Highlights of Spain

Your journey begins in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia and home to Gaudí’s landmark Modernist architecture, set between the Mediterranean coast and the Collserola hills. After checking in, you’ll meet your Travel Director and fellow travelers joining your small group journey. Dinner tonight is at La Pau, a community-minded restaurant supporting teenagers and young adults as they move towards independent living, offering a first look at the city’s strong culture of social initiatives and local care.

Start with an experience at the Palau de la Música Catalana, where you’ll see the stained-glass skylight and hear a short organ performance in the main auditorium. Meet a Local Expert this morning for a Barcelona walking tour. You’ll follow Passeig de Gràcia, an avenue known for its Modernist buildings and some of Gaudí’s most recognizable work. From here you’ll move into the Eixample for time inside the Sagrada Família*, Gaudí’s basilica begun in 1882 and still under construction, where the tall nave, tree-like columns and shifting stained-glass color give a clear sense of his ambition and detail. The afternoon is yours to explore — browsing the stalls at La Boqueria, walking the waterfront at Barceloneta or exploring the quieter streets of Gràcia. *Access to the basilica may be restricted due to special masses, pilgrim visits, or official ceremonies, and entry cannot be guaranteed. In such cases, you will instead visit the Hospital de Sant Pau, a striking example of Catalan Art Nouveau by Gaudí’s contemporary, Domènech i Montaner. Afterwards, join your Local Expert in the gardens surrounding the Sagrada Família to admire the extraordinary exterior of Gaudí’s iconic masterpiece.

You’ll travel with your small group along the Costa Dorada, passing the rice fields of the Ebro Delta on the way to the seaside town of Peñíscola, where a hilltop castle featured in the film El Cid. From here you’ll continue through orange-growing country towards Valencia, taking time to see the City of Arts and Sciences and the medieval streets of the Old City.

Travel south into Andalucía with your small group, passing Lorca where a hilltop castle overlooks the town, and the cave districts of Guadix, where homes are dug into soft rock to stay cool in summer. Continue towards Granada, once the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. With a Local Expert, you’ll explore the Alhambra, a fortified palace complex from the Nasrid period, walking through tiled halls, courtyards and water channels. Afterwards, you’ll enter the Generalife gardens, the former summer retreat laid out with terraces, pools and views back towards the city.

The morning in Granada is yours. Time could be spent around the cathedral and Royal Chapel, dropping into cafes off Plaza Nueva or walking up to the Mirador de San Nicolás for a clear view of the Alhambra. You could also join an Optional Experience to the Albaicín quarter with a Local Expert, tracing its narrow streets and older Moorish layout. Later, travel on with your small group to Seville. The evening is open for your own plans, whether that’s exploring the lanes around the cathedral and Giralda tower, finding tapas in the Santa Cruz district or taking a gentle walk along the Guadalquivir river.

Meet your Local Expert and explore Seville, viewing the symbolic Giralda bell tower and the Moorish-inspired María Luisa Park, with its tiled fountains, pavilions and ponds, before seeing the exterior of Seville Cathedral and walking through the former Jewish quarter. Spend the rest of the morning at leisure with your small group, with time to visit the Plaza de España or wander the lanes around the riverfront near Torre del Oro. In the afternoon, take part in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at the Cristina Heeren Foundation, where a flamenco instructor will guide you through the basic rhythms and movements taught at this renowned school dedicated to preserving Andalusia’s artistic traditions.

Set off along the Guadalquivir Valley towards Córdoba and pause at the Roman bridge, first built in the 1st century BCE to carry traffic across the river and later rebuilt in the medieval period. From here you’ll meet a local historian and visit the Mezquita, tracing its forest of columns and layered Islamic and Christian history. In the afternoon, travel through La Mancha, a region known for its wide plains, vineyards and windmills, before arriving in Madrid.

Join a Local Expert this morning for a sightseeing tour of Madrid, taking in main avenues, the Plaza de España and views towards the Royal Palace before driving through the streets of the Old Quarter. You’ll then visit the Prado Museum, where works by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco help trace Spain’s royal and artistic history. The afternoon is open – time to rent a boat on the lake in Retiro Park, drop into the glass pavilion, linger in Plaza Mayor or visit the San Miguel market for snacks – or you could join an Optional Experience to the hilltop city of Toledo. In the evening, gather for a farewell dinner with your Travel Director and fellow travelers, marking the end of your small group journey.

Your journey ends in Madrid after days spent tracing Spain’s cities, coastlines and older quarters with your Travel Director and fellow small group travelers. Bid them farewell before a transfer takes you to the airport for your flight home or onward travel.