Madrid Explorer Pass Review: Is It a Good Deal?

Go City Madrid Explorer Pass Review - picture of Madrid skyline

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In this Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass review, we break down how the pass works, what it costs, and whether it’s the right choice for your sightseeing plans.

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As the vibrant capital city of Spain, Madrid is a must-see European destination. World-class museums, exquisite architecture, and energetic nightlife draw tourists from all over the globe.

You might be pleasantly surprised to discover that Madrid is less expensive than some of its Western European counterparts. That’s a relief, but the city still isn’t what you’d call cheap. If you’re flying internationally without the help of credit card rewards, the expenses can get pretty high before you even arrive.

Of course, there are other ways to save on travel. Sightseeing passes are one of my favorite tools for slashing expenses. Today, I’ll introduce you to Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass and explain how it can save you up to 50% on admission to some of the city’s most sought-after tourist attractions. Let’s take a look!

Save Money in Madrid – Grab the Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City and you can save up to 50% off the price of admission to the top sights in the city! Get yours here.

What Is the Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass?

The Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City is a sightseeing pass that includes single entry to three, four, five, six, or seven of more than 20 of Madrid’s most popular attractions It can save you up to 50% on gate prices, and it even offers fast-track entry at select locations.

Start by choosing the number of attractions you want included on your pass. Note that you don’t have to choose the specific attractions you want to visit – just the number.

Once you’ve figured that out, you purchase the pass online and receive it via email. From there, you have two choices: print the pass and free guidebook at home or download your pass to your smartphone using the free Go City app.

Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass eliminates the need to purchase separate tickets. Simply head to an attraction, present your pass, and the staff will take care of the rest. You activate your pass by using it for the first time. From that moment, you have 60 calendar days to visit the number of attractions purchased.

Attractions on the Madrid Explorer Pass

The Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City includes single entry to your choice of three, four, five, six, or seven of Madrid’s top attractions. Here are your options, including their regular adult admission prices:

  • Prado Museum Guided Tour – €50
  • Segway Tapas Tour – €49
  • Madrid Royal Palace Tour – €29
  • Bernabeu Stadium Tour – €33
  • Flamenco Show in Torres Bermejas (with drink) – €35
  • Self-Guided Toledo Tour – €25
  • Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza – €13
  • Madrid Guided Sunset Tour – €17
  • Reina Sofía Museum Guided Tour – €29
  • Chocolate and Churros Segway Tour – €44
  • El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen Tour – €59
  • Electric Bike Tour by Night – €39.90
  • Museo de Cera (Wax Museum) – €18
  • Retiro Park Segway Tour – €39
  • Madrid Highlights Tour – €29
  • Las Ventas Experience – €14.90
  • Museo Lázaro Galdiano – €7
  • Parque del Retiro and Cibeles Palace Tour – €20
  • Madrid Sightseeing Segway Tour by Night – €35
  • Retiro Park Bike Tour – €24.90
  • MAPFRE Foundation Art Exhibitions – €5

*Current as of April 25, 2023

Editor’s Note: Some attractions and tours may require reservations. Please visit the pass website for more information.

Madrid Explorer Pass Pricing

Now that you know what’s on the table, I bet you’re curious about the cost. Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass is available for three, four, five, six, or seven attractions for adults and children. Here’s how pricing looks for each option:

PassesAdult (ages 13+)Child (ages 3–12)
3 Choice€64€54
4 Choice€84€74
5 Choice€109€84
6 Choice€119€94
7 Choice€134€124
*Current as of April 25, 2023

As with all sightseeing passes, you’ll get the most value from Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass by choosing the attractions with the most expensive regular gate prices.

For example, let’s assume you select the five-choice pass. Let’s also assume you use your pass on the Prado Museum Tour, Segway Tapas Tour, flamenco show, tour of El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen, and the Royal Palace Tour. The total regular admission cost for these activities is €222 per adult, but the cost of the 5-choice pass is just €109. That means you save €113 per adult with Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass! That is a savings of just over 50%!

Keep in mind, however, that this pass does not guarantee you any savings. It completely depends on how you use it.

As you can see from the attraction list above, the three cheapest choices come in at €5-€13 each, so if you bought the three-choice pass and chose those options, you’d lose money. The best course of action is to choose a few of the most expensive options to get the best value out of each pass.

