14-Nights Best of Spain

14 nights from: $4,136

Best Of Spain
Don’t miss a thing as you explore the Best of Spain, featuring all the travel highlights and some surprises, from olive oil tasting on an Andalusian farm and learning all about Toledo’s three religions, to the treasured cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.

Dining Summary

• 6 Dinner (D)
• 14 Breakfast (B)

• Explore Barcelona, Seville, Córdoba, Toledo and Madrid
• Discover Burgos, Bilbao, San Sebastián, Pamplona, Peñíscola, Valencia and the Rock of Gibraltar
• Visit La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, the Alhambra Palace in Granada, the Cathedral in Seville, the Mosque of the Caliphs in Córdoba, the Synagogue and Santo Tomé in Toledo and Madrid's Prado Museum
• View the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, La Concha Bay in San Sebastián, the Cathedral of Zaragoza, the Castle of Peñíscola, the Serrano and Quart Towers and City of Arts and Sciences complex in Valencia

• Madrid: Drive through central Madrid and see some of the city's famous features during an orientation with your Travel Director.
• Madrid: See the highlights of the city with your Local Specialist. Visit the Old Town, traveling along the elegant Paseo de la Castellana, past the Cibeles fountain and Royal Palace.
• Madrid: Visit the Prado Museum in Madrid, where you'll have time to admire its extraordinary collection of European art dating from the 12th to early 20th centuries.
• Burgos: Join your Travel Director for a walk through Burgos, once the capital of Castile. Discover the medieval old town and see the city’s impressive Gothic cathedral, a key stop along the Camino de Santiago.
• Bilbao: Admire the striking exterior of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, a modern icon of curved steel and glass that has transformed the city’s riverside. Designed by Frank Gehry, this bold building helped put Bilbao on the global art map. 
• Pamplona: Explore the historic heart of Pamplona, a city known for its medieval walls, lively plazas and rich traditions. Best known for the Running of the Bulls, it offers much more, from quiet alleyways to vibrant local cafes. 
• Zaragoza: See the impressive historic landmarks of this thriving Spanish metropolis. 
• Barcelona: With your Local Specialist, see the elegant Passeig de Grcia and admire some of the city's finest Modernist architecture. Journey past the beautiful façades of the Eixample district, where you will visit Gaudí's extraordinary masterpiece – the mesmerizing Sagrada Família.
• Peñíscola: See the castle featured in the film 'El Cid'.
• Valencia: See the ultra-modern Center of Arts and Sciences and the historic bullring of Valencia during an orientation drive with your Travel Director.
• Granada: Visit the famous Alhambra Palace and Generalife Gardens. Explore with a Local Specialist keen to share insights into this Moorish landmark.
• Gibraltar: Visit Gibraltar and delve into the typical British culture along Main Street. 
• Seville: Guided by your Local Specialist, see the Giralda Tower, former minaret of the Great Mosque and now the cathedral's belltower. Explore the narrow streets of the Santa Cruz Quarter and emerge by the great walls of the Alcazar.
• Córdoba: Explore the incredible Mezquita with your Local Specialist. Admire the forest of horseshoe arches and learn how this building symbolises many of Córdoba's religious changes over the centuries.
• Toledo: Explore this magnificent ancient city with your Local Specialist and visit the Church of Santo Tomé to see an El Greco masterpiece.
• Toledo: The invincible swords of Toledo have defended cities for centuries. Visit an inlaid steel factory in Toledo to see local craftsmen forging the highest quality steel.

• Valencia: Taste authentic Valencian horchata from a local vendor. This rich and flavourful nut-based drink loved by many is produced here using only locally sourced and natural ingredients, and respecting traditional methods of production. Alongside the local and organic production, they have been bringing the vibrant tradition of horchata back to its glory days, giving employment opportunities to people at risk of social exclusion. They have also built over 10 street carts from recycling materials, all working on solar energy and ice. Your visit supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

• Seville: Spend time at a family-run olive oil farm and learn how olives are grown, harvested and pressed. As you explore the property, hear stories from your hosts and enjoy a tasting of their signature oils. A relaxed and flavourful glimpse into local life.

Also known by its Basque name of Iruna, Pamplona, Spain, is a proud, prosperous, devout and usually conservative town with city walls and cobbled streets. The city, 195 mi/315 km northeast of Madrid, is the capital of the green province-region of Navarra, which borders France. Free Pamplona Travel
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The central square is the Plaza del Castillo, dominated by the Neo-classical Palacio del Gobierno de Navarra and also home to one of Spain's finest cafes, the Cafe Iruna. The streets of the old town fill the space between this square and the cathedral, largely Gothic in style but with a facade added in the 18th century. The other main sight not to miss is the Museo de Navarra in a converted hospital, which has some large Roman mosaics among its other historical and archaeological exhibits.

The town's sedate personality gets turned upside down during the fiesta of San Fermin that runs 6-14 July each year. Immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, the fiesta's most famous event is the running of the bulls. Each day at 8 am, the brave, foolish or drunk take to the narrow, barricaded streets to run alongside (or away from) six fighting bulls.

Less dangerous (but still exhausting) are the other activities that run the full week of the festival, including parades of giant figures, marauding bands, fireworks, endless dancing and lots of drinking.

If you can handle only a day or two of such merriment, try to make it to the first day or two of the fiesta (the weekend is the busiest time). The celebration that explodes at noon on 6 July is an incredible sight (plan to be soaked by champagne).

If you hope to stay in the city, accommodations should be booked at least a year in advance—be sure to get a room facing away from the street because the noise is relentless. Temporary campsites are set up on the outskirts of the city, and shuttle buses provide transport into town. Note also that petty crime is rife at this time.

Pamplona makes a good base from which to explore the rest of Navarra. Highlights of the province are the restored fairy-tale castle at Olite, the carved portal of the church at Sanguesa, the medieval town of Estella (Lizarra), the pilgrim bridge at Puente La Reina, the two monasteries of La Oliva and Leyre, Javier Castle (birthplace of St. Francis Xavier) and, near the French border, the tiny town of Roncesvalles, a traditional starting point for pilgrims heading across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia via the Saint James' Way.