Madrid Walking Tour: Manzanares River’s Story from Prehistory to Popular Park

(45 reviews)

Madrid, Spain audio tour: Madrid Walking Tour: Manzanares River’s Story from Prehistory to Popular Park

This is a 1.7mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Madrid, Spain

Spain

$7.99

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About the Tour

Winding through the southern part of the city like a green ribbon, Manzanares Rio Park is one of the newest public spaces in the capital, but also where the ancient history of Madrid begins. It’s a side of the city that few visitors get to see, as I discovered when I first moved here and started researching Manzanares River’s history. On this walking tour, I’ll share my findings including tales of meat markets, woolly mammoths and washerwomen!

If you’d like to escape for a while from the hustle and bustle of Madrid’s city centre, this is the tour for you!

Starting next to the Antiguo Depósito de Agua (water tower), you’ll stroll through Matadero Madrid, an old slaughterhouse and market now converted into a cultural centre. From there, you’ll promenade along the river and through Madrid Rio Park to Toledo Bridge. While you walk, I’ll share the area’s 300,000-year-long history. I’ll show you the city’s lesser-known sites including the Obelisco de la Castellana (Castellana Obelisk or Obelisk of the Arganzuela as it's also known) and the Arganzuela Footbridge.
On this tour, you can look forward to hearing about:

The prehistoric wildlife that roamed the riverbanks
How Madrid’s first settlers used the fertile river to survive
King Felipe II’s plans to link up Madrid to the Atlantic Ocean by building a 20-kilometre-long canal
Obelisco de la Castellana, a monument for a deposed Queen that’s moved multiple times
The statues of San Isidro (Madrid’s patron saint who performed over 400 miracles) and his wife, Santa Maria
How the riverbank turned from an unloved eyesore to a green space teeming with wildlife

If you’re new to the city, a seasoned explorer, or a local looking to explore a part of Madrid you might not have seen before, this tour is for you. This hour-long walk will introduce you to the river’s fascinating links to the history of Spain’s capital.

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 7

The Manzanares River

At the top of the steps, turn left and head to the metal barrier. Here you can see the river itself, so we're going to stop here for a bit while I tell you more about the Manzanares itself.

The source of the river is the Ventisquero de la Condesa mountains in the Sierra de ... At the top of the steps, turn left and head to the metal barrier. Here you can see the river itself, so we're going to stop here for a bit while I tell you more about the Manzanares itself.

The source of the river is the Ventisquero de la Condesa mountains in the Sierra de Guadarrama range to the north of Madrid. Before the 1600s, this river was actually called the Guadarrama before each of its four tributaries was given a unique name of its own. The actual word 'Manzanares' comes from the Spanish word for apple tree.

It flows from northwest to southeast through the Community of Madrid for 92 km before flowing into the Jarama river and eventually joins up with the Tago which flows west, and all the way out to the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon in Portugal.

As you may have noticed by now, it's not the deepest, widest or most spectacular river in the world! However, in the past it did look a lot different and, although it may be hard to believe, it used to be prone to extreme flooding in the winter and spring but in the dry summer it could be little more than a stream in places.

In fact, its size has made it the target of quite a few jokes over its history. One German ambassador called Rhebiner said it was the best river in Europe as it was navigable by horse and carriage. Francisco Gómez de Quevedo, a 17th-century politician and writer, wrote an unflattering poem about the Manzanares, calling it an ‘apprentice river’ and implied that you could get more water in a jug. When the Three Musketeers author, Alexandre Dumas, visited Madrid in 1846 he said of the river "However hard I looked for it, I just could not find it".

Until recent developments turned the river into the popular green space we see today, it’s never been much of a source of pride for your average citizen. However, this is a shame, as it really is where the history of Madrid starts.

Let's get going again. Keeping the river to your left, go down the slope onto the main path to your left where we'll learn more about the prehistoric life of this waterway. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Antiguo Depósito de Agua
Matadero Madrid
Greenhouse Crystal Palace of Arganzuela
Puente de la Presa 8
Madrid Río Beach
Fuente del Obelisco
Obelisco de la Castellana
Toboganes de Madrid Río
Parque Madrid Río
Puente de Arganzuela
Toledo Bridge
Hornacina de Santa María de la Cabeza
Hornacina de San Isidro con su hijo
Hornacina de San Isidro y Santa María de la Cabeza

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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
Pl. de Legazpi, 8, Arganzuela, 28045 Madrid, Spain
Total distance

3km
Final location
Puente de Toledo, Carabanchel, 28019 Madrid, Spain
Distance back to start location

2km

Directions to Starting Point

The starting point is at the Matadero centre, Plaza de Legazpi, 8, 28045 Madrid.

The best way to get there is to go to Legazpi Metro station on Line 3 (the yellow one) or Line 6 (the grey one).
Head out of the station at the Rio exit and you'll be on the opposite side of a roundabout to the Matadero's main entrance. Cross over the Paseo de las Delicias and then the Paseo de la Chopera roads to your right, heading for a big water tower with MATADERO written on in big letters, this is your starting point.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The Plaza Rio 2 has plenty of cafes and restaurants and you'll pass a Cafe along the tour route if you need a snack. There is lots of seating along the route (as well as drinking fountains), so you can bring your own food and drink to eat.

If there are exhibitions and live events at the Matadero, they are worth a visit and are often free. It's open from 9.00 until 22.00 everyday.

Next to the Matadero there is the Crystal Palace Botanical Garden, a large indoor space with tropical plants. It's open 9.00 until 14.00 Tuesday to Friday and 10.00 until 14.00 Saturday and Sunday.

Best time of day

You can do the tour anytime between 9.00 and 22.00 when the Matadero is open. It's better during the day so you can see the monuments and wildlife in the river. The park gets pretty 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 the paths.

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