Purse Value

We’ve covered the selection and the price, but now we need to look at the purse value.

A purse value is the maximum amount you can use the pass based on regular gate prices. It essentially puts a cap on how much value you can get from a pass. Take a look:

PassesAdult Purse ValueChild Purse Value
3 Choice€185€145
4 Choice€235€190
5 Choice€280€235
6 Choice€320€275
7 Choice€360€315
*Current as of April 25, 2023

This means that if you buy the adult three-choice pass, you can use it to access up to €185 worth of attractions. After you hit that mark, your pass will automatically expire.

So what are the implications here?

When you look at the current selection of attractions, you can see that if you chose the three most expensive options, your total regular cost would be €158. So really, this means you can visit the three most expensive options and be fine.

In fact, I did the math for each available length of the adult Madrid Explorer Pass, and the current purse value is currently more than the cost of the most expensive attractions. It makes you wonder why they went through the effort if they’re going to allow you to earn the maximum savings, but I digress. My hunch is that the purse values might change going forward – or that more expensive attractions may be added – so that the purse values are a little less than choosing the most expensive attractions, so keep an eye on this. You’ve been warned!

Save More Up to 50% in Madrid – Save on travel expenses with Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass! Choose from 20+ attractions and save up to 50% off your sightseeing! Get started here.

Reasons to Get the Madrid Explorer Pass

Madrid Explorer Pass Review - picture of Royal Palace

Save Up to 50% on Admission

Like other good passes – including the London Pass and Paris Pass – the best reason to buy Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass is to save money at Madrid’s most popular tourist sights. If you’re strategic about which attractions you visit, you can save up to 50% off the cost of regular admission. That’s a massive savings!

Skip-the-Line Privileges

Saving money is the primary draw, but skipping long ticket lines is a key benefit, too. The Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass saves you time by offering skip-the-line privileges at several attractions. Cutting down on time spent in line at these busy sights means more time for the important stuff, such as actually enjoying them.

El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen Tour

The highest-value attraction included on the pass is the El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen Tour. The half-day guided tour starts with a trip to one of the most visited spots in Spain – the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. This 16th-century monastery is the largest Renaissance building in the world, packed with beautiful art and architecture. It still operates as a monastery, school, royal palace, and more.

The tour’s second stop is the Valley of the Fallen. Built into the mountainside, this basilica and mausoleum is dedicated to those who died during the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s. The visible exterior is topped by a massive memorial cross, towering roughly 500 feet above the mountaintop. Additionally, the site served as the burial ground for the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco until his body was exhumed in 2019.

If you’re interested in visiting either of these sites, an organized day trip is a great way to do it. Your tour guide can help you understand the historical and artistic significance of both sights. And, because it’s the most expensive option on Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass, choosing it helps you maximize the value of the pass.

Other Benefits of the Madrid Explorer Pass

  • Free Guidebook: The Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City comes with a free guidebook that you can print at home or download to your smartphone. It includes key information for each attraction (hours of operations, closures, etc.), maps of Madrid, and more.
  • Free Mobile App: Like the free guidebook, the Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass itself is available digitally or as a printable. If you go the digital route, you can store your pass on your smartphone using the free Go City app. When you head to an attraction, just pop open the app and show your pass. No need to carry anything extra.
  • Varied Selection: For a pass with just over 20 attractions to choose from, Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass crams in a lot of choice. It’s far from comprehensive, but it includes day trips, several museums, the Royal Palace, a flamenco show, and several Segway tours. All in all, it’s a pretty diverse offering.

Save Time and Money in Madrid – Grab Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass and you can save up to 50% off admission prices. Plus, you’ll save time by skipping the ticket lines on the city’s busiest attractions! Get your pass here.

Where the Pass Falls Short

The Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City is a great choice for the traveler who wants to check out a few key attractions. It does have a couple of weaknesses worth discussing, though.

The first is its size. For a small pass, the selection is impressively varied, but 20 attractions is still 20 attractions, and the most you can see with this pass is seven. That means Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass isn’t suitable for travelers looking to do as much sightseeing as they can.

The second issue is the purse value. I disagree with purse values in general, and – since it is currently impossible to even reach the purse value – I’m genuinely puzzled why Go City included one. We’ll see going forward what they do with this.

Who Should Consider the Madrid Explorer Pass

Travelers in Town for a Longer Stay: Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass is valid for 60 days, making it an optimal choice for visitors who are staying a while.

