Madrid Film Office, the audiovisual office of the City Council attached to the Delegated Tourism Area, organizes for the second year the program of tours around the city ‘Madrid on the screen’. Every Saturday and Sunday, between July 12 and September 20, from 11:00 to 13:00, the people of Madrid and visitors can enjoy a guided tour and discover Madrid through the films and series shot in the city.
The program is part of the actions of Madrid Film Office aimed at promoting screen tourism and highlighting the audiovisual heritage linked to the city, expanding the offer of cultural activities and tourist experiences during the summer season.
The delegate councilor for Tourism, Almudena Maíllo, has pointed out that «this second edition of the film routes demonstrates that Madrid has a lot to offer to neighbors and visitors,» highlighting also that «the routes allow rediscovering the city through its audiovisual legacy, connecting culture, history, and tourism.» Likewise, Maíllo has emphasized the contribution of this initiative to decentralize the tourist offer, «bringing culture and the history of cinema to more areas of Madrid.»
The guided tours are free, upon prior ticket collection. All information about the routes, as well as getting the tickets, can be found on the Madrid Film Office website.
Ten different routes to discover Madrid
The ‘Madrid on the screen’ tour program will offer ten different routes throughout the summer to explore the city through the films and series filmed in it, as well as the life and work of creators and stars who have worked in Madrid.
The program will start on Saturday, July 12, with the ‘Sound Images of Madrid’ tour, which invites you to explore the city with new ears and immerse yourself in the sound atmosphere of several of its representative spaces through a series of pieces created by the renowned musician and composer Gustavo Santaolalla, winner of two Oscars, along with more than 30 students of film and music from the University School of Arts TAI. The route will be repeated on Sunday, July 20.
On Sunday, July 13, and Saturday, August 23, you can enjoy the ‘Madrid, Hollywood, and Spanish cinema set’ tour, a journey through various images and anecdotes about Spanish and international cinema filmed in the city over the decades, with special attention to the sixties and seventies, when Hollywood found in Spain one of its favorite sets and any neighbor could come across stars like Ava Gardner, Charlton Heston, or Sofia Loren walking through its streets.
On the other hand, the route ‘The Madrid of Concha Velasco,’ available on Saturdays, August 30 and September 6, invites you to immerse yourself in the city through the life and work of one of the most beloved and recognized actresses of Spanish cinema, starring in iconic films such as ‘The Girls of the Red Cross’ (1958) or ‘Torment’ (1974).
Series couldn’t be missing, a format in which the Madrid industry has become one of the main production centers in Europe in recent years. On Saturdays, July 26, and August 2, the tour ‘Madrid, the capital of series’ will tour the city with a focus on titles like ‘La Casa de Papel,’ ‘Elite,’ ‘Las Chicas del Cable,’ ‘The Ministry of Time,’ ‘Antidisturbios,’ ‘Valeria,’ ’30 Coins,’ or ‘Veneno,’ which have conquered millions of followers and projected the image of Madrid worldwide. On Saturday, August 16, the visit ‘The Madrid of The Ministry of Time (MDT). Special tenth anniversary’ will be offered, commemorating the already mythical Spanish cult series through a journey through the streets, squares, corners, and public spaces of ‘ministerial’ Madrid.
On Saturdays, July 26, and August 2, those interested will have the opportunity to enjoy the route ‘The Landscape of Light on the screen,’ where they are invited to explore, through titles like ‘Manolo, urban guard’ (1956), ‘The Little Apartment’ (1959), ‘The Fabulous World of the Circus’ (1964), or ‘The Day of the Beast’ (1995), the monuments, buildings, and unique spaces of this cultural landscape declared a World Heritage Site in 2021.
The city of Madrid could well be considered one more among Almodóvar’s girls, having been the protagonist in practically all his films, from ‘Pepi, Luci, Bom and other girls from the bunch’ (1980) to ‘Parallel Mothers’ (2021), as interested parties can discover on Saturday, July 27, and Sunday, August 31, with the tour ‘The Madrid of Pedro Almodóvar.’ On the other hand, the route ‘The Madrid of Álex de la Iglesia,’ offered on Sunday, August 24, and Saturday, September 13, invites you to tour the city through the dark humor and dramatic excesses of Álex de la Iglesia’s cinema, following the trail of films like ‘The Day of the Beast’ (1995), ‘The Community’ (2000), ‘The Bar’ (2017), and the series ’30 Coins’ (2020-2023).
Finally, in line with Madrid Film Office’s efforts to promote the connection of audiovisual with the 21 districts of the city and to publicize new locations beyond the center, this year two more routes in Madrid neighborhoods are added to the program. On Sundays, August 3 and 17, you can discover the history of Chamberí through cinema in the ‘Cinema Chamberí’ tour, which also seeks to pay tribute to the ‘chisperos’ and authors of sainetes linked to the district, as well as some of its neighbors who succeeded on the big screen like Fernando Fernán-Gómez. And on Sundays, September 7 and 14, the program will focus on the Guindalera neighborhood with the ‘Guindalera Set’ tour, a setting for stories ranging from the series ‘Pepa and Pepe’ (1995) or the Spanish classic ‘My Uncle Jacinto’ (1956) to Hollywood blockbusters like ‘Blood and Sand’ (1941), ‘It Started with a Kiss’ (1959), and ‘The Cold Light of Day’ (2012).
A diverse program that will allow you to broaden your view of the city and better understand its links to cinema and series. The guided tours, conducted by the Carpetania association, are inspired by the screen tourism brochures published by Madrid Film Office, especially the maps ‘The Madrid of Pedro Almodóvar,’ ‘The Landscape of Light on the screen,’ ‘Madrid, an outstanding city,’ ‘Madrid, through the series,’ ‘The Madrid of Ava Gardner’ and ‘The Madrid of Concha Velasco’ and ‘Sound Images of Madrid,’ available at the city’s tourist information points and digitally on the pages of madridfilmoffice.com and esMADRID.com.
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