new season of pasea madrid offers over 21,500 spots to explore the city's heritage

The Ayuntamiento de Madrid has announced the launch of the second season of Pasea Madrid, which will run from 10 November to 30 December. This year’s programme includes 15 itineraries, 963 guided sessions, and a total of 21,610 available spots. Among the new offerings are three unique routes that highlight various aspects of the capital's history and heritage.

Two of the new routes are linked to the exhibition ‘Teatro de grandeza. Arte, arquitectura y ciudad en el Madrid barroco’, currently on display at the Teatro Fernán Gómez - Centro Cultural de la Villa. These routes are titled ‘Madrid, nueva Babilonia. Vida en la Villa y Corte del siglo XVII’ and ‘Madrid, nueva Jerusalén. Una ciudad eclesiástica y conventual’. The third new addition is a visit to the Quinta de Torre Arias, which was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 2022.

Marta Rivera de la Cruz, the delegate for Culture, Tourism and Sport, emphasised the programme's value in bringing both locals and visitors closer to the rich heritage of the city. She stated, “This new season expands the opportunities to explore Madrid from its Baroque past to its historic gardens and to enjoy an extraordinary heritage that we want to share with all citizens.”

The three itineraries focused on Baroque Madrid will delve into the transformation of the Villa and Corte during the 17th century. ‘Madrid, nueva Babilonia’ will explore the coexistence of daily life in the city with the needs of the court, featuring key locations such as the former Real Alcázar and the Plaza Mayor. Meanwhile, ‘Madrid, nueva Jerusalén’ will examine the role of religion in shaping the capital's symbolic identity, from devotions and convents to the processions and celebrations that filled its streets and squares, including a visit to the oratory of the Casa de la Villa, designed by Antonio Palomino.

The new route at the Quinta de Torre Arias will provide insights into a property that reflects the evolution of Madrid's estates over more than four centuries. Located in the San Blas-Canillejas district, it features a palace, former stables, and a rich variety of vegetation.

Additionally, the programme includes routes dedicated to notable spaces and figures in Madrid's history, such as ‘Goya y La Florida’, ‘Goya y la Real Academia’, and ‘Manuela Malasaña y otras mujeres’. Other itineraries will explore the estates of Fuente del Berro and Los Molinos, the gardens of Buen Retiro, the Paseo del Prado, the monument to Alfonso XII, the Beti Jai fronton, the Capricho bunker, and the Casa de la Villa.

Of the 15 itineraries offered, 11 will have sessions reserved for individuals aged 65 and over, aimed at facilitating their participation in guided visits and access to Madrid's cultural heritage. Reservations will open tomorrow, 4 November, at 10:00 for seniors and at 12:00 for the general public.