DAY 1 - MADRID

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Transfer to the hotel. Evening transport to the Gran Vía district. Welcome to Madrid! Upon arriving at the airport we will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. You can enjoy free time until your tour starts. Please, check the informative posters placed at the hotel reception area which have all the information about the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travellers. 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 available.

DAY 2 - MADRID

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Madrid city tour. Stroll through the Retiro Park. Visit to the Las Ventas bullring. Evening transfer. The morning starts with a comprehensive tour through the centre of Madrid including the Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá, Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor. We then will visit Retiro Park, an oasis in the city centre, where we will see the lake and the Glass Palace. A visit to Las Ventas Bullring (admission included) is next. This is one of the most famous bullrings in the world where we will learn about the tradition of the “corridas” at the Bullfighting Museum. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon at your own leisure. At sunset we will provide a transfer to Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, an elegant and bustling area with many restaurants serving different cuisines, such as local Spanish food, international and Chinese. Enjoy a pleasant dinner of your choice. At the end of the evening we will return to the hotel together.

DAY 3 - MADRID - CACERES - EVORA - LISBON

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Mediaeval Cáceres. Chapel of bones of Evora. We leave Madrid and travel towards Extremadura. In CACERES you can have lunch and stroll in the historic centre, one of the best preserved mediaeval and Renaissance open complexes in the world. Once in Portugal, we will stop in EVORA, a World Heritage city with its white streets, its Renaissance palaces and its cathedral. We will include entry to the impressive chapel of bones, built using 5,000 skeletons! LISBON, arrival at the end of the afternoon.

Day 4 - LISBON

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Visit Lisbon. Evening transfer. In the morning we will have a sightseeing tour with a local guide. We will visit the tra­ditional neighbourhoods including the Belem district, which is the birthplace of the great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the Fifteenth Century. We will have a look around the Monument of the Discoveries, Belem Tower, and the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy the free afternoon when you are free to explore the city at your own leisure. In the late afternoon, we will have a transfer to the Restauradores Square, a public square with plenty of restaurants and cafes. We suggest you ride the Elevador Da Gloria funicular that takes you to the viewpoint of San Pedro with beautiful views over Lisbon and the Bairro Alto. Return to the hotel.

Day 5 - LISBON - FATIMA - PORTO

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Fatima Shrine. Visit Porto and the old cellars. We will head to the north of Portugal and visit FATIMA, an important sanctuary. We will continue on our way through to PORTO, Portugal’s second largest city. We will have time to have lunch and then go on a sightseeing tour of this city, which sits on the bank of the Duero river, and its historic city centre. We will also include a visit to the old cellars. Free time.

Day 6 - OPORTO (PORTO) - BOM JESUS DO MONTE SANCTUARY - CAMBADOS - SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Cable car ride to the Bom Jesus Sanctuary. Wine and Mussels tasting on a boat trip. Visit Santiago de Compostela. On this day we will travel through beautiful landscapes. In the city of BRAGA, we will get on the world’s oldest cable car to ride up to the Santuário do BOM JESÚS, where we will enjoy its gorgeous views. We recommend trekking back down in order to admire its beautiful stairway. Then, we will resume our trip and head to Galicia. We will visit the historic town of CAMBADOS in Rías Baixas where we will go on a glass bottom boat trip in which we will learn about the production of mussels and oysters. Wine and mussel tasting included. At lunchtime we will arrive in SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, where we will go on a guided tour with a local guide. This town was a famous pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages.

Day 7 - SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA - LUGO - O CEBREIRO - LEON - OVIEDO

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Beautiful landscapes. Visit Oviedo. We will travel along the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) to Castile. In LUGO we will have time to visit the historic town centre and Roman walls, which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will make a stop en route in O´CEBREIRO, a small Galician stone village. Arrival in LEÓN at lunchtime, where we will have time to visit the Gothic cathedral with its stained-glass windows and to stroll through the historic town centre. After that, we will cross the Cantabrian Range mountains on our way to Asturias. Arrival in OVIEDO in the mid-afternoon. We will include (occasionally on Tuesday mornings) an hour-and-a-half visit of the city with a local guide in which we will visit its 9th century cathedral, Calatrava Congressional Palace, Campoamor Theatre and Calle de la Rua.

