A tour of Barcelona, Madrid & Andalucia
Programme Overview
Duration: 12 days
A 12-day itinerary showcasing the highlights of Barcelona, Madrid, and Andalucia.
Highlights: Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, Cordoba, Seville, Jerez, Granada
Arrive Barcelona
Upon arrival at Barcelona airport you will be welcomed to Spain in the arrivals hall by your local representative and transferred to your hotel where you will be assisted with check-in procedures.
Overnight: Hotel Arts
Barcelona
This morning enjoy a half day sightseeing tour with your English-speaking guide and private vehicle. Discover the masterpieces of Catalonia's most famous architect, Gaudí: the Casa Milá with its wave-like facade and the impressive but unfinished Sagrada Familia Basilica. You will also visit Parc Guell, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Gaudi's most coloUrful creations.
After free time for lunch, continue with a tour of the true heart of the old city – the medieval Gothic Quarter. Visit the magnificent 13th century Cathedral, notable for its fine Gothic chapels, medieval choir stalls and shady cloister. You will also visit the Picasso Museum, where some of the painter's earliest works are housed in the remarkable setting of a part-Gothic and part-Roman Palace. You will then be transferred back to your hotel where the rest of the day is at leisure
Overnight: Hotel Arts
Meal Plan: B
Barcelona
This morning you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred by private vehicle to your Spanish cooking class on the famous La Rambla. You begin, in the company of your chef/teacher with a visit to the Boquería market. The Boquería market is one of the most famous in Europe offering all kinds of fresh produce from fresh fish to freshly baked bread. It is here that you will find the ingredients for the recipes you will cook this morning. Your chef will teach you to cook a number of classic Spanish dishes before you enjoy your own creations, accompanied by fine local wine.
The afternoon is then at your leisure for you to explore Barcelona at your own pace.
Overnight: Hotel Arts
Meal Plan: B
Barcelona - Monserrat - Sitges - Barcelona
Today you will enjoy a full day sightseeing tour with your private vehicle and English-speaking guide to the shrine of the Black Virgin of Montserrat, high in the peaks of the Serra de Montserrat. Here you will visit the domed Basilica and the Museum, which features old master paintings, among them paintings by El Greco and Caravaggio. Afterwards continue down to the beautiful wine region of Penedes. Here you will visit one of the most distinguished small wineries in the region, Jean Leon. It has an extraordinary history. It was created by a local farmer who deserted from the Spanish army, joined the US marines and founded one of the most famous restaurants in Beverley Hills in the Golden Age of Hollywood (Sinatra, Ava Gardner and Zza Zza Gabor were all regulars). He returned to Catalunya and created this winery which was the first to plant imported French grape varieties. Today it is a mixture of tradition and state of the art wine technology. The visit, of course, includes a tasting of several wines.
Depending on how much time has been spent in the wine country, you will also have a short visit to the enchanting resort of Sitges, largely unspoiled by the coastal development which has blighted so much of the coast elsewhere.
Overnight: Hotel Arts
Meal Plan: B
Barcelona - Madrid
Today you will be privately transferred to Barcelona station to catch the Ave train service to Madrid. Your porterage will be taken care of and you will be settled into your first class seat with a pack for your journey, which includes sweet and savoury snacks, a newspaper, bottled water and some hand wipes. Upon arrival in Madrid you will be met at the station, assisted with your luggage and privately transferred to your hotel where you will be assisted with check-in procedures.
Overnight: Hotel Ritz
Meal Plan: B
Madrid
Enjoy a full day sightseeing tour with your local English-speaking guide and private. Visit the Prado Museum, one of Madrid's greatest treasures. Here you will view works by Spain's three great masters: Goya, Velazquez and El Greco. After touring the Prado, visit the Royal Palace, whose rooms are filled with art treasures, antiques and a superb collection of armour. This afternoon, visit the magnificent Thyssen-Bornemisza collection which boasts 800 paintings and is regarded as one of the most important privately assembled art collections in the world. On the way back to your hotel stop for some delectable fried "churros" and thick hot chocolate at 'Chocolatería San Gines'.
