Spectacular Spain and Portugal

Description

Prices from £1215 (per person)

Highlights

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCES AND DINING

• Toledo: At a damascene workshop, meet a master craftsman for a personal insight into this ancient craft.
• Toledo: With a Local Expert, visit the Church of Santo Tomé and see El Greco’s masterpiece.
• Granada: Join a Local Expert at the Alhambra Palace, the ultimate in Muslim architecture, an arabesque fantasy in stone, complemented by the glorious Generalife gardens.
• Seville: Step inside the cathedral, past the altarpiece, dripping with gold, to the Tomb of Columbus, held aloft by four kings.
• Lisbon: Visit Jeronimo’s church with its beautiful Manueline architecture.
• Fatima: Join the faithful at one of the world’s holiest sites and pay homage at the Basilica of Apparitions.

ADDITIONAL INCLUDED HIGHLIGHTS

• Seville: Enjoy a walking tour through the pretty squares and narrow lanes of the Santa Cruz Quarter. Emerge by the walls of the Alcazar.
• Algarve: Drive along this sun drenched coast.
• Lisbon: Tour the spacious avenues and elegant squares. See the Monument to the Discoveries and ancient Belem Tower.
• Salamanca: See the Plaza Mayor and Puente Romano.
• Avila: Walk within the ancient walls of this unique town.
• Madrid: Your guided tour shows you the statue of Don Quixote in the Plaza de España, Royal Palace, Gran Via, Cibeles Fountain and Puerta del Sol.

AUTHENTIC REGIONAL FLAVOURS

• Seville: Tables are reserved for dinner, drinks and a fiery evening of Spanish dance and music. Get ready for throbbing guitars, lamenting solos, colourful dancers and the rhythmic stomp of flamenco.
• Jabugo: In a small village dotted with chestnut trees and holm oaks, experience the lingering aroma and incomparable taste of pure Iberian ham.
• Lisbon: Enjoy a demonstration and tasting of the famous ‘Pasteis de Belem’ – a Portuguese delicacy.
• Madrid: Toast the culmination of your tour at a fabulous Celebration Dinner with wine at a local restaurant.
• 1 Welcome Dinner (WD), 8 Buffet Breakfasts (BB), 1 Signature Evening (SE), 1 three-course table d’hôte Dinner with wine, plus tea or coffee (D) and 1 Celebration Dinner (CD). Departures on tour for Christmas and New Year’s Eve enjoy a festive Highlight Dinner.

STAY AT THE BEST ADDRESSES

• Granada: The 4-star Vincci Albayzin is located in the centre of Granada and is typically Andalusian in style. It boasts a magnificent enclosed patio that bathes its rooms in natural light. Guests can enjoy the modern facilities, including a gym, steam room and dry sauna.
• Salamanca: The Hotel Alameda Palace is an exclusive and cozy 5-star hotel in a city that is a World Heritage Site.
• Turim Terreiro do Paco: A newly renovated former palace in the centre of Lisbon.

ADDITIONAL FIVE STAR SERVICES

• An expert Insight Tour Director, at the pinnacles of their careers, will smooth your way throughout your journey. They are your ‘travelling concierges’, expert guides, consummate organisers and friends in a foreign land.
• Enjoy the unique comfort of Insight’s luxury air-conditioned 40 seat coach with extended leg room and on-board restroom. It’s business class comfort.
• Personal radio headsets, gives you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights without missing any of your local expert’s fascinating insights and commentaries.
• Baggage handling everywhere, with seamless and prompt delivery to your door at every hotel. Hotel and restaurant tips included – you’ll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. Plus we include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
• Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel WiFi.
• Insight Flourishes – from time to time, your Tour Director will enchant you with local tidbits, each representing authentic food or beverages unique to the destination.
• Airport transfers at scheduled times on the first and last day of your escorted journey.

 

1. Day 1 Welcome to Madrid

   Your airport transfers depart from Madrid Airport to your hotel at 09:00, 11:00, 13:30 & 16:00 hours. The rest of the day is at leisure to begin to get to know this stylish city. Later, join your Tour Director for a warm and friendly Welcome Reception and the opportunity to mingle and get to know each other over a delightful evening of dinner and wine.

   Hotel: Miguel Angel Hotel, Madrid

   Welcome Reception and Dinner

2. Day 2 The old Capital of Toledo and on to Granada

   Set off southwards with a Local Expert, to the city of Toledo, situated high above the River Tagus and famous for its burnished steel swords, that have been crafted here for centuries. Join a master craftsman in a Damascene workshop for a personal insight into this ancient craft handed down by the Moors centuries ago. Walk through the cobbled streets to visit the Church of Santo Tomé, housing El Greco’s famous painting, ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’. Continue through the dry plains of Don Quixote’s La Mancha before crossing the Sierra Nevada to reach Granada, capital of the Moorish Kingdom of Spain till the Moors defeat in 1492.