Day 8 - OVIEDO -COVADONGA - SANTILLANA - SANTANDER

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Fantastic landscapes. Altamira National Museum. Panoramic city tour of Santander. We will travel to Picos de Europa. We will visit Basílica de COVADONGA, which is surrounded by beautiful scenery. Then, we will resume our journey following the coastline to SANTILLANA, one of Spain’s most beautiful towns, and we will visit its well-preserved medieval quarter. We will also visit the National Museum and Research Centre of ALTAMIRA (ticket included) located in the vicinity of this town. We will later travel to SANTANDER, the region’s capital, a coastal city with amazing views and beaches. We will explore and learn about this elegant city and beautiful bay on the included panoramic city tour. NOTE: On some high difficulty dates (especially in summer from May to mid September), some groups can be accommodated in Bilbao.

Day 9 - SANTANDER - BILBAO - FORONDA SERVICE AREA (REFRESHMENT BREAK) - RIOJA - ZARAGOZA (SARAGOSSA)

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Bilbao. Wine Museum in La Rioja. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Dinner in Zaragoza. We will follow the motorway along the Cantabrian coast; some of the scenery we will go through as we travel between the mountains and the sea is of special beauty. BILBAO. We will arrive in the Bask Country’s largest city and, upon arrival, we will go on a short tour of the city with a local guide which will cover: Guggenheim area, old quarter, Cathedral… then there will be free time for some “pintxos”. We will then travel to La Rioja region, an outstanding wine region. We will visit the Wine Museum in Briones and learn about the importance of wine making from time immemorial. Later on, we will stop in SANTO DOMINGO DE LA CALZADA, a historic town on the Camino de Santiago, whose cathedral houses a hen and a rooster. ZARAGOZA, we will arrive in the late afternoon. Dinner included.

Day 10 - ZARAGOZA (SARAGOSSA) - POBLET - MONTSERRAT -BARCELONA

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Zaragoza Sightseeing tour. Rack railway to Montserrat Abbey. We include a morning sightseeing tour of the city of ZARAGOZA with a local guide. We will visit the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. We will also learn about Goya, the famous painter (and see some of his works), visit a Roman theatre, a Renaissance palace and walk by the Aljafería Palace. After lunch, we will continue our journey and head to the POBLET MONASTERY, a walled monastery surrounded by beautiful scenery. It is one of the best preserved medieval monasteries in the world (ticket included with guided tour). We will later travel to MONSERRAT ABBEY where we will board the rack railway and take in the fantastic landscapes. We will resume the trip and go to BARCELONA, where we will arrive in the late afternoon. Note: Due to the shorter days during the winter months and, in order to reach Montserrat during daylight hours, we will not visit the Monastery of Poblet in this season.

Day 11 - BARCELONA

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Barcelona city tour. “Spanish Village” visit and evening transfer to Las Ramblas district. Today we will explore Barcelona, an impressive city right on the Medi­terranean Sea. Starting by an informative city tour with a local expert (note: If the group has fewer than fifteen people, explanations can be given by our guide.) We will also visit the city’s historic central area with its Gothic neigh­bourhood dating back to the Middle Ages. We will visit the area where the Olympic Games took place. We will also get the chance to see La Sagrada Fa­milia Basilica, the masterpiece designed by the architect Gaudí. Following this, we include the entry ticket to visit ‘Poble Espanyol’ (meaning ‘Spanish Village’). This open-air architectural museum is situated in one of the most emblematic areas of Barcelona. Enjoy the Spanish craftsmanship and discover the architectural styles, traditions and folklore of the different regions that make up Spain. You will then have some free time to explore the city at your own leisure. In the evening we provide a transfer to Las Ramblas and the Plaza Cata­lunya area for dinner, where you can choose from a wide variety of restaurants. We will return to the hotel in the late evening.

Day 12 - BARCELONA

After breakfast, end of our services.