About Us - Slow City Travel

Our Mission

Slow City Travel was born from a simple observation: the way most people travel through cities—rushing between landmarks, checking off lists, moving too fast to notice—misses the essence of urban life entirely.

We believe cities reveal themselves not through monuments but through morning bakeries, neighborhood parks, chance conversations, and the quality of light on old stone walls. Real connection requires time, attention, and a willingness to slow down.

Our mission is to create frameworks for urban exploration that honor human pace, cultivate mindfulness, and foster authentic cultural exchange. We design experiences that transform travel from consumption to practice—from seeing to understanding.

Our Values

Mindfulness

We practice presence over productivity. Our programs create space for observation, reflection, and genuine engagement with place and people.

Sustainability

Walking-first travel reduces environmental impact while deepening experience. We support local economies through authentic cultural encounters.

Authenticity

We reject performative tourism. Every experience we curate prioritizes genuine connection over Instagram moments.

Community

Travel should enrich both visitor and host. We facilitate exchanges that honor local knowledge and create mutual understanding.

Simplicity

Less is more. Fewer destinations, deeper engagement. Quality of experience over quantity of sights.

Rest

We build rest into our programs as intentionally as we build activity. Restoration is essential to meaningful travel.

How We Began

Slow City Travel started in a Madrid cafe in 2018, when founder Elena Martínez found herself exhausted after guiding yet another whirlwind tour group through the city she loved.

"They saw everything and experienced nothing," she later wrote. "We rushed past the cafe where Hemingway wrote, but no one stopped for coffee. We admired Retiro Park from the gate but never sat on a bench. At the end of the day, they had photos but no memories, fatigue but no rest."

That night, Elena drafted what would become our first program: a seven-day Madrid experience built around walking, rest, and genuine encounters with the city's rhythms. The response was immediate and profound.

Today, Slow City Travel operates in fifteen European cities, but our philosophy remains unchanged: travel that honors both place and person, that values depth over breadth, and that recognizes the profound transformation that happens when we finally slow down.