Highlights of Spain

Starting at PER PERSON for all of the below, based on 2 participants: $5,710.00

Day 1:  Barcelona for 3 nights

Meet & greet private transfer from airport to hotel

1 double deluxe room, breakfast & taxes included at Hotel Mercer*****

Featuring a rooftop swimming pool, Mercer Hotel Barcelona is set in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, within 10 minutes’ walk of Las Ramblas. This boutique hotel is set in one of the city’s ancient buildings, next to the Roman walls.

The stylish rooms at Mercer Hotel Barcelona have chic décor with original beamed ceilings and exposed brick walls. There is free Wi-Fi, air conditioning and flat-screen satellite TV. The bathroom has a rain-effect shower.

The hotel features an interior courtyard with orange trees. There is also a poolside bar and a terrace with loungers.

Several cafés, bars and restaurants can be found in the charming, winding streets and pretty squares surrounding the hotel.

Jaume I Metro Station is just 5 minutes’ walk from the Mercer. The trendy Born district is approximately 985 feet away, while Barcelona Cathedral can be reached in 5 minutes by foot.

http://www.mercerbarcelona.com/en

 

Day 2

6 hour private guided tour in Barcelona

The 6-hour tours include a 1.5 to 2-hour walking tour of the old quarter with emphasis on the Roman and Medieval areas of the Barri Gòtic, the Born (Ribera) and the Port Vell (old port). For those who would prefer an alternative to the walking portion, we can provide a route through the old quarter in the van to the main attractions but most access points and monuments are not accessible by vehicle. 4 to 4.5-hours of the 6-hour Barcelona city tours are duly dedicated to viewing the modernist architectural works of the Modernisme era, mostly show casing the works of Antoni Gaudí including exterior visit and explanation of La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera (Casa Mila) and Casa Batlló and an hour dedicated to enjoying the Park Guell. Visits to the inside of the Gaudí works.

 

Day 3:

Day at leisure

 

Day 4:  Seville for 4 nights

1st class train from Barcelona to Seville

Departure at 9:40 am, arrival at 2:55 pm

1 grand deluxe room, breakfast & taxes included at Hotel Alfonso XIII*****

One of Spain’s most prestigious hotels, Hotel Alfonso XIII – A Luxury Collection Hotel is located next to Seville’s Real Alcazares. It offers an outdoor swimming pool, gym and a typical garden courtyard with fountain.

The Alfonso XIII’s elegant design includes Arabic-style arches and ceramic tiles. Rooms are individually decorated and feature air conditioning, a minibar, bathrobe and slippers. Each room has a mini fridge with drinks and snacks. Free internet is also available.

Hotel Alfonso XIII – A Luxury Collection Hotel offers casual al fresco dining in its Taifas Restaurant next to the swimming pool. Sweet snacks are available, as well as beers and wines. The San Fernando restaurant is located in the Andalusian-style courtyard and serves traditional local dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There is also a terrace set next to the courtyard, as well as the elegant Bar Americano cocktail bar.

Set on the edge of the historic Santa Cruz district, hotel is within 985 feet of Seville Cathedral and the Giralda. The Torre de Oro and the banks of the River Guadalquivir are just 329 feet away.

http://www.hotel-alfonsoxiii-seville.com/

 

Day 5:

3 hour private walking tour of Seville

Discover Seville’s most spectacular monuments — Seville Cathedral, the Giralda tower and the Royal Alcazar — on this intimate 3-hour walking tour with a private guide. Stand in awe of the world’s largest cathedral, containing the tomb of Christopher Columbus, and admire the jaw-dropping Moorish architecture of the Royal Alcazar, today the palace of Spanish kings. End with a picturesque walk through Santa Cruz, Seville’s whitewashed, cobblestoned Jewish quarter. Enjoy personalized attention and informative commentary from your knowledgable guide.

 

Day 6:

Alhambra and Granada Small-Group Day Tour from Seville

Join a small group to visit one of the most bright architectural marvels of Spain’s Moorish past – magnificent Alhambra with its Alcazaba and Palacio de Generalife. After the tour you will get free time in Granada city center, before the group returns to Seville.

