Splendid Spain

Note: Flights may not be available on all departures.

You can find more details on the Before You Depart page.

Welcome to Madrid, Spain’s grand capital and cultural heart! Tonight, we'll come together for a welcome drink, orientation, and dinner.

Our morning features a guided tour of splendid Madrid. As we travel along Calle Gran Vía, Madrid’s equivalent to New York City’s Broadway, we'll marvel at the Opera district, Plaza de Colon, the monumental 18th-century Royal Palace (exterior visit), Puerto del Sol Plaza and Plaza de España, Madrid’s main square, where we’ll see an imposing statue of Spain’s literary giant, Miguel de Cervantes. We'll end at the enormous, impressive Prado Museum, which holds one of the world’s top collections, including masterpieces by El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya. We'll also visit a local Iberian ham specialty shop to enjoy a jamón tapa and a drink. The balance of the day is at leisure. Consider doing what the Madrileños do. Take el paseo (stroll) to the delightful Retiro Park and then stop at one of Madrid’s excellent restaurants or tapas bars.

Enjoy the day at leisure to further explore Madrid or consider an optional tour to Toledo & Bull Farm with wine tasting.

Today we will take a high-speed train for Seville, the charming Moorish capital of Spain’s Andalusia Region. We'll drive to the Plaza de España, passing the elegant Maria Luisa Park. Tonight, enjoy a local Tapas dinner with drinks.

On an included guided walking tour, we’ll discover the passions of the city that create the backdrop for the great operas Carmen and Don Giovanni. Highlights include the Seville Cathedral, the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world, and landmark Giralda Bell Tower, the remaining part of the mosque built by the Moors. Our tour winds through the narrow streets and plazas of the well-preserved Barrio Santa Cruz, the old Jewish Quarter, where we'll delight in the whitewashed buildings, quaint shops and colorful flowers. Enjoy some free time to enjoy lunch on your own or explore. This afternoon, we'll experience the beauty of Seville as seen from the only major navigable river in Spain, the Guadalquivir. We'll get a complete perspective of both riversides, confronting the old part of town with the most modern one.

Today we'll visit Cordoba, one of Spain's cultural gems and home to some of the country's most impressive monuments. On our guided tour, we'll marvel at the Mezquita (Great Mosque) built in the 10th century during Cordona's glory days as the capital of Moorish Spain. The mosque was later converted to a cathedral, but the original architectural details are stunning. We'll also see the reconstructed Roman Bridge and the beautifully restored 14th-century synagogue that survived the expulsion of Spain's Jews. After our tour, we'll continue our journey to Granada, a former Moorish stronghold, stopping along the way at an Olive Oil Mill for a tasting. This evening, we'll enjoy dinner together at our hotel.

Today we'll visit Granada's crown jewel, the Alhambra. Sprawled over a hilltop overlooking the city, the awe-inspiring Alhambra is an impressive castle and fortress with its romantic Generalife gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Later today we'll have free time to explore the city and the mystic Albaicin Quarter or consider taking an optional Illuminated Granada Tour with Flamenco show and dinner.

We're sure to be captivated by the rolling terrain and groves of olives, almonds, lemons, and oranges on our way to Valencia, a city of great culture and beautiful gardens on the Mediterranean coast. On our guided tour this afternoon, we'll see architecture both ancient (Roman, Arabic, and the gothic cathedral) and modern—or should we say futuristic? Renowned architect Santiago Calatrava designed the City of Arts and Science, an eye-popping “city within a city” that gives us a peek into what the future might look like. The entrance fee to silk exchange and Royal Basilica of Our Lady of the Desamparados is included.

The next leg of our journey through splendid Spain hugs the coastline of Catalonia. We'll stop at Peñíscola, a pearl of the Mediterranean. The old town—crowned by a 14th-century castle-fortress that was once the home of Pope Benedict XIII—stands on an imposing rock that rises 64 meters above the azure seas and is connected to the mainland by a thin sandbar that waves wash over during storms, turning the town into an ephemeral island. We'll enjoy a delightful paella lunch before continuing to Barcelona where we'll settle into our hotel.

After breakfast, tour Barcelona, well-known for the 1992 Olympic Games. Drive along the main avenues with impressive modernist buildings by Gaudí such as La Pedrera and Casa Batlló (entrances not included), declared World Heritage buildings, the Montjuic Park with spectacular views of the city and harbor, Olympic Ring, monument to Columbus and the emblematic Gothic Quarter, heart of the old city and its historical center. Visit of the impressive Sagrada Familia, the unfinished masterpiece of Gaudí. Tonight, gather with your fellow travelers for dinner at a local restaurant.

The tour ends after breakfast.