Day 01 : Madrid Arrival
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Evening transport to the Gran Vía district. Welcome to Madrid! Upon arrival at the airport, we shall be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. Our guide will be ready to welcome you and will provide the necessary information. Towards the end of the day, we provide transfers to the Egyptian Debod temple, Plaza de España and Gran Via; a vibrant district where you can dine at your preferred restaurant: Indian, Chinese, Spanish and Middle Eastern are some of the options.
Day 02 : Madrid
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Madrid city tour. Visit to the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas bullring. Stroll through the Retiro Park. This morning, experience the city on a guided tour, which showcases the city’s vibrant centre, the beautiful Plaza Mayor (Main Square), its broad and magnificent avenues and its many fountains. Our tour includes a visit to see inside the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, a fine-looking building. Here we learn about the tradition of “corridas” in the Bullfighting Museum. Also the day includes a walking tour of the beautiful Retiro Park, enhanced by the lake and Crystal Palace. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon. If you wish, there is an optional visit to the ROYAL PALACE. At sunset we provide transfer to the Plaza de Oriente in the historic centre of Madrid, opposite the Royal Palace. In this area there are many restaurants serving different exquisite cuisines (Indian, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Spanish, International). Return to hotel.
Day 03 : Madrid - Granada
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Entrance and local guide in the Alhambra. Evening transfer. Leaving Madrid by bus in the early morning (if the group of English-speaking travellers is fewer than 10, they will share the trip to Granada with Spanish-speaking passengers). We travel to the south across La Mancha, stopping in PUERTO LÁPICE, a ‘manchego’ village evoking the figure of Don Quixote. We will enter Andalusia via Despeñaperros. GRANADA, arrival. In the afternoon we will visit the immense Alhambra Palace, with entrance and local guide included, and its beautiful Generalife gardens, built in Arab times. Later, enjoy an evening transfer to the Plaza de Gracia in Granada’s city centre, where restaurants mix with local cultural flavour to create an unforgettable night. Choose between Spanish, international, Chinese, Latin cuisines, etc. Tonight you have the option to attend a flamenco dance show and the traditional neighbourhood of Sacramonte. Note: in the Alhambra complex, the Nazari palaces allow a limited number of people in at a time. In the highly improbable case of not being able to visit this area of the Alhambra, a visit to the Alcázares will be included in Seville (which have similar architecture and features).
Day 04 : Granada - Malaga - Marbella - Ronda - Seville
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: we will see the beautiful Andalusian village of Ronda. We leave Granada and travel towards the Costa del Sol. MALAGA, arrival and time for a stroll in the historic centre with its cathedral and the Picasso Museum. After this we will continue along the coastal motorway with beautiful views of the Mediterranean. PUERTO BANUS, in Marbella, a pretty high level recreational port. Time for lunch. In the afternoon we will continue through the hills and their stories of bandoliers until we come to RONDA, a very beautiful white town with its large gorge that divides it in two. Continuation to SEVILLE. Arrival at the end of the afternoon.
Day 05 : Seville
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Guided visit with local expert in Seville. Night transfer to the historic city centre. After breakfast, a local expert guides you through a scenic visit of Seville featuring the Cathedral and its famous Giralda, the banks of the Guadalquivir River, popular neighbourhoods of Santa Cruz and Triana and the beautiful Plaza de España. (Note: If the group has fewer than fifteen travellers, it can be arranged in both Spanish and English). Enjoy leisure time straight afterwards. At the end of the afternoon, we will go to the historic city centre area (Calle Alfonso XII) where many different restaurants can be found. You can choose your favourite cuisine: Indian, Halal, Chinese, Spanish, International, and so on.
Day 06 : Seville - Rabida Monastery - Mertola - Evora - Lisbon
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Entrance in the Carabelas Museum were Christopher Columbus started his voyage to America. Chapel of the bones in Evora. We leave Seville and in the province of Huelva, we travel to PALOS DE LA FRONTERA. We include entrance to the Carabelas Museum; this is where Columbus set sail on 3 August 1492 for America. We will see the Rabida Monastery, declared a World Heritage site, a Franciscan monastery strongly linked to the history of the discovery (entrance included). After this we will travel to Portugal. MERTOLA, a stop in this ancient Muslim city, its present church was a mosque, and time for lunch. After this, through white villages we come to EVORA city declared a World Heritage site with its wide streets, its Renaissance policies and its cathedral, we will include the entrance to the impressive Chapel of Bones, built with 5000 skeletons! LISBON, arrival at the end of the day.
Day 07 : Lisbon
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Visit Lisbon. We taste the “pastel de Belem” (Belem cake). Ascend in funicular to the upper district in the evening. In the morning we have a sightseeing tour with a local guide (note: Explanations may be given by our guide if the group has fewer than twelve people). We visit traditional neighbour- hoods, which take in the Belem district, which is the birthplace of the great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the Fifteenth Century. We shall look round the Monument to the Discoveries, Belem Tower, and enter to the beautiful Je- ronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the Belem neighbourhood, we invite all our travellers to try a “Be- lem cake”, an exquisite local delicacy. The afternoon is free so that you can explore this great city independently. At the end of the afternoon, we ascend on the funicular and reach the famous Barrio Alto (meaning “upper district”). Here you will be able to dine at your favourite restaurant (Inter- national, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, etc.). Return to hotel.
Day 08 : Lisbon
After breakfast, end of our services.