Tapas and wine tasting tour
At least twelve tapas and one drink at each of four old bars, in about three hours with a bilingual guide in English and Spanish, finishing near Plaza Mayor. Groups of two to thirteen.
Open this tour for dates ↗The habit
Why a tapas crawl beats one big dinner
Four rooms instead of one
On this walk you spend about forty-five minutes in each of four bars, with a drink and a run of tapas at every stop, then move on. You order, eat, perhaps ask for something extra for later, and leave before the table goes quiet. A dinner gives you one room and one menu. A crawl gives you four counters and four different cooks in a single afternoon or evening.
The guide orders for you
The food is chosen by the guide, who takes into account what each place is known for and what the group likes. That is the practical gain for a first visit: Madrid has thousands of bars, and the menus are long. The guide also explains the wine regions, where the dishes come from and why tapas became a habit in the first place.
A tapa is a lid
The word comes from the Spanish verb tapar, to cover, and a tapa is first of all a cover or a lid. How the snack got that name is uncertain. One story has a king requiring taverns to serve food with wine; another has a waiter covering a glass with a slice of cured ham to keep out blown sand. None is settled, which suits a habit that mostly lives at the counter and not in books.
Madrid between the bites
The walk stays in the old centre, through streets laid out in the seventeenth century in the quarter built under the Habsburg kings, and finishes near Plaza Mayor. Between bars the guide tells the stories of the place, so the short walks, three to seven minutes each, are part of the tour and not a gap in it.
At the counter
What you eat and drink
What is on the counter, what is in the glass, and what is paid for separately.
Counters and plates
Bars, plates and the old centre
Counters, plates and rooftops of the kind a tapas walk passes, taken by other photographers; none of them shows a specific tour or bar.
Which tour
Three ways to eat tapas with a guide in Madrid
| Tour | What you eat and drink | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Tapas and wine tasting tour | At least twelve tapas and one drink at each of four old bars, in about three hours with a bilingual guide in English and Spanish, finishing near Plaza Mayor. Groups of two to thirteen. | First-timers who want a full meal on foot and a guide who explains the wine and the dishes. |
| Four-spot tapas crawl | Four stops: a market-style eatery, a traditional neighbourhood bar, a modern slow-food tavern and a century-old bodega. Ten to twelve tastings and four drinks, about three hours, led in English. Private or small groups; child-friendly. | People who like variety in the rooms, families, and anyone who wants the option of a private group. |
| Tapas, wine and rooftop toast | Three restaurants through La Latina, Cava Baja, Cuchilleros Street and Madrid de los Austrias, with a drink at every tapas stop, in about four hours. The evening tour, from 6:00 PM, ends with a cava toast on a panoramic rooftop; mornings add a tapas stop instead. | Anyone who wants the longer evening with a view, and groups needing English, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. |
Three ways to tapas
The three tours
A four-bar classic, a variety crawl across four different kinds of room, and a longer walk that ends on a rooftop. Each card opens that tour on GetYourGuide, and the rail below has other ideas for your Madrid days.
Four-spot tapas crawl
Four stops: a market-style eatery, a traditional neighbourhood bar, a modern slow-food tavern and a century-old bodega. Ten to twelve tastings and four drinks, about three hours, led in English. Private or small groups; child-friendly.
Open this tour for dates ↗Tapas, wine and rooftop toast
Three restaurants through La Latina, Cava Baja, Cuchilleros Street and Madrid de los Austrias, with a drink at every tapas stop, in about four hours. The evening tour, from 6:00 PM, ends with a cava toast on a panoramic rooftop; mornings add a tapas stop instead.
Open this tour for dates ↗More to do around Madrid
Before you meet the guide
Before you meet the guide
Where it starts
Plaza de Santa Ana, beside the bronze statue of Federico García Lorca, in front of the theatre. Starting times show when you check dates, so pick a day and a time that fits the meal you want the tapas to replace.
How long and how far
About three hours in all. Each bar takes around forty-five minutes and the walks between them last three to seven minutes, so there is a little walking, but never a long stretch.
Group size and language
A small group of two to thirteen. The tour can run in English and Spanish at the same time, with a bilingual guide, so you may hear both.
Who can come
Children under four cannot take part. The tour is not suitable for wheelchair users. Pets, intoxication and costumes are not allowed.
Food and diets
The guide picks the tapas at each bar. No vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or allergy menu is promised, and cured ham, seafood and bread-based tapas are staples of the walk. If you have a strict diet or an allergy, choose a different plan.
Where it ends
Near Plaza Mayor. The guide can suggest where to go next.
Notes from a Madrid sommelier
Notes from a Madrid sommelier
the walk in order
Four bars, twelve tapas: the Madrid tapas and wine tour in order
From the Lorca statue on Plaza de Santa Ana to the last glass near Plaza Mayor, what happens and how long each part lasts.
Read this note → the word and the habitWhy a tapa is a lid: the stories behind Madrid's favourite bar habit
Where the word comes from, three stories about how the habit began, and why nobody can settle which one is true.
Read this note → in the glassSpanish wine for tapas: the regions and grapes you will hear about
A short map of Spanish wine, from Rioja's Tempranillo to sherry, Albariño and cava, and what the glass at each bar might be.
Read this note → on the plateHam, tortilla and the other plates a Madrid tapas crawl puts in front of you
The dishes that turn up again and again on Madrid's tapas tours, what they are and what to expect from each.
Read this note → the streetsLas Letras, Madrid de los Austrias and Plaza Mayor: the streets between the bars
The old centre the tapas walk crosses, who built it, and what the square at the end of the tour has seen.
Read this note → which tourThree tapas tours in Madrid compared: the classic, the variety crawl and the rooftop evening
How the three tours on this page differ in length, stops, drinks, group size and who each one suits.
Read this note →FAQ
Before you choose a day
Is this walk suitable if I am vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or allergic?
Not with any promise. The guide chooses the tapas at each bar, and no vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or allergy menu is offered. Cured ham, seafood and bread-based tapas are staples of a Madrid crawl, so anyone with a strict diet or a serious allergy should pick another plan. The drinks side is easier: soft drinks and mineral water are on the list at every bar.
Will I need dinner afterwards?
Usually not. The tour serves at least twelve tapas across four bars, planned to cover lunch or dinner, and you can order something extra for later if you want it. Pick a start time that sits where you would normally eat.
What is included in the drinks, and can I skip alcohol?
One drink at each bar, chosen from wine, beer, soft drinks or mineral water. Choosing a soft drink or water at every stop is fine. Extra drinks such as cocktails are not included and are paid for at the bar.
Where do we meet and where does it finish?
You meet in Plaza de Santa Ana, next to the bronze statue of Federico García Lorca in front of the theatre, and the tour ends near Plaza Mayor. Transport is not needed because the whole route is walked.
Is the tour in English?
Yes. The guide is bilingual, and the tour can run in English and Spanish at the same time when the group needs both.
Can I bring my children?
Children under four cannot take part. The walk is about three hours of short strolls and small plates in bars, so weigh up whether an older child will enjoy that.
How big is the group?
Between two and thirteen people. A small group keeps the counter manageable and lets the guide talk to everyone.
Do I tip the guide?
Tips are optional and not included in the fare. Extra drinks, such as cocktails, are not included either. Everything else, the tapas and one drink per bar, is covered.
A glass at every counter, a plate in every hand, four old Madrid bars in a single walk.
Save your place at the bar ↗US$ figures are per person and start from the lowest option. Your currency and the final total appear on the booking page before you confirm.