Give the Gift of Knowledge this Holiday Season 🌎 Gift Cards for the Curious Traveler

Spanish Civil War Tour in Madrid with Picasso's Guernica

Understand Madrid's decisive role in the Spanish Civil War and marvel at Picasso's Guernica
From US$464 privately
Book a Tour
Tour Details
Duration
3 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
  • Reina Sofia Museum
  • Lavapiés
  • Monument to the Fallen
  • Telefónica Building
  • Gran Vía
Photos & Highlights
  • Spanish Civil War tour of Madrid led by a historian
  • Gain a clear understanding of the Spanish Civil War, its timeline, and its far-reaching consequences
Tour Description
On a hot summer’s day in 1936, a military coup trying to overthrow the government escalated into one of the most important historical events leading to the rise of fascism in Europe: The Spanish Civil War. This acute three-year conflict divided the Spanish population and territory in two—the Republicans, supported by international volunteer forces, versus the Nationalists, backed by the Fascist regimes of Mussolini and Hitler. Our 3-hour Spanish Civil War tour in Madrid will focus on the origins of the war, visiting sites associated with wartime events and covering daily life during the war and Nationalist Francisco Franco’s eventual Fascist dictatorship.

We begin our tour at a cafe where we’ll introduce the Spanish Civil War's major players. Armed with this knowledge, we’ll embark on our journey through the Civil War in Madrid, starting with Franco’s Monument to the Fallen, constructed during his regime on the site of the city’s first skirmish. We’ll continue along Gran Vía, a commercial and entertainment artery where the Telefónica Building—one of Europe’s first skyscrapers—became the main target for bombardments.

Passing through Puerta del Sol, we’ll enter the working-class neighborhood of Lavapiés. Intensely bombed during the war, we will see the ruins of a Catholic school and church burnt by angry masses at the onset of the conflict; these stand as a vivid illustration of the savagery of the war. Using photos and testimonies from the period, our guide will illustrate the difficulty of daily life during the first half of a dictatorship known in Spain as Los Años de Hambre, or The Years of Hunger.

The Spanish Civil War was one of the most romanticized conflicts of the 20th century, inspiring the works of an accomplished list of contemporary writers and artists, including Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, Orson Welles, Dorothy Parker, Pablo Neruda, and Pablo Picasso. Picasso’s Guernica is one the most recognizable symbols of the horrors of war, but it served as a key piece of propaganda used to gather support for the war. In light of its influential status, we’ll end our walk at the nearby Reina Sofía Museum, where we’ll view this monumental oeuvre together to wrap up our discussion of the war’s tremendous effect on this country.

This tour will help impart the scale of devastation that accompanied the rise of Franco and Fascism in Spain, as well as demonstrate the Spanish Civil War's impact on arts and culture.
Experts
Clarisa Clarisa
Local Guide
Beatriz Beatriz
Local Guide
Hector Hector
Historian
Mayte Mayte
Historian
Marta Marta
Archaeologist
Carlos Carlos
Art Historian
Sean Sean
Local Guide
Doreen Doreen
Professor
Chris Chris
Professor
Adam Adam
Local Guide
  • You're a history buff looking to expand your knowledge of the Civil War and follow the lead of an expert in his field.
  • It's your first time in Madrid and you're eager to learn about the history of this incredible city. 
  • You’re an experienced traveler and want to dive deep into the importance of this iconic historical event that shaped this nation.
  • Reina Sofia Museum
  • Lavapiés
  • Monument to the Fallen
  • Telefónica Building
  • Gran Vía
Tickets
  • You are prepaid for the tour and the entry tickets at the Reina Sofia Museum. 

Resources
  • If you are eager to learn more about Madrid before your visit, check out our online lectures at Context Learning.
Wheelchair accessibility
We understand that some of our valued guests may have mobility concerns, and we want to ensure you have a comfortable and enjoyable experience throughout your tour. If there are any accessibility concerns that your tour guide will need to be aware of, please let our team know at the time of booking.
How much time is spent at the Reina Sofia museum? We typically spend half an hour or so in the museum to see Guernica - for a longer more in depth look at the collection we recommend our Reina Sofia tour.
Book with confidence — see Context's flexible cancellation policy here.

Where You'll Start
(4.85) 118 Reviews

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

Carlos took us on a superb Spanish Civil War Tour. There are few remaining sites from the war, so much of our tour was the background and historical explanations that Carlos provided, and he was excellent. He is knowledgeable, articulate and engaging. Conditions were challenging—the weather turned sour, and I had been fighting a bad cold to begin with—but he showed tremendous flexibility in modifying the program and was incredibly considerate while doing so. He is a first-rate tour guide that we’d put him in the group of the best guides we have met in all our years of traveling.
Sean was terrific! I knew very little about the Spanish Civil War prior to the tour and am so grateful for what I learned. I particularly appreciated that Sean didn’t shy away from addressing the nuances and complexities leading up, during, and following the war as well as its continued impact on modern day Spain. He also did a great job of contextualizing it in terms of what was happening around the world at the same time as well as help me see Picasso’s Guernica beyond a work of art and instead as a central primary source in understanding the history.
We enjoyed a beautiful fall afternoon with Sean touring parts of Madrid and learning about the Spanish Civil War. It was a very difficult time for Spain with its after-effects extending to today. Sean was most knowledgeable and very accommodating. A great experience.