Spain & Portugal Vacation – 12 Days

Arrival in Barcelona, the tourist capital of Spain. Your private driver will greet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel, where you will check in and relax. Depending on your arrival time You may enjoy a free tour of city, you can walk in La Rambla and will spend the evening in marina . Dinner will be served in your hotel

You will start a day in Barcelona while selling in the Gothic Quarter. to travel the original Barcelona, that was born with the Romans and that still keeps the same route of the streets.
We will discover together the fascinating story of a singular city while deciphering the facade of the Cathedral, trampling the King’s Square, while browsing the old Jewish Quarter, Montcada Street and Santa Maria del Mar.
You will discover the March of St. Catherine just before lunch. This is the perfect time to discover the local gastronomy.
After lunch, the one-day itinerary to Barcelona will take us to Passeig de Gracia to admire facades such as Casa Batlló and La Pedrera and to understand the historic, economic and social moment of the early 20th century. century.
A day in Barcelona will end with a visit to Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia.

The monastery of Montserrat is hidden between a beautiful mountain range, just one peaceful train-ride away from the city. Ask any local and they will tell you how much they adore this magnificent place!
The local insider of choice will meet you at Plaça d’Espanya where you will jump on board of the train to kick off your day trip with a comfortable ride through the beautiful Catalan landscape. Along the way, your local friend can already share tons of interesting facts with you about Barcelona, Montserrat and of course your itinerary for the day.
Upon arrival in Montserrat, you’ll enjoy a scenic ride up the mountain by cable-car that goes straight through the mountain range. The views are absolutely stunning and it’s the best means of transportation to get to Montserrat comfortably and with the best view!
First stop in Montserrat will be the local farmers market to see the hustle & bustle of the vendors in the morning. There’s time to enjoy the local atmosphere before you continue for an easy-going hike to a viewing point on top of Sant Miquel. The view up there is absolutely stunning and you can gaze straight across the Catalonian landscape!
After a short break to relax and enjoy the view, you’ll continue your way to the church of the monastery of Montserrat: the Santa Maria de Montserrat. Learn all about the Virgin of Montserrat, the patron saint of Catalonia to whom the church has been dedicated.

Meeting Point
Plaça Espanya A – Barcelona, further details will be given once the booking is confirmed.

Train ride
Catch the train to Montserrat and enjoy the beautiful Catalan landscape during a comfortable journey while your hosts already shares tons of interesting facts with you about Barcelona, Catalonia and of course Montserrat

Cable car ride
Upon arrival at Montserrat you’ll jump on board of the cable-car that goes straight through the mountain range

Local market of Montserrat
Stroll through the local market with delicious cheeses, dry fruit and more!

Sant Miquel view point
Go for an easy going hike towards the view point to admire the breathtaking Catalan landscape

Santa Maria de Montserrat church
Visit the Santa Maria de Montserrat church and learn all about the patron saint of Catalonia to whom the church is dedicated. Inside, the famous Black Madonna is located, and depending on the time, you can enjoy the impressive boys choir

Final Stop
After a train journey to get back to Barcelona, your local host will help you get navigated for the rest of your day in the city by sharing tons of local tips about things to do and delicious local food to eat.

Travel from Barcelona to Madrid.

Madrid is a city where the history is everywhere. Let’s walk through the historical area to enjoy the sights of the Royal Palace, the Sabatini Gardens, the Opera house, the cathedral, the oldest square and market, the first city hall among other great historical buildings. All this while you learn about our history and our lifestyle. For your introduction to be complete, I’ll hand you a brochure full of directions and suggestions to eat and visit so your experience in our city will be unforgettable!
Enjoy the artistic side of our city, discovering not only the works of art but the stories behind them, the historical context and curiosities in the life of the great classic art masters. Admire the art of Rogier van der Weyden, Albrecht Dürer, Tintoretto, Raphael, el Greco, Francisco Goya, Velázquez, among others. During this personalized tour, we’ll not only talk about each painting, but the relation it has with others: how an artist got inspired by another’s work, how they how they paid tribute to other artists, etc. The visit includes the ticket, valid for one day, so after we see the highlights together, you can take a break and go back to enjoy more works of art!
The visit includes the ticket for the Prado museum, valid for one day.

Travel from Madrid to Granada.

After breakfast we will start our visit About 3 hours:

Stop at: Alcazaba, Calle Real de la Alhambra Conjunto Monumental of the Alhambra y el Generalife, 18009 Granada Spain The oldest part of the Alhambra Duration: 30 minutes

Stop at: Calle Real de la Alhambra, s / n Palacio de Carlos V , 18009 Granada Spain The best preserved palace of the dynasty of Islam in Spain. Truly one of the most fabulous monuments you can visit. Duration: 3 hours

Stop at: Generalife Realejo-San Matias, 18009 Granada Spain Summer Palace of the Alhambra Duration: 40 minutes

Stop at: Palace of Carlos V, Alhambra, Granada Spain The Palace of Charles V is a building of the Renaissance located in Granada, in southern Spain, at the top of Assabica hill, inside the Nasrid fortification of the Alhambra. The building was never the home of a monarch and remained homeless until 1957. Duration: 15 minutes

Stop at: Palacio El Partal, Real Calle de la Alhambra 2 18009 Alhambra, 18009 Alhambra Spain

After climbing a A narrow landscaped path with a view of the Sacromonte, we will see on the left the north wall of the Alhambra and the remains of walls and sidewalks marking the site of what is now called the fig tree courtyard.

