Madrid Royal Palace Self-Guided Audio Walk: Plaza de Oriente, Campo del Moro and the Temple of Debod
1 hour and 15 minutes
About this experience
Madrid began on a cliff above its river. In the ninth century an emir built a walled fort there; it grew into a royal castle that burned for three days in 1734, and the Royal Palace rose in its place, built with stone vaults so it could never burn the same way. Start at the opera house, built over old springs, and meet Philip IV's bronze horse, rearing on its hind legs. Read the stone kings taken down from the palace roof, and stand between the palace and the Almudena Cathedral. See the ninth-century wall, walk down into the Campo del Moro for the palace's tall cliff side, and climb through the Sabatini Gardens to the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian gift rebuilt stone by stone, for the view west at sunset. Ten stops, about 2.9 km and 75 minutes, with a descent and a climb, at your own pace, in English. Entry to the palace and the cathedral museum is not included. In winter, start by 4pm.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Guide
- English
- Audio guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 10 stops, 2.9 km, 75 minutes Stops at Philip IV's rearing horse, palace and the Almudena face to face, ninth-century wall and the Campo del Moro GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: Any day but the three days the Campo del Moro closes (25 December, 1 January and 1 May), starting in the early afternoon so you reach the Temple of Debod for the evening light. The Campo del Moro's exit gate on the Cuesta de San Vicente closes at 18:00 from October to March and 20:00 from April to September, so start by about 16:00 in winter and 18:00 in summer. The Temple of Debod's interior is closed on Mondays. On Wednesdays and Saturdays (not July to September), the Changing of the Guard takes place at the palace before an early-afternoon start (the monthly Relevo Solemne is at 12:00), so see it first. Checked 14 October 2026. Getting to the start: Ópera Metro (lines 2 and 5, and the Ramal shuttle to Príncipe Pío) opens straight onto Plaza de Isabel II. Checked 14 October 2026. Getting away from the end: Plaza de España (lines 2, 3 and 10) and Ventura Rodríguez (line 3) are each about 550 metres from the viewpoint; Príncipe Pío (lines 6, 10 and the Ramal, plus Cercanías trains) is about 500 metres downhill. Checked 14 October 2026. Late start or closed garden: skip the Campo del Moro. From the wall (stop 5), walk back up the Calle de Bailén pavement past the palace to the Sabatini Gardens, then on to the temple: 8 stops, about 2.3 km. The Sabatini Gardens themselves close in the evening (about 21:00 from October to April and 22:00 from May to September, hours not confirmed by the city); after that, go straight up the Bailén pavement to Plaza de España. The app plays a stop by itself only when it is the next one, so on this route tap the Sabatini Gardens stop when you reach it. Caños del Peral, under stop 1: the remains of the 16th-century fountain and the palace's aqueduct are shown free in Ópera Metro station, Friday 16:00 to 20:00, Saturday 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 20:00, Sunday 10:00 to 14:00. Checked 14 October 2026. Royal Palace (entrance in the Plaza de la Armería, stop 4): October to March Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00, Sundays and holidays 10:00 to 16:00, last entry one hour before closing; free Monday to Thursday 16:00 to 18:00 in winter and 17:00 to 19:00 from April to September for EU and Ibero-American citizens and EU residents with ID. It can close for official events. Check prices and closures on Patrimonio Nacional's site. Checked 14 October 2026. Changing of the Guard: Wednesdays and Saturdays, except July to September. The full ceremony, the Relevo Solemne, is on the first Wednesday of the month (not January, August or September); the next is 4 November 2026 at 12:00. Checked 14 October 2026. From the far west end of the Plaza de la Armería, the Mirador de la Cornisa looks over the Campo del Moro to the Casa de Campo. It is a dead end: come back the same way. Campo del Moro: free, open daily except 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. Cuesta de la Vega gate 10:00 to 20:00 all year; Cuesta de San Vicente gate 10:00 to 18:00 October to March, 10:00 to 20:00 April to September. Opening depends on the