Spanish Experience

It won't take long for you to fall in love with Madrid. This beautiful capital was revived by King Charles III several centuries ago and the city is still as graceful as ever. Arriving today, check in to your hotel and get settled in before meeting up with your Travel Director and fellow travelers for a look at what’s to come on your Spain value tour. Venture out into the streets at sunset and watch this football-mad city really come to life. You might like to join us for an optional walking tour around the city sights with the opportunity to get your first taste of tapas at a local restaurant. You'll quickly find out why the city's lively nightlife keeps the locals up until all hours of the night.

Gear up for a busy morning of sightseeing when you visit Madrid. Your Local Specialist will reveal all the secrets behind some of the city's most famous sights, kicking things off by heading up the Gran Vía through the heart of Madrid. See the Cibeles Fountain, the Royal Palace and the Paseo de la Castellana. This afternoon, you'll have some free time to spend as you like. History lovers will likely want to join our optional visit to the UNESCO-listed city of Segovia, with its Roman aqueduct and fairytale Alcázar, like something out of a storybook. Once you return to Madrid, you'll have another chance to discover the buzzing nightlife, which can be found spilling out into open-air cafés and pulsing plazas.

You'll watch history come to life when you take a trip to the hilltop town of Toledo today, with its ancient city walls and long legacy of traditional sword making. Take a sightseeing tour with your Local Specialist by your side, with every street showing off yet another stunning sight with views of the synagogue, cathedral and grand plazas. You'll get to visit a steel workshop and discover the tradition of swordmaking which dates back to Roman times. Then we'll continue our journey south past Puerto Lápice where the fictional Don Quixote was made a knight by a local innkeeper. Watch the plains of La Mancha melt into the hills of Andalucía with peaceful white-washed villages that move to their own time. Seville is your final destination today and we'll stay here for the next two nights.

The sizzling city of Seville is filled with the Spanish zest for life you'll come to know and love. It's a place of beautiful monuments, fine weather and it's also the home of the flamenco - no wonder it has been the royal family's (and thousands of travelers) favorite holiday retreat for centuries. Join your Local Specialist today to uncover some of the city's most famous sites, including Maria Luisa Park, built in 1929 for the Ibero-American exposition. Spend some time getting lost on purpose in the maze of lanes in Seville's Old Quarter or opt to join a tour to the grand 14^th-century Moorish Alcazar. You'll have the whole evening free to explore your way, but you can't visit Seville and not witness a fiery flamenco show - our Optional Experience will take you to the best flamenco show in town.

We'll begin our journey from kings to emirs as we travel from Seville to Granada this morning. A visit to this city will take you back in time to when the Moors ruled the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, their last fortress before being exiled to North Africa. You can still see their Arab influences in the Moorish architecture and tetería tea houses and we'll show you where to look this afternoon before you head out into the cobbled streets to explore your way. Alternatively, consider joining an Optional Experience tour of the Albaicín Quarter, the city's oldest neighborhood, known as the Arab Quarter. You'll discover its Moorish history and see the fortified citadel of the Alhambra on the hilltop overlooking Granada. If you're looking for the perfect way to end the day, why not head out to a lively gyspy performance?

Head into the hills of Guadix this morning where you'll spot the magical white chimneys that rise from under the ground, where generations of the city's trogloditas have lived for several centuries. You'll have the chance to take some photos of these curious cave dwellings before moving on to the modern city of Valencia or 'Bah-len-thee-a' as the locals call it. Venture out on an orientation tour with your Travel Director, breathing in the scent of orange blossoms as you see the Art Nouveau, Train Station Estación del Norte, Towers of Serrano and Quart and Mercado de Colon, which was declared sacred in the 13^th century. You'll also make a stop to see Valencia's unique City of Arts and Sciences, a futuristic recreation center that celebrates culture and science. 

Today we continue our scenic trip to the Levant region to Peñíscola, 'The City in the Sea' where the towering Templar castle, once used as a palace by the Spanish Pope, was made famous in the Hollywood film, El Cid. We'll make our way along the beautiful Costa Dorada to the sun-drenched shores of Barcelona. Head out with your Local Specialist to discover some of the city's highlights this afternoon. See the facade of Gaudí's incredible La Sagrada Família and the Passeig de Gracia. This evening, enjoy dinner together and look back on your amazing experiencia Española.

This is the last full day of your Spain vacation package and your chance to really get to know Barcelona. You can spend this free day however you like, whether you want to see the famous façades of Spanish Art Nouveau architect Antoni Gaudí, walk through the leafy lanes of the Gothic quarter or join an Optional Experience visit to the monastery in the Montserrat mountains to see the beloved Black Madonna. After sunset, continue the adventures and perhaps sample some cava at one of the bars overlooking the sea with new travel friends or enjoy an evening drive with panoramic views from Montjuic.

So long Spain! Our grand adventure through imperial cities and golden and green landscapes may have come to an end, but we’ll keep its fiery passion burning long after our departure. It’s time to bid our compañeros a fond farewell.