Valle-Inclán theatrical literary free tour of the Barrio de las Letras

Imagine an impossible Madrid, where Lope de Vega's house sits alongside the speakeasies where Hemingway drinks rum. That's the Madrid of this theatrical literary free tour, and you'll explore it led by none other than Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, brought to life as a character, through the Golden Age, bohemian Madrid and the great generations of writers who passed through the city.

The walk starts in front of the Teatro Español, in Plaza de Santa Ana, right in the heart of the Barrio de las Letras. You'll see yourself reflected (and distorted) in the mirrors of the Callejón del Gato, as in Bohemian Lights, and in front of the Fontana de Oro, made famous by Benito Pérez Galdós, you'll hear talk of love, of the picaresque and of what Spain is. Valle-Inclán will also reveal the consequences of the duel at the Café de la Montaña.

Along the way, the tour also champions women writers such as María de Zayas and Emilia Pardo Bazán. Then you'll head down Calle Huertas towards the old mentidero, the gossip corner where actors and players gathered, go into the Lope de Vega House Museum (admission is free), hear Quevedo and Góngora argue, and a certain Miguel de Cervantes will tell you the true meaning of Don Quixote.

And if you want to carry on with the Golden Age writers, there's also the Golden Age route through Madrid.