You’ll start near Madrid’s jaw-dropping Royal Palace where you’ll meet your guide and small group in the beautiful Plaza Oriente. Before opening hours, visit Almudena Cathedral where you'll experience a unique panoramic view of the area - just like one the royal family would have had a century ago. Looking down you can see your next stop: El Palacio Real. Enter the Palace to explore opulent interiors gilded in riches from the Spanish conquest of the Americas and decorated with paintings by Caravaggio, Goya, Velázquez, and more. Your guide will tell you the history of the palace and the immensely powerful royal dynasties that once called it home. Leaving the palace, you’ll step off the normal tourist trail and into Barrio de la Morería, where the city’s Muslim roots are still visible, and end up in a historic Spanish restaurant for an authentic food experience. Enjoy a crash course in Spanish food culture as you taste wine, olive oils, cheese and ham, and learn why the Spanish custom of tapas is one of the country’s most treasured institutions. The medieval streets of central Madrid await you next as you learn how the city went from being an outpost of the Moorish empire to a center of Catholic power in Europe. Along the way, you’ll stop in the jaw-dropping Plaza Mayor, where heretics were once burned at the stake, and the Puerta del Sol, the focal point of the modern city. From there your guide will point out the different neighborhoods of the city and give you plenty of recommendations for what to see, do, and eat during the rest of your stay. Sites Visited: Teatro Opera (outside) Almudena Cathedral Panoramic Viewpoint from Dome (inside) Plaza de Oriente Palacio Real (guided inside) Catedral de la Almudena (outside) Historic Spanish Restaurant Mercado San Miguel (outside) Plaza Mayor Puerta del Sol