Day 1. (Tuesday) MADRID

Hola! Welcome to Europe! Welcome to Spain! Arrival at the International Airport of Madrid – Barajas. Assistance and transfer to your hotel in Madrid. You’ll enjoy some free time at your disposal to get acquainted with this cosmopolitan city, capital of Spain. Please check the informative panels in the hotel reception area for the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travellers, and to receive information about the circuit. Towards the end of the day, we’ll do a transfer to Plaza Mayor, the heart of Madrid, a vibrant district where you’ll find a great variety of restaurants for dinner. Accommodation in hotel.

Day 2. (Wednesday) MADRID

Breakfast at the hotel. Escorted by a local guide, we’ll start a guided tour of Madrid discovering Paseo del Prado, one of the main boulevards in Madrid, Cibeles Square, the most emblematic square in Madrid with the fountain of the Greek goddess Cibeles, place where Real Madrid and Spain national team fans celebrate their victories, the Neptuno Square, the Gate of Alcala, one of the old royal gates that gave access to the city, Cristofor Columbus Square and the Plaza Mayor, once the centre of Old Madrid, is one of the prettiest open spaces in Spain. Our city tour of Madrid continues with the visit to Retiro Park, an oasis in the city centre, where we will see its lake and the Glass Palace. You’ll have the chance then to visit Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the football stadium of Real Madrid, for many, world’s best football club. The afternoon will be at your disposal to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of Spain Capital. Return to hotel and accommodation.

Day 3. (Thursday) MADRID – MERIDA – EVORA – LISBON

Breakfast at the hotel. We leave for Portugal, crossing the Region of Extremadura, land of the best cured ham, good wines and tasty cheeses. Travelling along large meadows of evergreen oaks and cork oaks groves where the Iberian pig roams freely, we arrive at the ancient Augusta Emerita, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Admission included to the archaeological site to visit at your leisure the imposing Roman Theatre of Mérida, a symbol of the city, which continues to function after 2,000 years of history and which hosts the International Classical Theatre Festival on summer nights. After that, among beautiful landscapes of the Alentejo Region we arrive at Évora, capital of the region, a city declared a World Heritage Site with its important historical heritage evoking times past: the ruins of the Roman Temple of Diana, its impressive Gothic cathedral, its palaces Renaissance and also the Church of San Francisco with its adjacent Chapel of Bones (Capela dos Ossos), where all its walls are covered with skulls and human bones, symbolizing how ephemeral human existence is. We’ll continue to Lisbon, the capital and largest city of Portugal. Arrival at the hotel and accommodation.

Day 4. (Friday) LISBON

Breakfast at the hotel. We’ll have a full day to explore each corner of Lisbon. We’ll start the day with an in-depth sightseeing tour of Lisbon. We’ll visit Lisbon’s traditional neighbourhoods, which take us into the Belem district, on the northern bank of the Tagus River estuary, the birthplace of many great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the Fifteenth Century to explore and trade with India and the Orient. We will walk around the Monument of the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), a monument that celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery, we’ll see the Belem Tower, a medieval defensive fortification and a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style. We will finally see the beautiful gothic style Jeronimos Monastery, Vasco da Gama’s resting place, classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the nearby Tower of Belen. Enjoy some free time at leisure to explore Lisbon at your own pace, to discover the nostalgic corners of the Barrio de Alfama, the old city grouped next to its Castle with its old buildings in narrow and twisted “ruas” full of colour and housing the genuine “taverns” where Fado music sounds like a lost past. Late in the afternoon, we’ll include a transfer to the Restauradores Square, a public square with lots of restaurants. We suggest you to take the Elevador Da Gloria, a cable-car that climb the steep hill into the Barrio Alto district, from the viewpoint of San Pedro you can enjoy the best views over Lisbon. Return to the hotel.

