Madrid’s Golden Age: 500 Years of History along the Manzanares River

(22 reviews)

Madrid, Spain audio tour: Madrid’s Golden Age: 500 Years of History along the Manzanares River

This is a 1.3mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Madrid, Spain

Spain

$7.99

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About the Tour

Parque Madrid Río (meaning Madrid River Park) follows the gentle flow of the Manzanares River through the southern part of the city, like a green ribbon. It’s one of the city’s newest public spaces, yet it’s packed with some of the city’s most important historical places.

On this walking tour, I’ll tell you how the Manzanares River’s development is linked directly to Spain’s fortunes, and the evolution of its modern capital city.

Starting next to Segovia Bridge, you’ll walk along the river’s edge to Puente del Rey (King’s Bridge) and take a trip through time, hearing about the Spanish Golden Age of the 1500s, the Civil War of the 1930s, and, eventually, the present day.

Along the way, you’ll hear stories of secret tunnels, popular festivals and royal feats of engineering, including Gate and Bridge of the King. By the end of this tour through Madrid Rio Park, you’ll have a sense of how the area was a hive of activity for 500 years, where everyone from washerwomen to kings used the river to work, relax and even escape from trouble.

You’ll also be able to:

Discover why the Segovia Bridge, Madrid’s ‘oldest’, might not actually be that old
Find out about the Chapel of the Virgin of the Harbour and, inside, its replica of a replica of the statue of the Portuguese Virgin of the Harbour
Walk through Lisbon Gardens, an orchard that visually recreates King Felipe II’s forgotten plan to link up Madrid with Portugal
Enjoy spectacular views of the Royal Palace and Almudena Cathedral towering above the river valley, and take your photo with the Madrid Rio Sign
Learn about Casa de Campo, a historical royal hunting ground
See the private Mansion of the Vargas, the palace where Napoleon’s brother hid to avoid the angry Spanish mob
Hear how the Madrid Rio’s banks have turned from an unloved, barren barrier into a lively green space full of wildlife

This hour-long walk will introduce you to the river’s fascinating links with the last 500 years of Spanish history, while you enjoy local wildlife and nature along the way. It’s a side of the city that’s popular with locals, but which few visitors ever get to see. So, if you’d like to take a break from Madrid’s bustling city centre, this tour is perfect for you!

Tour Producer

Clare Starkie

2 tours

I'm Clare, an ex-museum curator and specialist English teacher who loves exploring the lesser-known areas of Madrid.

After studying medieval history and archaeology, I was a museum curator in Sheffield, England, for over 20 years. Working with their internationally renowned metalwork collection (and lots of other objects too!), my specialism was the cutlery industry that made the city world-famous.
Over the course of my career, I've researched everything from Fijian barkcloth to pewter teapots, given talks on Chinese ivories and surgical instruments, and organised exhibitions on stainless steel and Japanese enamels.
You name it, I've probably researched it!

I moved to Spain in 2018 to start a new life, but of course, I couldn't just leave my love of history behind.
Living in the southern Madrid neighbourhood of Usera, I almost discovered the Manzanares River by accident. For the first few weeks, I wasn’t even aware that the city had a river, as none of the tourist literature or any walking tours really mentioned it.

So I decided that, as I couldn't take a river tour, I'd use my research skills and write one myself. After hours of walking up and down the river, multiple visits to my excellent local library and extensive research at several of the city’s museums, I've pieced together a fascinating timeline of this hidden gem. The Manzanares has been shaped by centuries of constant evolution, grand ambitions and a practical use that even surprises people who have lived here for years.

Now I'm an English teacher for people in the heritage sector, and I continue to share my knowledge of the museum world with students from dozens of countries. I also love to investigate Spanish history and to share fascinating facts and exciting stories on my tours of the city. When I'm not delving into the past, I love walking in the Sierra Mountains, doing dance classes, and playing board games (of course, I like the history-based ones the most!).

Preview Location

Location 24

The Vargas Palace

Let's stop here and take a look at this large house, in fact, it's really a palace.

It's called Casa de Campo de los Vargas, meaning the House of the Field of the Vargas, and it's where Casa de Campo Park got its name from. The house was originally built in 1519 and formed... Let's stop here and take a look at this large house, in fact, it's really a palace.

It's called Casa de Campo de los Vargas, meaning the House of the Field of the Vargas, and it's where Casa de Campo Park got its name from. The house was originally built in 1519 and formed part of a large estate owned by the noble Vargas family, whose head Francisco was the chief adviser to King Carlos V.

