Tour Overview
| Duration | 10 Days / 9 Nights |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Route | Madrid → Toledo → Córdoba → Seville → Granada → Valencia → Barcelona |
| Tour Type | Group Tour — Spain Complete (4-star hotels, AVE train, private coach for Toledo/Granada) |
| Best Season | March–June, September–November. Las Fallas festival in Valencia (March 15-19) is spectacular but book far ahead |
| Price | From US$2,790 per person (twin share) |
Data source: TourRadar — comprehensive Spain itineraries. A 10-day arc from Madrid through Andalusia to Barcelona, with Mediterranean Valencia as a bonus.
Day 1-2: Madrid — Capital of Spain
- Day 1: Arrive Madrid. Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor orientation walk. Evening tapas crawl through La Latina. Day 2: Prado Museum (Velázquez, Goya, Bosch), Royal Palace (3,418 rooms), Retiro Park (rowboat on the lake, Crystal Palace). Evening at Mercado de San Miguel for gourmet tapas
Overnight at hotel in Madrid (2 nights).
Day 3: Toledo — City of Three Cultures
- Day trip to Toledo (30min by train). Toledo is a UNESCO World Heritage city where Christians, Muslims, and Jews coexisted for centuries during the medieval period — the “City of Three Cultures.” Walk the labyrinthine medieval streets, visit the Cathedral (one of Spain’s greatest Gothic cathedrals, with El Transparente — a Baroque altarpiece where a hidden window channels sunlight to illuminate the sculpture), the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca (built by Moorish architects for Jewish worship, later converted to a church — the ultimate expression of Toledo’s cultural fusion), and El Greco’s masterpiece “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz” in the Church of Santo Tomé. Toledo’s steel swords (Damascene steel) and marzipan are famous
Overnight at hotel in Madrid.
Day 4-5: Córdoba & Seville
- Day 4: AVE to Córdoba. La Mezquita (forest of columns), Jewish Quarter, Calleja de las Flores. Continue to Seville in the afternoon. Evening Plaza de España
- Day 5: Seville — Royal Alcázar (Mudéjar masterpiece, Game of Thrones location), Cathedral & La Giralda (largest Gothic cathedral, Columbus’s tomb), Santa Cruz neighborhood, authentic flamenco in Triana
Overnight at hotel in Seville (2 nights).
Day 6: Granada — The Alhambra
- Transfer to Granada. Full afternoon at the Alhambra — Nasrid Palaces (Court of the Lions), Generalife Gardens, Alcazaba fortress. Sunset at Mirador de San Nicolás for the iconic Alhambra/Sierra Nevada view. Evening tapas in Granada (free tapa with every drink — the best deal in Spain!)
Overnight at hotel in Granada.
Day 7: Valencia — City of Arts & Sciences
- Morning train to Valencia (from Granada via Madrid or AVE direct when available, ~4h). Valencia is Spain’s third-largest city, birthplace of paella, and home to one of the most futuristic architectural complexes on Earth
- City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències) — Santiago Calatrava’s breathtaking complex of avant-garde buildings: L’Hemisfèric (a giant eye-shaped IMAX cinema and planetarium), the Science Museum (interactive exhibits resembling a whale skeleton), and L’Umbracle (landscaped walkway with plant species from around the world). The buildings are surrounded by turquoise pools and reflect like alien structures at sunset
- Evening in Valencia’s historic center: the Cathedral (which claims to house the Holy Grail — the chalice used at the Last Supper, certified by the Vatican), the Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange, a 15th-century Gothic masterpiece and UNESCO World Heritage), and the Central Market (a Modernist marvel with 1,200 stalls)
- Dinner: Authentic Valencian paella — the real thing, not the tourist version. Paella Valenciana contains chicken, rabbit, garrofón beans, green beans, and snails — never seafood. Seafood paella (paella de marisco) is from the coast. Both are cooked over open wood fire in the wide, shallow pan that gives the dish its name, with the socarrat (caramelized rice crust at the bottom) as the prize
Overnight at hotel in Valencia.
Day 8-9: Barcelona — Gaudí to the Sea
- Day 8: Train to Barcelona (3h by Euromed). Afternoon Sagrada Família (Gaudí’s unfinished basilica), Park Güell, evening in El Born
- Day 9: Morning at Casa Batlló and La Pedrera (Casa Milà — Gaudí’s undulating apartment building, rooftop with warrior-like chimneys). Afternoon at the Picasso Museum (housed in five connected medieval palaces, tracing the artist’s early years). Visit the Barcelona Cathedral and the Gothic Quarter’s hidden plazas. Farewell dinner at a seaside restaurant in Barceloneta — paella with Mediterranean views
Overnight at hotel in Barcelona (2 nights).
Day 10: ¡Adiós, España!
- Final morning at leisure — last stroll through Las Ramblas, last jamón ibérico, last glance at the Mediterranean. Transfer to Barcelona Airport. Ten days, five cities, from the Prado to the Alhambra to the Sagrada Família. Spain has stolen your heart.
Tour ends. Airport transfer included.
