Madrid El Rastro and Lavapiés Self-Guided Audio Walk: Flea Market, Corrala and Tobacco Factory
1 hour and 15 minutes
About this experience
Madrid kept its messy, necessary work below the old town. Slaughter and tanning gave the Rastro flea market its name and its main street, and at the bottom of the hill stood a royal tobacco factory where thousands of women rolled cigars by hand. Start in a square built on a demolished convent, then meet the soldier with a can of petrol at the head of the Rastro. Walk down the tanners' slope, past a Baroque church front saved from fire and a school church kept as a ruin with a library inside. See La Corrala's open wooden galleries, the Plaza de Lavapiés, and a brick pawnshop palace that is now a cultural center. Finish at the tobacco factory where 3,500 women rose in 1830, and the queen's garden beside it. Ten stops, about 2.2 km and 75 minutes, downhill nearly all the way, at your own pace, in English. Works any day; the market trades on Sunday and holiday mornings.
- 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, 2.2 km, 75 minutes Stops at Rastro's tanners' slope, San Cayetano's Baroque front, a church kept as a ruin 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. For the Rastro, come on a Sunday or public holiday morning: the stalls trade from 9:00 to 15:00, and the City's tourism office says it is calmest before 11:00 and busiest from midday. Start at Tirso de Molina by about 9:30. On other days the market streets keep their shops, and late morning on Tuesday to Saturday catches San Cayetano and La Casa Encendida both open. An evening walk shows the theater's glass lit up on the Plaza de Lavapiés, but the garden at the end closes at night, so end at its railing. Checked 14 October 2026. Getting to the start: Tirso de Molina Metro (line 1) is in the square. Sol (lines 1, 2 and 3, and Cercanías) is a short walk up the hill. Checked 14 October 2026. Getting away from the end: Embajadores Metro (lines 3 and 5) and Cercanías Embajadores are at the Glorieta de Embajadores, about 250 meters from the garden; Puerta de Toledo (line 5) is also close. Lavapiés Metro (line 3) is at stop 7 if you leave the walk halfway. Checked 14 October 2026. El Rastro (stops 2 and 3): Sundays and public holidays, 9:00 to 15:00. Los Sábados de El Rastro, a smaller market in the Plaza del General Vara del Rey, runs on the first Saturday of the month, 10:00 to 14:30, free, except in July and August; the next is on 7 November. Old books are on Calle del Carnero and Calle de Carlos Arniches. Haggling is accepted. Checked 14 October 2026 at esmadrid.com. San Cayetano (stop 4): free. From 1 October to 30 June, Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 12:00 and 18:00 to 20:00 (Mass at 19:00); Sundays and holidays 10:00 to 14:00 and 18:00 to 20:00 (Masses at 10:00, 12:00, 13:00 and 19:00). Checked 14 October 2026 at esmadrid.com. Escuelas Pías (stop 5): the UNED library takes visitors Monday to Friday 9:15 to 10:00, individuals or groups of up to five; larger groups by email. Checked 14 October 2026 at esmadrid.com. La Casa Encendida (stop 8): free to enter. Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 21:00, Sunday 10:00 to 16:00, closed Monday. Café in the central courtyard Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 to 19:00, Sunday 11:00 to 15:00; the roof terrace café-bar opens Friday and Saturday 19:00 to 23:00. Toilets inside in opening hours. Checked 14 October 2026 at esmadrid.com. Teatro Valle-Inclán (stop 7): box office daily 14:30 to 20:30, closed 19 July to 31 August; tickets 20 and 25 EUR. Checked 14 October 2026 at esmadrid.com. The route has no steps. It runs downhill nearly all the way; the steepest stretch is Calle de Embajadores between stops 4 and 5. On Sunday and holiday mornings the Rastro (stops 2 to 4) is packed, and pickpockets work the crowd: keep bags closed and in front of you, and phones out of back pockets. La Tabacalera (stop 9) is closed for rehabilitation