There are endless ways of spending a day or just a few hours in or around Madrid. The tours listed below have been selected for the accompanying persons of the Annual Meeting participants.
Tours departure: IFEMA
Tours return: Official hotels

This tour will take visitors round the most prominent areas of the city and its monuments. On this tour you will discover Madrid as the multi-faceted city that it is, from its Arab origins to the court days during the reign of Phillip II and of Charles III, and finally to present day Madrid. It was during the reign of Charles III in the 18th Century when most artistic and cultural ideas were introduced enabling Madrid to become an important cultural and scientific center.

Departure time: 9 am
Arrival time: 12 pm
Lunch not included

The Museo del Prado is one of the buildings constructed during the reign of Charles III to embellish that part of Madrid first known as the Salón del Prado and then the Paseo del Prado.
The Salón del Prado, running from Cibeles to Atocha, was an ambitious example of urban planning with which Charles III - known as "the best mayor of Madrid" and also "the builder-king" - aimed to give the city a noble and monumental urban space comparable to those found in other European capitals. Charles returned from Naples where he was monarch to be crowned King of Spain, discovering that his native city had improved little in his absence. Madrid was still basically a small Castilian town which had suddenly and unexpectedly become capital of Spain under Philip II. As a consequence, it had grown rapidly and in a haphazard fashion.

Departure time: 10 am
Arrival time: 1 pm
Lunch not included

This fabulous collection of paintings is housed in the Palacio de Villahermosa (19th century), which was completely remodelled by the architect Rafael Moneo specifically to house its nearly 800 paintings. The collection was begun in 1920 by the present Baron von Thyssen-Bornemisza's father, who upon his death distributed the work among his various heirs. Keen to reunite his father's collection, the present Baron bought back most of the works from his relatives and then proceeded to acquire large numbers of new works to produce what is one of the world's finest private art collections.
The museum was opened in 1992 after an agreement was reached between the Baron and the Spanish government, originally as a loan, but a year later the collection was bought outright.

Departure time: 10 am
Arrival time: 1 pm
Lunch not included

Once the San Carlos hospital, the remodeling of this building began in 1981 and in 1986 the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía was inaugurated, becoming the principle location in Madrid for national and international exhibitions.
There is room for all manner of 'art' activities, such as conferences, courses, poetry recitals or contemporary music concerts. In 1990 the collection of modern Spanish art was added to the museum, when it was moved from what was then the Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo (MEAC) (which today is the Museum of Anthropology).

Departure time: 9 am
Arrival time: 12 pm
Lunch not included

The city has a wealth of monuments and a wide variety of architectural styles, with buildings representing almost every period in history: Arabic, Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque… It also has a very rich artistic heritage.

Departure time: 1 pm
Arrival time: 6 pm
Packed lunch included

This ancient Roman city, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, has several important monuments including its 16-km Roman aqueduct, its late Gothic cathedral and its 11th century fortified royal residence, the Alcázar. A number of Romanesque churches complete this majestic town that overlooks the lands of Castile.

Departure time: 9 am
Arrival time: 2 pm
Packed lunch included

In the heart of the Guadarrama mountain range, only 50 kilometres from Madrid, stands the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Mount Abantos, its pine forests and the HerrerÌa estate form the natural surroundings of this place, which has its focal point in the Monastery of El Escorial. Its urban layout is composed of a harmonious collection of ancestral homes in the Herrera style, with rationalist avenues and small squares in an earlier style.

Departure time: 9am
Arrival time: 2 pm
Lunch included

Made famous by Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, this small town attracts for its beautiful palace, Palacio Real, of 16th and 17th century. Of particular interest are the Porcelain-Room and the Throne-Hall.
In Casita del Labrador you may visit the large collection of old clocks and porcelain-works, as well as the beautiful gardens.

Departure time: 1 pm
Arrival time: 6 pm
Lunch included