Free Theatrical Tour: Madrid of Letters

Join the Madrid of Literature Free Theatrical Tour and accompany our prestigious playwright Ramón María del Valle-Inclán on a walk through literary Madrid. We'll become characters from different eras and learn firsthand about the history and evolution of Hispanic culture, which has given us unsurpassed writers. A journey through the past, present, and future in which we'll discover Spain's Golden Age, Madrid's bohemian culture, and the great generations of writers who have passed through our city.

This Madrid isn't real. It's an impossible Madrid. It's a city where all eras blend together; where the house where Lope de Vega lives coexists with the clandestine bars where Hemingway drinks rum and with places where the arts and sciences of the 21st century are disseminated.

It is the past, present, and future of Madrid, only conceivable through the grotesque and the distortion of concave and convex mirrors. This world, halfway between reality and dream, was created by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán. As characters in it, we will explore it hand in hand with its author. Thus, both he and we will see if his existence (and our own) makes sense, at least through literature.

🎩Follow in Valle-Inclán's footsteps …

We will meet at Plaza de Santa Ana, entering the Literary Quarter ; we will see our reflections (and deformed ones) in the famous mirrors of Callejón del Gato , while the “Bohemian Lights” illuminate our route; we will enter La Fontana de Oro, made famous by Pérez Galdós, and the house of Lope de Vega; we will celebrate a Nobel Prize ceremony in Plaza de Jacinto Benavente and witness the controversy that led to a clubbing duel, with serious consequences for Valle-Inclán, at Café de la Montaña ; we will pass by the houses of Giacomo Casanova , the most famous seducer of all time, and Miguel de Cervantes , one of the greatest figures of Spanish literature and author of Don Quixote, one of the greatest works of universal literature; we will witness a cockfight between Quevedo and Góngora with verses by both writers, cheering on our favorite poet; and we will end up directing our steps towards the Ateneo de Madrid and the Teatro Español .

We'll immerse ourselves in events and legends, exploring the city as the setting and inspiration for a great literary work, along a journey that opens the doors to the grotesque and social realism. Alleys, small squares, former comedy theaters, and cafés for social gatherings will reveal a Madrid written in golden letters .