Highlights of Spain and Portugal

The fiery Spanish capital of Madrid paves the way for an unforgettable journey through centuries of history and cultural highlights across the Iberian Peninsula. Embrace la buena vida and soak up the vibrant city atmosphere, before joining your fellow travellers and Travel Director for dinner and a city orientation.

• Madrid Orientation

Journey to Valencia, a city known for its modern verve and spirit of innovation. Your orientation includes views of the Towers of Serrano and Quart, along with the striking City of Arts and Sciences designed by Santiago Calatrava. During a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, enjoy organic horchata, Valencia’s celebrated local drink. This evening, you could choose to join an Optional Experience and learn to make paella with local chefs in the city where this much-loved dish began.

• Valencia Orientation
• Enjoy a taste of organic horchata from a family-run vendor

Travel to Guadix, where you’ll witness how generations of locals have carved cosy abodes into their rocky surrounds. We'll visit the troglodyte cave dwellings that blend effortlessly into the surrounding ochre landscape. Then, journey to Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors in Europe.

• See Guadix

Tread in the footsteps of Spain's last emirs, joining your Local Specialist for a visit to the incredible Alhambra, with its amazing palaces, gardens and fountains. Inspired by poetry, the architecture is said to be a reflection of paradise as described in Islamic verse. Immerse yourself in the tranquil atmosphere in quiet courtyards, follow its colossal ancient walls and admire the ornate stone carvings. We then leave Granada behind for Córdoba where we'll join a Local Specialist to visit the mesmerising Mosque of the Caliphs, a jewel of Hispano-Islamic art featuring striking arches and Byzantine mosaics. Our final stop for the day is alluring Seville, our home for the next three nights.

• Alhambra Palace in Granada
• Córdoba Mezquita Visit

Seville takes centre stage today as you explore this charismatic city. You'll see the symbolic Giralda Bell Tower with a Local Specialist, then visit the Maria Luisa Park, home of the 1929 Exposition. The park was built in Moorish style and features half a mile of fountains, ponds, pavilions and lush plantings. You'll explore the architectural gems of Seville's 1929 Ibero-American Exposition and visit the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world, where the explorer Christopher Columbus is entombed. Consider an Optional Experience this evening to witness the twirling of colourful skirts and rhythmic clapping of castanets at a fiery flamenco performance.

• Seville City Tour

We indulge in the aromatic flavours of Jerez today as we Dive into Culture and into the centuries-old tradition of Spanish sherry production. The quiet plazas of romantic Cádiz are our next stop. Tread in the footsteps of Columbus, who used this historic port city as his launchpad to the 'New World', and see the exotic plants and trees dotted throughout the city, said to have been brought here by him upon his return.

• Visit the Spanish city of Jerez and enjoy the famous sherry tradition
• Cádiz Orientation

Leaving the zesty scents of Seville behind, head to the golden landscapes of the Alentejo, where the Brito Paes family await your arrival for a special lunch on their traditional stud ranch, which has been rearing Lusitano horses since the 18th century. This Be My Guest experience takes place in the home of their ancestors before continuing to Évora for a guided sightseeing tour. With a Local Specialist you'll visit Evora's cathedral and Chapel of Bones, you will also see the Roman temple. Tonight, enjoy dinner at the hotel.

• Meet Tiago and Vera for lunch on their ranch in the Alentejo region
• Évora City Tour

Arrive in the seafaring Portuguese capital of Lisbon this afternoon, where you'll join a Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour. Dive into Culture visiting the Belém Quarter and enjoy a taste of Pastéis de Belém.

• Lisbon City Tour
• Visit the Belém Quarter

Today is yours to connect with the Portuguese capital. Relax at a sidewalk cafe with a creamy pastel de nata and venture to the Castle of São Jorge to admire the sea of pastel pinks, yellows and blues that clad Lisbon's seven hills. You may choose to join an optional trip through the Golden Triangle, visiting Estoril, Cascais and one of Lisbon’s stunning royal palaces.

Follow the road taken by pilgrims over the last 100 years to the Shrine at Fátima, a site of celebrated religious miracles. We then leave Portugal, travelling to the historic Spanish city of Salamanca with its golden-hued facades and ancient university heritage, where we will visit its 18th-century Plaza Mayor.

• Visit the Chapel of Apparitions in Fátima
• See Salamanca's Plaza Mayor

See the walled city of Ávila, the city of Saint Teresa of Ávila. We then arrive in the clifftop city of Toledo and join a Local Specialist for a guided walk through its streets. Visit the Church of Santo Tomé and the former Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca. Later, Dive into Culture and witness local craftsmen at work creating inlaid steel the traditional way. Arrive in Madrid this evening, your home for the next two nights.

• Discover the forging of quality steel in Toledo
• Toledo City Tour
• See Ávila's City Walls

This morning, we join a Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour of Madrid, where we’ll see the Royal Palace, Cibeles Fountain and Plaza de Oriente, originally created as a retreat for the royal family. Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the city on your own terms. Admire the world's finest collection of Spanish art at the Prado Museum, indulge in some last-minute shopping on Gran Vía or consider an Optional Experience to the medieval UNESCO-listed city of Segovia. This evening marks the end of our memorable journey through the Iberian Peninsula. Join your fellow companions and Travel Director for dinner.

• Madrid City Tour

For now it's time to say a fond farewell to our travelling companions, your Travel Director and the beauty of Spain and Portugal at the end of a memorable holiday.