When King Felipe II made Madrid his capital in 1561, he acquired lots of land along the river, by what we’d probably now call a ‘compulsory purchase order’. He renovated this palace and built ornamental gardens in the fashionable Italian and Islamic styles of the time, with fish ponds, hydraulic fountains and formal flowerbeds for himself and his courtiers to enjoy during their hunting trips to the Casa de Campo. I've added an image of a painting from 1637 here, showing what the palace looked like at this time. Can you see a statue of a rider and horse in the gardens? This is the 1616 statue of King Felipe III that's now in the middle of Plaza Major. It was moved from here in the 1840s, to be admired by more people I suppose.

The Vargas Palace, as it was generally called, wasn't considered to be very impressive by most visitors though, in 1626 a cardinal legate called Francesco Barberini said:

”This is a rather ordinary and rustic house... more in the shape of a farmhouse than a royal mansion...
In it, there are no paintings, no ornaments, no precious furniture.”

He wasn't the only one to be less than blown away by this building, so the house had a major remodelling in the 1760s by architect, Francesco Sabatini. He's famous for building many of Madrid's well-known monuments, including the Puerta de Alcala, and adding the Neo-Classical touches to the Royal Palace that you can see today.

During the French occupation of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte, Madrid was home to King Jose the First, otherwise known as Napoleon's brother Joseph. From 1808 to 1813 he chose this house as his residence, rather than the actual royal palace up on the hill. This was probably because its out-of-town location made it safer from attack from the angry Spanish residents, they weren't exactly happy their own King had been exiled and this French usurper had been put in his place.

The house kept being used as a sort of royal hunting lodge until 1931 when the new Republican government seized the assets of King Alfonso XIII and turned the Casa de Campo into a public park. During the Civil War the area was the scene of several battlefronts, but, unlike most other buildings in the park, the Vargas Palace suffered no serious damage. The building was renovated in the 1960s, but not very sympathetically. The original wooden beams were replaced with iron ones and the tiled roof was replaced by slate and was used as government offices for a few decades.

As you can see it's currently being renovated again and was recently granted the status of a Site of Cultural Interest by the Spanish government. The plan is to create an Information Centre about the Casa de Campo and after some archaeological assessments and the demolition of some modern buildings, the gardens at the back will be restored to the time of King Felipe II. Whenever it's open again to the public, we'll be able to enjoy romantic grottos, cooling fountains, verdant box hedges, and classical statues that recreate the Spanish Golden Age.

Take a closer look at the building if you like, and then head right, out of the park and with the Vargas palace behind you, walk towards the six grey stone columns. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Segovia Bridge
Parque Madrid Río
Chapel of the Virgin of the Harbour
Dam N° 5
Cafe del Rio
Madrid Río Sign
Lisbon Gardens
Huerta de la Partida
Mirador de la Huerta de la Partida
Casa de Campo
Fuente de la Buena Suerte
Mansion of the Vargas
Puerta del Río
Puente del Rey

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
C. de Segovia, S/N, Centro, Arganzuela, 28005 Madrid, Spain
Total distance

2km
Final location
Moncloa - Aravaca, 28008 Madrid, Spain
Distance back to start location

595.63m

Directions to Starting Point

The starting point is at the Segovia Bridge, on the south bank of the Manzanares river. The starting point is the corner of Paseo de Extremadura and Paseo de Ermita Santo Madrid, 28011

The best way to get there is to go to Puerta Del Angel Metro station on Line 6 (the grey one).

Head out of the station at the right hand Rio exit and walk on the right hand side of the main road; called Paseo de Extremadura. Cross over two minor streets at the pedestrian crossings (Calle de Saavedra Fajardo and Paseo de la Ermita del Santo) and head towards a metal information sign that is marked 'Salón de Pinos'. There will be some granite benches and the Segovia Bridge and river in front of you, this is your starting point.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The area around Puerta del Angel metro has lots of cafes and restaurants. Along the route itself is the Café del Río, where you can grab a drink or a full restaurant meal.
At the end point of the tour you can walk up the hill to Principe Pio train station which has a shopping centre with food and drink options. Also nearby are the Campo del Moro Gardens, where you can admire the Royal Palace gardens, sit in the cafe and see the entrance to the Napoleonic era tunnel.

Best time of day

You can do the tour any time of the day or early evening. It's better during the day if you want to see the buildings in detail and spot any wildlife in the river. However, it's also pretty in the evening when the buildings are lit up. The river park in general gets busy on the weekends, but not so much that you can't do the tour.

Precautions

I'd recommend bringing a water bottle and sunblock if it's a sunny day as there isn't a lot of shade along some of the paths.
The route is generally accessible for people with mobility issues, there are some shallow steps at the first stop down to Segovia Bridge and at the Lisbon Gardens mirador, which wheelchair users may find difficult. However there are alternative paths that can be used to get to the same locations. The rest of the tour route is flat paths and shallow ramps.

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