weather and official events. There are toilets and a café inside. Checked 14 October 2026. Step-free help: maps show a lift at the Sabatini Gardens' corner on the Cuesta de San Vicente, added in the 2024 to 2025 works (working order not confirmed). A step-free way up onto the Temple of Debod's platform has not been confirmed; the route uses two flights with handrails. The Campo del Moro's San Vicente gate, where the walk leaves the garden, closes at 18:00 from October to March. Do not enter the garden after about 17:00 in winter: use the evening route in the tips. Between stops 5 and 6 the pavement follows the Cuesta de la Vega's switchbacks downhill. The last 30 metres to the garden gate are on a shared lane with no pavement: keep to the edge, cars are rare. Outside the Campo del Moro's San Vicente gate, do not cross the Cuesta de San Vicente at the lights. Turn right and walk up the pavement for about 100 metres. It runs beside a busy dual carriageway. Between stops 8 and 9 the route crosses Plaza de España's slow lanes and a one-way side street at marked or unmarked crossings, and climbs 21 and then 33 steps with handrails. The palace's ticket queue forms in the Plaza de la Armería. The square closes for official events and at 20:00 from October to March; the stop works from the railing on the pavement. The Temple of Debod's pond has been out of service and drained since 2018 because of leaks; the basin may be fenced. The cable car to the Casa de Campo was closed for works. Checked 14 October 2026. Pickpockets work the Ópera Metro exits and Plaza de Isabel II, and the Debod platform is crowded at sunset. Keep bags closed and in front of you. The Almudena Cathedral cannot be visited during services. Keep voices low inside. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Plaza de Isabel II: The Opera House on a Spring
Plaza de Isabel II, by the Teatro Real (Metro Ópera), Madrid
Madrid's opera house stands on the springs that ruined the theatre before it, with their old fountain under the square.
- 2Day 0
Plaza de Oriente: Philip IV's Rearing Horse
Plaza de Oriente, by Philip IV's equestrian statue, Madrid
A bronze king on a horse balanced on its hind legs, drawn by Velázquez and cast in Florence, in the palace's garden square.
- 3Day 0
Royal Palace East Front: The Kings off the Roof
Plaza de Oriente, facing the Royal Palace's east front, Madrid
The first full view of the Royal Palace, beside stone kings carved for its roofline and taken down by Carlos III.
- 4Day 0
Plaza de la Armería: Palace and Cathedral Face to Face
Calle de Bailén, at the Plaza de la Armería railings, Madrid
The palace's main front with Sabatini's clock faces the Almudena Cathedral, finished in 1993, across one parade ground.
- 5Day 0
Muralla Árabe: Madrid's Ninth-Century Wall
Cuesta de la Vega, by the Muralla Árabe (the Muslim wall), Madrid
The oldest stretch of Madrid's walls you can still see, built by the emirs of Córdoba on the bluff above the river.
- 6Day 0
Campo del Moro: The Garden Under the Cliff
Campo del Moro gardens, inside the Cuesta de San Vicente gate, Madrid
Inside the Campo del Moro, below the palace's cliff, where a royal museum has been dug into the slope.
- 7Day 0
Fuente de las Conchas: The Palace's Tall Side
Campo del Moro gardens, at the Fuente de las Conchas below the palace, Madrid
From the Shell Fountain, a long lawn rises past a second fountain to the palace's west front on its cliff.
- 8Day 0
Jardines de Sabatini: Stables into a Garden
Jardines de Sabatini, Calle de Bailén, Madrid
A public garden of clipped hedges and a long pond, opened in 1950 where Sabatini's royal stables stood, with kings round the pond.
- 9Day 0
Templo de Debod: A Temple from the Nile
Parque del Oeste, at the Temple of Debod, Madrid
An Egyptian temple of the second century BC, a gift from Egypt, rebuilt stone by stone where a barracks once stood.
- 10Day 0
Mirador del Templo de Debod: The Edge Again
Parque del Oeste, the Temple of Debod viewpoint, Madrid
The walk ends at the viewpoint on the temple's platform, looking west over the river valley to the Casa de Campo.
Meeting point
Plaza de Isabel II, Madrid Plaza de Isabel II, by the Teatro Real (Metro Ópera), Madrid, Community of Madrid, ES
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Madrid Royal Palace Self-Guided Audio Walk: Plaza de Oriente, Campo del Moro and the Temple of Debod
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.