Madrid · May 12 – 19, 2027
SAN ISIDRO
Madrid in May — the patron-saint fiesta, Las Ventas, and the city’s tables and streets.
DATES
May 12 – 19, 2027
DURATION
8 days · 7 nights
GROUP SIZE
8–12 guests
BASE
Wellington Hotel & Spa
Overview
Madrid during San Isidro
Madrid in May — the patron-saint fiesta, Las Ventas, and the city’s tables and streets.
San Isidro is Madrid’s patron-saint festival, celebrated with verbenas, chulapos in traditional dress and pilgrimages to the saint’s meadow. It also anchors the Feria de San Isidro at Las Ventas, one of the most important bullfighting seasons in the world. We pair the fiesta with the city’s art, markets, taverns and neighbourhoods — the way Madrid eats and walks in May. Attending a corrida is offered as an option, never a requirement.
About the corrida. Bullfights are part of these festivals and attending one is always optional. If you choose to go, we’ll explain what you are watching before and after; if you’d rather not, we’ll plan something else for that afternoon.
Spanish architecture
The Madrid you walk through
These journeys are also about the buildings that hold the fiesta: palaces, plazas, cathedrals and the façades of the rings, walked in the course of the week. The photographs below are of the real places.
Culinary experiences
At the table
Each city has its own table — the bars and kitchens people here actually use. In Andalucía, lunch with a ranch family is part of the week.
Trip highlights
What you’ll experience
- Seven nights in Madrid during the San Isidro fiesta
- Las Ventas — the monumental plaza de toros, inside and out
- Markets, taverns and the neighbourhoods of the old city
- Optional: an afternoon at the Feria de San Isidro with expert context
- Madrid’s food, neighbourhoods and evening life with English-speaking hosts
- Small group of 8–12 guests
Planned highlights — final inclusions subject to supplier confirmation.
Day by day
Preview the itinerary
Rendezvous: Wellington Hotel & Spa, Madrid · 4:00 pm, May 12 (Madrid-Barajas airport is about 20 minutes away) · Farewell: Madrid · after breakfast, May 19
DAY 1
Arrive in Madrid
Meet your hosts at the Wellington at 4 pm, then a welcome dinner in the Salamanca district. Hotel: Wellington Hotel & Spa (or similar). D
DAY 2
Las Ventas
A guided visit to the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas and its museum. Optional: the evening’s corrida of the Feria de San Isidro, with context from our team before and after. B · L
DAY 3
The Prado and the Retiro
The Prado with an expert guide — Velázquez, and Goya, who drew the bullfight all his life — then the Retiro. Tapas in La Latina in the evening. B · D
DAY 4
San Isidro’s day — May 15
The romería to the Pradera de San Isidro: chulapos and chulapas, the saint’s spring and rosquillas. Optional corrida in the evening. B
DAY 5
A ganadería in the sierra
A day on a fighting-cattle ranch in the sierra north of Madrid (about an hour), with the breeders and a country lunch. B · L
DAY 6
Toledo
A day in Toledo, 33 minutes by high-speed train: the cathedral, El Greco and the old Jewish quarter. B · L
DAY 7
Madrid at leisure
A free day for shopping, museums or a second afternoon at Las Ventas, then a farewell dinner. B · D
DAY 8
Departure
Breakfast and farewells. Transfers to Madrid-Barajas or Atocha can be arranged. B
What’s included
Included
- 7 nights at Wellington Hotel & Spa, Madrid (or similar)
- Daily breakfast, plus the lunches and dinners shown in the itinerary, including welcome and farewell dinners with wine
- Private ground transport for all included touring and day trips
- English-speaking Toro Travel hosts throughout, and licensed local guides at monuments and museums
- Festival access as listed — reserved viewing where available, entries, and private ranch visits
Not included
- International flights and travel to the meeting point
- Travel insurance (strongly recommended — see booking terms)
- Corrida tickets (optional; we can book them for you at cost)
- Gratuities for local guides and drivers, drinks outside included meals, and personal expenses
Final inclusions and pricing are subject to supplier confirmation.
When you’re ready, dates and reservations for San Isidro are on a separate page.
Gallery
