A gastronomic tour of historic Madrid
Ernest Hemingway described Madrid city as “the most Spanish of all cities, the best to live in.” He also described madrileños as the finest people.
Despite its aesthetic and cultural heritage, Madrid was not a tourist magnet for decades, but now, it is the city with the highest expenditure per capita in Spain, attracting visitors from all over the world.
Spain's capital has grown from a little enclave in the country's centre to a thriving metropolitan area of 6.7 million people, that represents not only the country and its provinces, but also neighbouring Europe and Latin America.
In this tour, we will visit the Royal Palace kitchens, the food in the still lifes of El Prado Museum, and Alambique, Madrid's oldest cooking school and shop. We'll go on a tour of the city's oldest and most historic restaurants and taverns, as well as some of the novels in which they appear. We will do a tour of the most iconic shops that specialise in cod, saffron, cheese, charcuterie and visit some of the lesser known markets like Mercado Maravillas, Mercamadrid and the newest one Galería Canilejas.
To have a better understanding of Latin America's influence, we'll visit Casa de Mexico, a cultural institute dedicated to the promotion of Mexican culture, as well as Latin American restaurants, shops, and marketplaces and of course top-notch Peruvian restaurants.
Finally, we shall cover the city's most emblematic meals, such as cocido and callos a la madrileña.
A glass of wine and small tapas will be served. Courtesy of the Tourism Office, Embassy of Spain in Ireland.