Sightseers Who Like to Take Their Time: While all-inclusive passes (like the New York Pass) are great for people who want to fit as much as they can into each day, Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass works better for those who want to take in the sights at a more relaxed pace. If you enjoy doing one main activity each day, or if you like taking a day off to relax, this pass is a good fit for you.

Visitors Who Want a Little Bit of Everything: The Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City only includes entry to just over 20 attractions, but as I mentioned before, the selection is diverse. It can’t be considered comprehensive, and it doesn’t claim to be. It’s not for the traveler who wants to see everything Madrid has to offer, but it’s perfect for the visitor who wants the highlights.

Who Should Skip the Pass

Power Sightseers: Travelers who want to fill their days with sightseeing may find the 20+-attraction pass to be lackluster. A dedicated sightseer could blow through the seven-choice pass in two or three days! Consider using the pass for what you need, then paying out of pocket for the rest. You may also want to consider Go City’s Madrid All-Inclusive Pass.

Serious Museum Buffs: Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass offers some great museums. You get the Prado, the Royal Palace, the, Reina Sofía Museum, and more. For someone who wants to check out just a few of the biggies, this is perfect. But, for a serious museum buff, it just isn’t enough.

Travelers With No Sightseeing Budget: Everyone has their own priorities when traveling. For some, it’s sightseeing. For others, it’s great food and wine. For someone else, maybe it’s the arts. Or shopping. Or adventuring. Either way, if you don’t have a budget for sightseeing, buying the Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass doesn’t make sense.

Getting the Most Out of the Pass

Photo of Madrid plaza lit up at night
  • Use All The Attractions You Pay For: This should go without saying, but it’s essential that you use all the attractions you purchase. Otherwise, you risk losing money.
  • Buy It on Sale: Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass routinely goes on sale. With that in mind, does it make sense to pay full price? No way! The best way to buy a sightseeing pass is in advance. That way, you can give yourself time to watch for a great sale.
  • Choose the More Expensive Attractions: To save money with the Madrid Explorer Pass, the total gate prices of the attractions you choose should be more than you paid for the pass. In most cases, you should have no problem, especially if you choose a few of the more expensive options.

How to Buy the Madrid Explorer Pass

Buying Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass is easy. Just head to the website and buy it here!

You’ll quickly receive it via email and can then print a hard copy or download the free Go City app if you prefer a digital pass.

You have two years from the date of purchase to activate your pass. There is also a 60-day window to use your pass once you activate it. If you change your mind, you have 90 days from the date of purchase to return a non-activated pass for a full refund.

Bottom Line: Is the Madrid Explorer Pass a Good Value?

The Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City offers good value to visitors who are excited to visit Madrid’s top attractions for a discount of up to 50%. Skip-the-line privileges at several attractions help travelers make the most of their time in Madrid.

The selection is fairly well-rounded, but it isn’t comprehensive – nor does it pretend to be. As long as you take Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass for what it is and don’t expect it to behave like an all-inclusive pass, you won’t be disappointed.

See Madrid for Less! – Save big money on Madrid’s best sightseeing with the Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City! Choose from 20+ attractions and you can save up to 50% off the price of regular admission. Plus, you’ll get fast-track entry to the city’s busiest sights. Get your pass here.

*Additional reporting for this story by Greg Johnson.

Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass Review
  • Attractions
  • Pass Options & Lengths
  • Price
  • Savings
  • Overall Value
Overall
3.9

Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass Review Summary

The Madrid Explorer Pass by Go City is a good way to save money at the city’s top attractions. There are 20+ available sights to choose from, and users get to pick a maximum of seven to visit.

Although the addition of a “purse value” slightly devalues the pass, purchasers can still save up to 50% on admission prices when used on the best combination of sights and tours. Therefore, we think Go City’s Madrid Explorer Pass provides a great value for most travelers.

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One Comment

  1. Hi Sandra, I saw your review is about Go City: Madrid Explorer Pass, what about the Go City: Madrid All-Inclusive Pass?
    Is it worth it and is the pass usable?
    As I found many negative reviews on Go City pass.
    Example; Pass was cancelled without customer’s acknowledgement, some encountered listed tours do not accept the pass, tours made reservations but was cancelled on that day and etc.
    Hope you can give me more insights of the pass thank you.

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