A small pergola leads to a large esplanade corresponding to the lower terrace of the Partal. On the left is the architectural structure that gave its name to the place: the portico of the Partal Palace. Duration: 30 minutes

After lunch Drive to Seville.

Go to the Alcázar de Sevilla to meet your guide before the palace opens to the public.

This tour allows you to enjoy the site by avoiding the long queues that usually form outside this important symbol of Seville. Visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site, and enjoy parts of the building inaccessible to most visits. Admire the salons of Charles V, the Cour des Demoiselles, the Cour des Stucs, the Cour de la Vénerie, the horseshoe arches and the Salon des Ambassadeurs. Enjoy a breath of fresh air in the meticulously maintained English Garden with its flowers, fruit trees and fountains. Do not forget your camera to immortalize the architectural details representative of many styles, from the Mudejar to the nineteenth century. Learn more about the famous monarch and poet al-Mutamid and life in Spain in 1812. Your tour ends with the exploration of this remarkable symbol of Spanish history. After a 1.5-hour tour of the Alcázar, visit Seville Cathedral and discover this UNESCO World Heritage monument accompanied by your guide. You will be amazed by the complexity of the interior decorations of the 80 chapels: admire the prismatic windows, the priceless masterpieces of Goya and Murillo, and the famous tomb of Christopher Columbus. Climb to the top of the Giralda, an architectural vestige of the mosque that existed before the cathedral, and soak up the spectacular views of the city.

After lunch travel from Seville Spain to Porto Portugal.

Starting in a emblematic square with buildings with more than a century, going around and see a cafe called “Lice” by students, stop in front of two churches separated by a century and by a one meter larger house, what else do you expect Porto may offer you?

Tiles, skylights, knockers, a insight to a Bank of Materials. Where? A square with so many peculiar characters, italian and portuguese, a battle in the 19th century and an important event occured in the middle of the 20th (Luso Café from 1935 is there to remind us).

Let’s go to see where is the place to have the best éclair and why not also where is the oldest bakery in Porto. Go inside and try some delicious pastries always freshly baked, always where the tradition is still the same as years before.

Crossing a ground olive, see the imponent “Torre dos Clérigos” with the church, the ex-Libris of the city during years and years.

Give a look inside a Café with the name of one of the doors of the wall of the 14th century around Porto and inside the World Heritage area labelled by Unesco in 1996.

Why not to show you the jewish neighborhood and in the middle a wonderful Monastery, an amazing view, and going down in some narrow streets inside the untouched historical center?

The Cathedral, the train station full of tiles and history, one of the six bridges between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, the main avenue Aliados: all these places are in the middle of the way and we can see them… why not to cross the bridge and see Porto from VIla Nova de Gaia? We know it is the best view we get from Porto city.

And in the middle why not to stop and to have lunch?

All the tour is planned to be done in 7 hours, keeping your pace and taking profit of the weather. No worries!

Drive from porto to Lisbon.

Meet your guide in the center of Lisbon for a memorable day guided in small groups to Sintra and Cascais.

First stop at Pena Park and admire the diversity of plants and trees that line the beautiful trails. Then, travel to a spectacular viewing point of the Pena National Palace (Palacio da Pena) and the Atlantic Ocean from the Queen’s throne.

Continue to the National Palace of Pena, the most famous monument of Sintra, located at the top of the mountain of Sintra. Enjoy this romantic nineteenth century castle that looks like a fairy tale. Admire his eclectic Neo-Manueline, Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance styles by penetrating inside.

Observe the extravagant rooms that served as summer residences for the royal family. Leave the palace and walk with your guide to the UNESCO world heritage site of Sintra. Spend some free time for lunch or discover the city’s wooded palaces, such as the National Palace of Sintra, a medieval royal palace occupied from the 15th to the 19th century (at your expense). Discover local dishes with tastes of aqueijada or travesseiro, two delicious and traditional pastries.

Appointment with your guide and go to the Sintra Natural Park. On the way, go through Seteais Palace, Quinta da Regaleira and Monserrate Palace. Then, take out your camera to take great pictures on the rocky cliffs of Cape Roca (Cabo da Roca), the most westerly point in Europe.

In short, visit the beach of Guincho where surfers shred the gnar then cross by the mouth of hell (Boca do Inferno). Finally, head to Cascais Bay for a walk. In the old fishing village of Cascais, walk through the narrow streets of this trendy getaway with your guide. Discover classic houses with white terracotta roofs heading towards the beach.

Then, bask in the sun by placing your toes in the golden sand and contemplating the vast Atlantic Ocean. Along the return trip to the center of Lisbon, where your visit ends, enjoy an unobstructed view of the picturesque city of Estoril.

We will transfer to the airport.