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Walking the Streets of the Spanish Capital in Search for the Best Photos

We started the second day of our Interrail trip with a photo tour of Madrid. We met Mario and his team of professional photographers in the lobby of Hotel Meninas. They are a small team of three people, two professional photographers and one English-Spanish translator. Well, they didn't know we could speak Spanish just fine, so the three of them came to meet us. We started the tour with the Royal Palace, which was just around the corner, and then followed towards Debod Temple, Cervantes’ statue, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and down the street towards the Retiro Park.

Debod Temple

This was our first photo tour ever. Of course, we did guided city tours before, but we were curious to see Madrid through a local’s eye. Well, more than that, a local photographer.

The idea of a photo tour is pretty new for Mario and his team, but what we liked best was the concept behind it. They started with the image of an amateur photographer in mind, a person who’s in Madrid for probably the very first time and who doesn't know the city very well, nor has the time to explore it in its vastity, nor read all about it. Not to mention that some of the information made available to the locals throughout the years, like little spicy stories about one place or another, is almost impossible to find online or elsewhere.

So the guys from Photo Tours Madrid decided to meet somewhere in the middle, between a traditional tour guide and a photographer. During the 3 hour tour, they told us in a friendly and accessible manner both the story behind each outstanding building we were passing by, as well as its past and present function, plus the best angle to take a picture from. And when we told them we were at the beginning of a 1 month culinary tour through Europe, they even recommended us places to eat.

Plaza Mayor

At the end of the day, what stood out for us, was the efficiency with which they presented the city. Yes, we usually like to get lost on purpose on winding little streets and discover a place by ourselves. But this was not our first time in Madrid, nor did we remember everything from our last visit. The route they created for us was very well optimized, and somehow we manged to cover an incredible number of places in a short time period. It’s almost as if Madrid shrunk under our own eyes. The huge, hectic city became a small, accessible place in the blink of an eye.

We greatly enjoyed talking to them, and we loved the way they made available information about the daily life in Madrid beyond the scope of the tour. It really felt like old friends were presenting us their home town rather than a guided photo tour. Plus, at the end of the day, we believe the pictures we took speak volumes. And that’s all that matters.

The Royal Palace

Don Quixote statue

Cervantes Statue

Hanging ham

Puerta del Sol

Towards Sobrino de Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world

The bear and the madrone tree, the symbol of Madrid

Almudena Cathedral (entrance details)

Almudena Cathedral

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