You will be picked up from your hotel at 7 am and leave on a 4-hour drive to Alhambra. Alhambra is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country’s most significant and well known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. Despite long neglect, willful vandalism, and some ill-judged restoration, Alhambra endures as an atypical example of Muslim art in its final European stages, relatively uninfluenced by the direct Byzantine influences found in the Mezquita of Córdoba. The majority of the palace buildings are quadrangular in plan, with all the rooms opening on to a central court and connected with each other by smaller rooms and passages.
The Palacio de Generalife was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid Emirs (Kings) of the Emirate of Granada.
The complex consists of the Patio de la Acequia (Court of the Water Channel or Water-Garden Courtyard), which has a long pool framed by flowerbeds, fountains, colonnades and pavilions, and the Jardín de la Sultana (Sultana’s Garden or Courtyard of the Cypress). Originally the palace was linked to the Alhambra by a covered walkway across the ravine that now divides them. The Generalife is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens. The present-day gardens were started in 1931 and completed in 1951. The Generalife is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Granada, along with the Alhambra palace and gardens, and the Albayzín district. After the visit to Alhambra and Palacio de Generalife you will get some free time in Granada city center before the tour returns to Seville.

 

Day 7:

Day at leisure

 

Day 8:  Madrid for 3 nights

1st class train from Seville to Madrid with seat reservations

Departure at 10:45 am, arrival at 1:15 pm

1 double deluxe room, breakfast & taxes included at Hotel Villa Magna*****

The elegant Hotel Villa Magna offers exclusive rooms and suites in Madrid’s fashionable Salamanca area. All accommodation has free Wi-Fi, marble bathrooms and views onto Serrano Street or Castellana Avenue.

The large, luxurious rooms in Villa Magna Hotel have antique-style furniture and modern finishes. All rooms have laptop safes with in-built chargers. Some rooms have rain showers.

The Wellness Club at the hotel offers a range of treatments, including massage. The fitness centre has cutting-edge cardio equipment.

The property’s Restaurante Villa Magna offers traditional cuisine with a modern twist, and the Tse Yang Restaurant offers classic Cantonese dishes. The elegant Magnum Bar and the Lounge serve cocktails, champagne and tapas.

The hotel is located close to Madrid’s Golden Mile shopping district and is within 10 minutes’ walk of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Salamanca is a great choice for travellers interested in gourmet food, shopping and culture.

http://www.villamagna.es/en/index.html

 

Day 9:

3 hour private walking tour

This tour takes you through the heart of Old Madrid. Felipe II chose this small Castilian town as his capital in 1561 and it became the centre of a mighty empire in the following years. That’s why we know this area as the ‘Habsburg Madrid’ after his dynasty.
Immerse yourself in the 16-17th centuries small town through its medieval narrow streets, historical palaces or imposing churches. The compact heart of the city is steeped in history and full of interesting sights: from the charming ‘Plaza de la Villa’ to the impressive porticoed ‘Plaza Mayor’ or the majestic ‘Palacio Real’, commissioned by the new Bourbon dynasty in next century.
Also there will be time for an insider experience browsing among the colourful stalls of the ‘Mercado de San Miguel’, where you can try the delicious Spanish Tapas, or to stop by any trendy store on our way.

 

Day 10:

Full day private guided tour to Toledo

Head to Toledo by air-conditioned  minivan, and as you travel, your guide will chat to you about the ancient city and its countless attractions. The journey takes roughly an hour, leaving you with a good three hours in town to see the city highlights. Many attractions are clustered around the Old Town, so head there first to see Catedral de Toledo – a Mujedar and Renaissance building that represents the heart of Catholic Spain. Stop for pictures outside and learn of its impressive 13th-century history. Continue to Sinagoga del Tránsito – a synagogue that was built at a time when Jewish houses of worship were banned in Christian Spain – and hear tales of the different religions that left their mark on the city. After stopping for lunch, visit Museo del Greco to see the home of Spanish Renaissance artist El Greco, admiring artifacts that once inspired the painter, and then perhaps visit Museo Sefardi to see a collection of traditional costumes worn by Toledo’s Sephardic Jews. Finish with a stroll around the old Jewish quarter before returning to Madrid.

Day 11

Private transfer from airport

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