   Hotel: Vincci Albayzin, Granada

   Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

3. Day 3 To the Alhambra Palace and Seville, City of Carmen

   ‘There is no pain in life so cruel as to be blind in Granada’, cries the inscription on the walls of the Alhambra. Bathed in morning light, the Alhambra Palace awaits: a fantasy of stone-cut lace, arabesque gardens and fountains, built as a citadel by the Moors in the 13th century. With a Local Expert, you will also visit the exotic water gardens of the Generalife, the royal summer residence. Relax here in the sunshine and enjoy the fine views over the town and its three verdant hills, before embarking upon a scenic drive to Seville. A Local Expert will guide you through the maze of narrow lanes and shady squares of the Santa Cruz Quarter. Emerge by the huge walls of the fabulous Alcazar. You will see La Giralda, the former minaret of the Great Mosque, but now the cathedral bell tower. Enter the immense 15th century cathedral, the final resting place of Christopher Columbus and enriched with the spoils of the New World. At night, enjoy the flavours of Andalucía and share in the passion of Spain’s most fiery region at a Flamenco show and dinner.

   Hotel: Ayre, Seville

   Buffet Breakfast, Signature Evening

4. Day 4 Free Time in Seville

   (Relaxed Start) This is a free day, so take your time to bask in the city’s romantic aura. Or you might like to join an optional experience to Cordoba for a visit to the magnificent Mezquita, an 8th century mosque with a Christian church built inside it.

   Hotel: Ayre, Seville

   Buffet Breakfast, Signature Evening

5. Day 5 The plains of the Alentejo to Lisbon

   (Relaxed Start) Pass through the oak forests where black Iberian pigs are bred for the famous Spanish hams. Stop in Jabugo for an insight into the history and curing process of jamón Ibérico. The subtle differences will be revealed with a delicious tasting. Then venture across the wide Alentejo Plateau to Lisbon.

   Hotel: Turim Terreiro Do Paco/Intercontinental, Lisbon

   Buffet Breakfast

6. Day 6 Lisbon & the Age of the Discoveries

   (Relaxed Start) During your stay, a panoramic guided tour takes you along the avenues of the Lower Town and beneath the hilltop Bairro Alto to the Terreiro do Paço, finest square in the city. Visit the Belem Quarter from where sailing ships set forth to discover unknown lands. Visit an old patisserie that has managed to hold on to the secret recipe of Portugal’s finest pastry for over 100 years and enjoy a demonstration and tasting of the famous ‘Pasteis de Belem’. See the Monument to the Discoveries and the more ancient Belem Tower – a fortress originally set in the middle of the river, but now left high and dry on the riverbank. Next, visit Jeronimo’s church with its beautiful Manueline architecture. Enjoy free time in the afternoon. Perhaps join an optional experience to the beautiful town of Sintra which was the summer residence of the Kings of Portugal?

   Hotel: Turim Terreiro Do Paco/Intercontinental, Lisbon

   Buffet Breakfast

7. Day 7 Holy Fatima and Golden Salamanca

   Drive into the green hills north of Lisbon to visit Fatima, the most celebrated place of pilgrimage in Portugal. Visit the Basilica commemorating the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three children in 1917. Then cross the border back into Spain and continue to Salamanca, famous for its golden stone buildings. See the handsome arcades of the Plaza Mayor and the Puente Romano across the River Tormes – 15 of its 26 arches still date from the time of the ancient Romans.

   Hotel: Alameda Palace, Salamanca

   Buffet Breakfast

8. Day 8 Old Castile, to St. Theresa of Ávila and on to Madrid

   Cross the rock strewn hills of Castile, towards the city of Ávila, still entirely enclosed within 11th century walls and unique in Europe. Walk within the ancient city, before returning to Madrid for sightseeing. Here, a Local Expert takes you along the Gran Vía and through the Puerta del Sol. You’ll see the statue of Don Quixote in the Plaza de España, Royal Palace and Cibeles Fountain. In the evening, bid farewell to your new found friends with a lively Celebration Dinner at a local restaurant.

   Hotel: Hesperia Madrid

   Buffet Breakfast, Celebration Dinner

9. Day 9 Depart Madrid

   After breakfast, your airport shuttle service from the tour hotel arrives at Madrid Airport at 07:00, 09:00 & 11:00 hours.

   Buffet Breakfast

 

Accommodation

 

Vincci Albayzin

Granada (Central) – Spain

Located in the centre of Granada, the Andalusian-style Vincci Albayzín boasts a magnificent enclosed patio that bathes its rooms in natural light.

Ayre Seville

Seville (Central) – Spain

Ayre Hotel Seville, The hotel is located in a very active and dynamic area full of shops and restaurants to enjoy. It is close to the most important monuments and tourist attractions of this great Andalusian city.

Hesperia Madrid

Madrid (Central) – Spain

Ideally located, the sophisticated and chic Hotel Hesperia Madrid is one of the city’s leading contemporary luxury showcases and is member of the exclusive group of The Leading Hotels of the World.