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Spain: Land of Many Cultures

See our educational approach to program design
Connect with us
See our educational approach to program design
Connect with us

11 or 13 days

Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Granada, Seville, Madrid, extension in Madrid


Program designed to: Provide an in-depth appreciation for Spain’s multicultural past and present with visits to its most iconic cities: Catalonian Barcelona, Andalusian Seville, Castilian Madrid…Each metropolis boasts its own distinct regional flair, cultural traditions, cuisine—even language. Yet all have played a critical role in forming Spanish identity. Learn more as you connect with locals in sun-drenched plazas, seaside markets, and corner tapas bars.

Highlight: Explore Granada’s medieval Albaicín neighborhood—a UNESCO World Heritage site—to experience how 700 years of Muslim rule influenced Spain’s language, culture and cuisine.

🔹 Curated experiences: Every program is intentionally designed to feature guided learning, cultural engagement, and independent exploration experiences to drive global competency development, denoted on each itinerary with a blue diamond. Learn more about these experiences.
Image displaying map describing the itinerary of the Spain: Land of Many Cultures tour

Day 1: Fly overnight to Spain

Day 2: Barcelona

Meet your Field Director at the destination airport

With your Field Director, take walking tour of Las Ramblas, a pedestrian mall where you’ll find endless entertainment, restaurants, markets, monuments and shopping

Enjoy dinner in Barcelona

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

Day 4: Barcelona • Valencia

Travel to Valencia, a vibrant Spanish city situated on the banks of the Turia river 

Take a walking tour of Valencia, Spain’s third largest city on a walking tour with your Field Director

Take a cooking class and make paella, a traditional rice dish with seafood, meat, vegetables, and saffron

Day 5: Valencia • Alicante

🔹 Independent exploration: Spend a half day exploring Valencia on your own 

Travel to Alicante

Take a walking tour of Alicante, a vibrant beachside city

Day 6: Alicante • Granada

Enjoy free time exploring Alicante on your own

Travel to Granada

Enjoy dinner in Granada

Day 7: Granada

Visit the Alhambra, Granada’s crowning jewel widely recognized as the world’s premier example of Islamic architecture, and built as an all-in-one alcazaba (fortress), alcazar (palace) and small medina (city)

🔹 Independent exploration: Spend a half day exploring Granada on your own

Add this in-depth excursion:


Granada flamenco evening

Granada flamenco evening

This evening, enjoy a performance of traditional music and dancing known as flamenco. Talented performers present a program of folkloric music traditions that have roots in southern Spain, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

Enjoy dinner in Granada

Day 8: Granada • Seville

🔹 Cultural engagement: Visit a local olive oil farm to learn about the history of olive oil and to try some for yourself

Take a guided tour of Seville 

With your expert local guide you will see:

  • María Luisa Park and admire the mosaics and fountains of Plaza de España
  • Barrio de Santa Cruz, home to picturesque whitewashed houses, flower-filled patios, and tiled benches 

Visit Seville Cathedral, the third-largest church in the world that took more than a century to build 

Enjoy dinner in Seville

Day 9: Seville • Madrid

Travel by the high speed, energy efficient AVE train to Madrid 

Take 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 Prado, Madrid's famed art museum where you can behold Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Goya’s paired canvases

Day 10: Madrid

Visit the Royal Palace and get a glimpse of regal Madrid, where you’ll wander the fabulous palace interior

 ðŸ”¹ Independent exploration: Spend a half day exploring Madrid on your own

Enjoy dinner in Madrid's Old Town, Puerta del Sol

Day 11: Depart for home


Add 2 more days


Day 11: Madrid • Toledo

Visit the Church of Santo Tomé, home to a famous El Greco painting

Visit a synagogue and explore the history of multiple religions that coexisted in Toledo

Visit the Toledo Cathedral, a spectacular example of Gothic architecture 

Day 12: Madrid

Visit the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid 

 ðŸ”¹ Independent exploration: Spend a half day exploring Madrid on your own

Enjoy dinner in Madrid's Old Town, Puerta del Sol

Day 13: Depart for home


Learning outcomes on this program

Confidence • Curiosity • Global perspective • Empathy • Adaptability • Relatability • Self-Awareness

Academic resources

With this program, you get access to our Global Learning Resources, which include:

  • Discussion questions

  • Sample assignments

  • Journal prompts

  • Webinars

  • EF's Global Competency Assessment, a pre- and post-program assessment to measure competency development

See the resources you get

Your experience includes

Transportation
Accommodations
Select meals
End-to-end support
EF Global Learning Toolkit
Field Director
Guided exploration
Field Visits

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