works, with the opening of the new arts center planned for 2026 and the annexes passing to neighborhood groups from late 2026; expect scaffolding or hoardings on the front. Checked 14 October 2026. The statue of Eloy Gonzalo (stop 2) was due for a two-month restoration from June 2026 under a covering tarp; it may still be covered. Checked 14 October 2026. The garden of the Casino de la Reina (stop 10) is free but publishes no opening hours, and it closes at night. If the gate on Calle de Embajadores is locked, end the walk at the railing beside it. Checked 14 October 2026. The Ronda de Valencia (between stops 7 and 9) is a busy ring road: cross it only at the traffic lights, in two stages, both times. At the Glorieta de Embajadores, use the marked crossings and follow any signals. The Ribera de Curtidores and Calle de Embajadores are narrow streets with local traffic: keep to the pavement, especially on the steep stretch of Calle de Embajadores between stops 4 and 5. Lavapiés is a lived-in neighborhood. La Corrala (stop 6) is private homes: look from the square, never enter the yard or doorways, and do not photograph into the balconies or windows. San Cayetano (stop 4) is a working parish: visit quietly, and not during Mass. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Plaza de Tirso de Molina: The Flower Square
Plaza de Tirso de Molina (Metro Tirso de Molina), Madrid
A square made from a demolished convent, now a flower market. Each wooden kiosk is named after one of Tirso de Molina's plays.
- 2Day 0
Plaza de Cascorro: The Soldier and the Can
Plaza de Cascorro, by Eloy Gonzalo's statue at the top of El Rastro, Madrid
The head of the Rastro flea market, watched by a soldier's statue. Eloy Gonzalo stands here with the can of petrol he carried in Cuba.
- 3Day 0
Ribera de Curtidores: The Tanners' Slope
Ribera de Curtidores, El Rastro, Madrid
The Rastro's main street is named for the tanners who worked this slope. Antique shops on weekdays, market stalls on Sunday mornings.
- 4Day 0
San Cayetano: A Front Saved From Fire
Calle de Embajadores, facing San Cayetano church, Madrid
A broad granite Baroque church front packed into a narrow street. The church burned in 1936; the front survived.
- 5Day 0
Escuelas Pías: The Library in the Ruin
Plaza de Arturo Barea, by the Escuelas Pías ruin, Madrid
A school church burned in 1936 and left roofless for decades. A university library now sits inside the ruin.
- 6Day 0
La Corrala: Balconies on the Street
Calle de Mesón de Paredes at Calle del Sombrerete, facing La Corrala, Madrid
A galleried tenement whose wooden balconies face an open square. Listed in 1977 as a monument of local interest, and still lived in.
- 7Day 0
Plaza de Lavapiés: The Neighborhood Square
Plaza de Lavapiés, by the Teatro Valle-Inclán, Madrid
The square at the heart of Lavapiés, closed by a theater of concrete and glass. Its famous name story is a legend.
- 8Day 0
La Casa Encendida: A Brick Palace for a Pawnshop
Ronda de Valencia, facing La Casa Encendida, Madrid
A neo-mudéjar brick building of 1913, built for a charity pawnshop and savings bank. Today it is a free cultural center with a roof terrace.
- 9Day 0
La Tabacalera: The Cigar Makers' Factory
Calle de Embajadores 53, facing La Tabacalera, Madrid
The royal tobacco factory where thousands of women rolled cigars and rose in 1830. Closed for rebuilding; see the tips.
- 10Day 0
Jardín del Casino de la Reina: The Queen's Garden
Jardín del Casino de la Reina, Calle del Casino (Metro Embajadores), Madrid
A royal pleasure garden of 1817 at the foot of the hill. It later housed an asylum for the tobacco workers and is now the neighborhood's park.
Meeting point
Plaza de Tirso de Molina, Madrid Plaza de Tirso de Molina (Metro Tirso de Molina), Madrid, Community of Madrid, ES
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Madrid El Rastro and Lavapiés Self-Guided Audio Walk: Flea Market, Corrala and Tobacco Factory
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.