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ITINERARY Insight Vacations - Highlights of Spain Highlights
Tour Pace
Well paced tour with two night stays in the major cities of Madrid, Barcelona & Seville; allowing you time to indulge in each city's treasures. Perhaps become better acquainted with Gaudi in Barcelona? In Seville, you have a whole day (Day 7) to relax or explore.
DAY 1 – FRI – MADRID AT LEISURE
Welcome to Spain! On arrival at Madrid Airport there are complimentary transfers to your tour hotel. This afternoon is at leisure to relax and settle in. This evening join your fellow passengers and Tour Director for a Welcome Drink. Hotel: Cuzco.
DAY 2 – SAT – MADRID – BARCELONA
This morning we follow the wide arid plains of Castille. After passing Guadalajara, we follow the Jalón River Valley, dotted with Mudejar Towers which are survivors of the bygone era of Moorish domination in Spain. Now we continue eastwards, passing Zaragoza in the province of Aragón, before encountering a different culture and language in Catalunya. Our home for the next two nights is the dynamic and stimulating city of Barcelona. Hotel: Melia Barcelona. (Buffet breakfast)
DAY 3 – SUN – BARCELONA SIGHTSEEING
We visit the Gothic quarter on our guided tour and see the ancient cathedral. Then we see the famous Ramblas, with its open-air markets and cafes. In contrast to the old part of town, we drive along the broad, elegant avenues of the Eixample district to admire Gaudi's extraordinary unfinished creation, the Sagrada Familiachurch, about which opinions are so strongly divided. Tonight we enjoy a highlight dinner with wine and entertainment, and visit all of Spain in one park at the 'Pueblo Español'! Before returning to our hotel, we drive past the Olympic Games site and enjoy glittering views over the harbour. (Buffet breakfast, Speciality Highlight Dinner)
DAY 4 – MON – BARCELONA – VALENCIA
Sadly, we bid farewell to Barcelona as we follow the Costa Dorada south. We stop in Peñíscola to view the white walled cottages clustered around the sea-lapped castle used in the film 'El Cid'. We continue past the famous orange groves to Valencia, our home for the night. An orientation tour with our Tour Director shows us the City Gates of Serranos and Cuarte, the Gothic Generalidad Palace,El Miguelete Cathedral with its octagonal bell tower, and the ultra modern Centre of Arts and Sciences. Hotel: Reina Victoria. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 5 – TUE – VALENCIA – GRANADA
Leaving Valencia this morning we head toward the Costa Blanca. We pass through the stately waving palm tree forests of Elche and then past the lemon groves in Murcia. We then drive amid the superb scenery of the Sierra Nevada with magnificent mountain views on all sides, as we cross the MoraPass to reach glorious Granada. Here, over looking the town, awaits one of the most remarkable fortresses ever built, the Alhambra. We explore this exquisite palace; a fantasy of stone cut lace, arabesque gardens and fountains, built as a citadel by the Moors in the 13th century. We also visit the exotic water gardens of the Generalife, the royal summer residence. Hotel: Saray. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 6 – WED – GRANADA – SEVILLE
This morning a beautiful drive through gleaming white villages and brilliant fields of golden sunflowers brings us to Seville, capital of Andalucía and one of the most charming cities in Spain. Seville has a distinctive character and presence which our local guide unfolds for us. We visit the massive cathedral, burial place of Christopher Columbus and enriched with the spoils of the New World. We pass the Moorish Giralda Tower and the Santa Cruz quarter with its flower-decked balconies, before seeing the Alcazar. Now on to our hotel in time for dinner. Hotel: Melia Lebreros. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 7 – THU – SEVILLE AT LEISURE
Today we are at leisure in Seville. Perhaps explore the peaceful Maria Luisa park with its archeological museum, or visit the museum of fine art inside a glorious former baroque convent? Or ask your Tour Director about an optional day trip to the superb sandy beaches of Portugal's Algarve region. Tonight, perhaps do as the locals do, and eat at a traditional tapas bar? (Buffet breakfast)
DAY 8 – FRI – SEVILLE – MADRID
We set off early this morning, driving along the Guadalquivir valley, past villages and towns studded with Moorish towers and fortresses, to stop in the perfectly preserved Moorish city of Cordoba. We see the famous 2000 year old bridge before a guided visit to the magnificent Mezquita, an 8th century mosque with a Christian church built inside it. Then across the Sierra Morena mountains and the plains of La Mancha, following in the steps of Don Quixote, on our way back to Madrid. Hotel: NH Eurobuilding. (Buffet breakfast)
DAY 9 – SAT – MADRID SIGHTSEEING
This morning we enjoy a sightseeing tour along the noble avenues to see the statue of Cervantes' fictional hero, Don Quixote in the Plaza de España. We continue past Cibeles Fountain and the Parliament, and cross the Puerta del Sol. We then visit the Prado Museum to admire the paintings of Velázquez. Now time to relax at a café or shop in the boutiques of Serrano? Tonight, why not join a farewell dinner, in the heart of town, with wine and music? (Buffet breakfast)
DAY 10 – SUN – MADRID
Sadly our tour ends after breakfast this morning with a transfer to Madrid Airport. (Buffet breakfast)
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