The Prado and the Thyssen privately, rooftop dinners and a city that dines after dark.
The Prado and the Thyssen privately, rooftop dinners and a city that dines after dark. Here is Madrid, arranged privately — browse it by the occasion you're marking, by what moves you, or by the season that suits you best.
What an advisor can open that an algorithm cannot. Each of these is staged on your terms — the access, the timing, the people.
Velázquez's Las Meninas after the last visitor — a private walk of the Spanish Golden Age galleries with the museum's senior curator, who can explain the mirror at the back of the painting and what it changes.
A tablao closed to the public for one hour — a master guitarist, a cantaora who learned from her grandmother in Cádiz, a space with sixteen chairs. The kind of flamenco that is not performed but shared.
One of Madrid's Michelin-starred restaurants between the afternoon close and the evening service — the chef walks your party through the menu before anyone sits down, the kitchen still warm, the plates already composed in his mind.
Not a package — a starting point. Each is a journey we have designed and refined; your advisor reshapes it for the version only you would recognise.
An anniversary or milestone marked in Madrid, with a setting worthy of the occasion.
The Prado's Golden Age gallery after the last visitor, the Reina Sofía's Guernica at the hour the light comes from the north, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza walked with the curator who can tell you what each collector was trying to say.
The markets, cellars and private kitchens that define Madrid.
Warm enough, quiet enough — Madrid at the connoisseur's moment.
Spring, from April to June, and autumn, from late September to November, offer the most pleasant weather and a full cultural calendar at the Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofia. July and August are hot and many Madrilenos leave the city, so some restaurants close, though the heat is dry and evenings remain lively. The San Isidro festivities in May are a notable cultural highlight.
Yes. Forest Travel can arrange privileged access at the Prado and the Reina Sofia, including before-hours visits and private guiding with an art historian who can focus on Velazquez, Goya or Picasso's Guernica according to your interests. The Royal Palace can similarly be toured privately. These arrangements should be requested well in advance.
The Salamanca district is the natural home for affluent visitors, with the city's grandest hotels, the luxury boutiques of Calle Serrano and a refined residential calm. The Retiro and Jeronimos areas place you beside the park and the museums, while central Centro suits those wanting to walk to the Plaza Mayor and Gran Via. Two to three nights captures the city well before continuing south.
A private evening of flamenco in an intimate tablao, a curated tasting of Iberian ham and Spanish wines, and a behind-the-scenes visit on a non-event day at the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas are all distinctive. Day excursions to the imperial city of Toledo, the monastery of El Escorial, or the wineries of Ribera del Duero add depth. Evening dining begins late, rarely before nine.
Madrid is the ideal opening to a Spain itinerary, connecting by high-speed AVE train to Seville in around two and a half hours, to Cordoba, and to Barcelona in under three hours. Many clients combine two or three nights in Madrid with Andalucia to the south. Private chauffeured transfers from Barajas airport and within the city are recommended, with the AVE used for the intercity legs.
Each a starting point — our advisors weave them into a single, seamless journey.
Every journey here is a starting point a private advisor reshapes entirely around you — your pace, your people, the Madrid only you would recognise.
