Day 1: Fly overnight to Spain
Day 2: Barcelona
Meet your Field Director at the destination airportTake a walking tour of Las Ramblas, a pedestrian mall where you’ll find endless entertainment, restaurants, markets, monuments, and shopping
Enjoy a paella dinner in Barcelona, a rice dish served with various types of meat and seafood and seasoned with delicate saffron
Day 3: Barcelona
Take a guided tour of Barcelona
With your expert local guide you will see:
- La Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s masterpiece cathedral that is over 130 years in the making
- Gothic Quarter, a memory of the Roman Empire, now lined with shops and restaurants
- Barcelona Cathedral, a Gothic Revival church known for its gargoyles and other mythical animals
Visit Park Güell, a vast public park designed by Antoni Gaudí that features colorful mosaics and remarkable architecture
Guided visit of La Sagrada Família, a massive cathedral that was started in 1883 and remains unfinished
Day 4: Barcelona
🔹 Guided learning: Take a guided walking tour of the Modernist District and Barrio Gótico
Visit Casa Milà, a rock-like structure which features no straight lines and is often called “La Pedrera,” or rock quarry
Visit Casa Batlló, now a museum, and marvel at the bold colors that shimmer from the delicate tiles covering the outside
🔹 Cultural engagement: Cooking class
Spanish cuisine is as diverse as the country’s geography, climate and culture. This mouth-watering excursion gives your group a chance to prepare—and savor!—a Spanish specialty of your own.
Day 5: Barcelona
Montserrat
Journey northwest of Barcelona on this guided half-day excursion to the picturesque town of Montserrat. Its rugged mountain setting provides a dramatic backdrop for the 9th-century monastery whose basilica houses the Black Virgin Mary of Montserrat. Legend has it that the Benedictine monks could not move the statue to construct their monastery, choosing to instead build around it. If you are lucky you might hear the renowned boys’ choir sing during your visit.
Day 6: Barcelona
Experience the food of Barcelona on a tapas walking tour. With an expert local guide, you will:
- Stroll through 3 different barrios in the Gothic Quarter
- Taste 4 different tapas
🔹 Guided learning: Dalí Museum in Figueres
Join an exciting half-day excursion to Figueres, a Catalan city on the exquisite Costa Brava. You’ll visit a one-of-a-kind theater museum dedicated to the surrealist world of renowned Spanish painter Salvador Dalí. This museum contains the broadest range of Dalí’s works and offers a unique experience to step into the world of the artist.
Enjoy dinner in Barcelona
Day 7: Depart for home
Add 2 more days
Day 7: Barcelona • Madrid
Travel by AVE train to MadridTake a guided tour of Madrid
With your expert local guide you will see:
- Puerta del Sol, one of the city’s busiest squares
- Plaza Mayor, the center of old Madrid where you’ll learn about the grand square’s history of bullfights, royal weddings, and public executions
- Plaza de Oriente, the Royal Palace square, located across from the Royal Palace
Visit the Royal Palace and get a glimpse of regal Madrid, where you’ll wander the fabulous palace interior
Visit the Prado, Madrid's famed art museum where you can behold Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Goya’s paired canvases
Day 8: Madrid
Toledo
This half-day excursion will take you to the former Spanish capital of Toledo. Known as the “city of the three cultures,” this was a place of peaceful coexistence of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Toledo preserves an artistic and cultural legacy in the form of churches, palaces, fortresses, mosques and synagogues. Enjoy a panoramic drive around the city and visit the cathedral that dominates Toledo’s skyline. Then continue on to the Church of Santo Tomé where you’ll view The Burial of Count Orgaz, one of El Greco’s most famous works. Step inside one of Toledo's synagogues and finish off your excursion with a stop at a local sword-making workshop.
Enjoy dinner in Madrid
Day 9: Depart for home
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