This evening transfer by private vehicle to Casa Patas for an authentic Flamenco show. Although flamenco is of course from Andalucía, this is perhaps the most important venue for serious flamenco in all of Spain. Some of the very finest young dancers and singers in the country perform here regularly. Dinner may be taken in the simple but excellent restaurant before the performance. Afterwards transfer back to your hotel by private vehicle.
Overnight: Hotel Ritz
Meal Plan: B
Madrid - Avila - Segovia - Madrid
Depart Madrid this morning with your English-speaking local guide and private vehicle for a full-day excursion to Avila, the most perfectly preserved walled city in all Europe and birthplace of Saint Teresa. Inside the wall little has changed since the Middle Ages. Afterwards, continue to the unique city of Segovia, another of the great provincial capitals of the region of Castile. Segovia is quieter and less visited than nearby Toledo but has unique attractions including the spectacular Roman aqueduct which, still carrying water, spans part of the old city and the majestic Cathedral, the last to be built in Gothic style in all Spain. Time allowing, you will also visit the fairy-tale Alcazar fortress, model for the Bavarian castles of King Ludvig II.
Overnight: Hotel Ritz
Meal Plan: B
Madrid - Cordoba - Seville
You will be met at your hotel by your Madrid representative and transferred by private vehicle to Madrid rail station to board your train (Club Class carriage) to Cordoba, one of Spain's oldest cities. Upon arrival, you will be met at the rail station by your local English-speaking guide and private vehicle for a sightseeing tour of the city. Enjoy a walking tour through the flower-filled streets of the Jewish Quarter and visit the Mezquita, built between the 8th and 10th centuries and considered to be one of the most extraordinary buildings in all of Europe. In the 1520s, a Christian Baroque cathedral was constructed in the heart of the mosque, but without destroying the rest of this huge building. After lunch at leisure, transfer by private vehicle through beautiful countryside to Seville.
Overnight: Gran Melia Colon
Meal Plan: B
Seville - Jerez - Seville
Today enjoy a full day excursion to Jerez de la Frontera with your English-speaking guide and private vehicle. You will visit a sherry bodega and enjoy a sherry tasting. At noon, visit the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art for a dressage and jumping performance by skilled riders in traditional Andalusian dress. Return to your hotel in Seville at the end of the afternoon.
Overnight: Gran Melia Colon
Meal Plan: B
Seville - Granada
Meet your English-speaking guide today for a half day walking tour of Seville. Visit the 15th century cathedral, one of the most breathtaking in all of Christendom, and see La Giralda, Seville's most famous monument. The Moorish tower was erected as a minaret in the 12th century. Visit the Alcazar, a magnificent 14th century Mudejar palace that is one of the oldest royal residences in Europe still in use. You will also enjoy a walk through the Barrio de Santa Cruz, a maze of narrow streets, whitewashed houses, small squares and flower festered patios.
This afternoon you will be privately transferred to your hotel in Granada.
Overnight: Hospes Palacio de Los Patos
Meal Plan: B
Granada
Enjoy a full day sightseeing tour with a private vehicle and a local English-speaking guide in Granada. You will visit the Alhambra, one of the great remnants of the Muslim occupation of Andalusia, founded in the 1240s. Once a great citadel containing a whole community of houses, schools, barracks and gardens, the Alcazaba fortress and Royal Palace are all that remain today but they offer a complex of magical, exotic buildings. Take a stroll through the lovely gardens of the Generalife Palace. Afterwards take a walking tour to include the Royal Chapel (burial place of the Catholic monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon) and Cathedral. You will then be transferred by private vehicle back to your hotel.
Overnight: Hospes Palacio de Los Patos
Meal Plan: B