points of interest you will visit in Madrid and then you will have free access to the museum, to explore it at your leisure, until closing time.

Enjoy a pleasant tour of the most important points of the city and then take the time to explore the Prado Museum and complete a day with the best attractions of Madrid.

Some of the bus stops

A bus tour of Madrid gives you the chance to explore more areas and less time than you would if you were to visit the city exclusively on foot. In Madrid there are many places that deserve an exclusive visit, such as the Royal Palace, the Prado Museum, the Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor...

These are places that either you have to enter to visit them or they have a special atmosphere that forces you to stroll through their streets and stop in their corners. However, in Madrid there are monuments such as Cibeles or the fountain of Neptune that you can see comfortably from the bus (they are in the middle of Paseo de la Castellana, a large avenue).

Madrid has many neighbourhoods, each with a different atmosphere; if you're only going to spend a short time in the city it will be difficult to visit them all, but you won't be able to see them all by bus. In short, seeing Madrid from the tourist bus does not mean not experiencing the city, but rather getting an overview of it that would otherwise require more time and effort.

Some areas are better on foot

If you are hiring the hop-on hop-off bus pass for one or two days with free stops, I recommend alternating the tour with walks around certain areas of the capital. For example, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol and Gran Vía are relatively close so you can visit them more closely on foot and then use the bus to get to more distant areas.

Any of the tourist bus tours usually have departures almost every day, so you can book them at the time that suits you best. If you are travelling with children, this is an ideal option for them as not only will they not get tired, but they will also enjoy the panoramic views.

During the bus tour you will get a lot of information about the city of Madrid as the routes are commented either by audio guide or local guide. It's up to you to decide which stories you want to delve into, but my recommendation is that you don't miss a visit:

The Royal Palace

One of the bus tour options includes this visit, but you can also do it on your own. The Royal Palace is, along with the Almudena Cathedral (the latter is free to visit), one of the most impressive buildings in Madrid. Visiting it individually is well worth the effort. Consult this article on Madrid Royal Palace Tours to organise your visit.

The Prado Museum

One of the largest art collections in Europe, it contains works of art by the great Spanish painters from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch, Las Meninas by Velazquez... Whether you are interested in art or not, a visit to the Prado Museum is a must if you visit Madrid. Find out how in my guide on Madrid Prado Tickets.

The Reina Sofia Museum

Picasso, Dalí or Juan Gris flood this museum with their avant-garde works including, of course, the Guernica. If you are interested in knowing more about how to visit this museum, I recommend you my article on . Museum Madrid Reina Sofia Tickets.

The centre of Madrid

Sometimes we pay less attention to those works or monuments that are in the open air and yet there are places that have a lot to tell. The Puerta del Sol, the Templo de Debod, the Plaza Mayor... All these areas have been the scene of uprisings, conflicts and historic moments.

The real history of Madrid is hidden in its squares and statues, and there is one way to discover it: on a guided tour of the city centre or some of its neighbourhoods. You have a multitude of options, but with a walking tour you will undoubtedly be able to delve deeper into all these nooks and crannies.