Day 5. (Saturday) LISBON – FATIMA – PORTO

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure northbound to Fatima. We will visit this important sacred center of the Christendom, known worldwide for its sanctuary, a place of Christian pilgrimage since the beginning of the 20^th century. We continue our route through the green lands of the center regions of Portugal. Arrival in Porto, the second-largest city of Portugal. You’ll enjoy some free time for lunch and then we’ll board a rabelo boat, a typical Portuguese vessel on the Douro River, which traditionally transported barrels of port wine from the vineyards in the Alto Douro to the port wine cellars. We’ll enjoy a unique experience, a boat trip along the Douro River, viewing the city at sunset from the river. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure, exploring the historical and nostalgic atmosphere of this port city, with its elegant neighborhoods and stately villas contrasting with the narrow streets and old alleys. You can visit the Sé Cathedral, Porto’s most important religious monument, as well as the Stock Exchange Palace, one of Porto’s most beautiful buildings. Stroll along the Ribeira de Porto on the banks of the Douro River and admire the Dom Luis I Bridge, Porto’s most famous bridge. Climb the Clérigos Tower, the best viewpoint in Porto, from where you’ll have fabulous panoramic views of the city’s historic center. Hotel accommodation.

Day 6. (Sunday) PORTO – BOM JESUS SANCTUARY – CAMBADOS – SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

After breakfast, we start our trip to the northern Portugal. We travel among beautiful landscapes. At Braga, we go up in the oldest funicular in the world, an impressive piece of 19^th century engineering, to discover the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from where we will appreciate beautiful views of the city of Braga. We suggest walking down to admire its beautiful Stairway of the Five Senses, a monumental Baroque stairway of 381 feet. We continue our trip to Galicia, with its landscapes of lush valleys and stunning beaches, spectacular cliffs, charming fishing villages and incredible cities. At Rias Bajas (Lower Estuaries of Galicia) we will stop in the historic city of Cambados, and we will board for a glass bottom boat trip in which we will explain how mussels and oysters are produced, with a wine and mussels tasting included. After lunch time, we arrive at Santiago de Compostela, whose old town is a World Heritage Site, one of the most important monumental centres of Spain, one of the sacred cities of Christendom and end of the Way of Saint James pilgrimage route. Upon arrival, we’ll enjoy a city tour visiting among others, the Plaza del Obradoiro, the point at which all roads into the city converge, where we can find Santiago’s Highlight, the Cathedral dedicated to the Apostle James the Elder, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ and brother of John, the Evangelist. Arrival at the hotel and accommodation. We recommend you to take a night walk to discover at your pace this historic city, its university atmosphere of joy and vitality, try the delicious cuisine that Galician tradition has preserved and its regional products, especially seafood, fish and beef.

Day 7. (Monday) SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA – LUGO – O CEBREIRO – LEON – MADRID

Breakfast. We travel along the Saint James Route towards Castilla. We stop in Lugo (Lucus Augusti during the Roman Period) to get to know its historic centre, an urban network of quiet pedestrian streets and the grand Roman walls encircling old Lugo, considered the best preserved of their kind in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We continue our route in Galicia, travelling through O Cebreiro, a small Galician stone village and Leon, a historic enclave on the Pilgrim’s Road to Santiago de Compostela. Free time to visit some of the most emblematic buildings such as the Gothic cathedral, with the most beautiful stained-glass windows in Europe, the Collegiate Church of San Isidoro and the facade of the San Marcos Hostel in Plateresque style. In the afternoon, continuation to Madrid. Arrival at the hotel and accommodation. Note: Depending on the number of passengers, the Leon / Madrid route may be made by regular-line coach or by train.

Day 16. (Sunday) MADRID

Breakfast at the hotel and end of our services. We recommend you to keep exploring Madrid, diplomatic capital, economic centre and most populous city in Spain, headquarters of the Spanish government and city where the Spanish monarchy resides. You can take a walk through the courtly Madrid de los Austrias Neighbourhood with its Renaissance and Baroque buildings in Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Villa, continue to the Royal Palace located in the elegant Plaza de Oriente, get to know the Cibeles Fountain, Fountain of Neptune, Puerta de Alcala, Gran Vía or Paseo de la Castellana. You can also, optionally, visit the nearby imperial city of Toledo, declared a World Heritage Site, make a daytrip to Avila and Segovia, the jewels of Castilla y León, cities declared World Heritage Cities, tours that you may book on our website.