Your Local Specialist Travel Advisors For Custom Tours in Spain & Portugal
Your Local Specialist Travel Advisors For Custom Tours in Spain & Portugal
Trip Overview:
The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) tries to promote and preserve the cultural and historical heritage around the world denominating different sites and cities of particular interest. This itinerary includes visits to several of the areas in Spain awarded with the World Heritage denomination. ...
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Trip Summary:
MADRID (2 nights) - TOLEDO (1 night) - CACERES (2 nights) - SALAMANCA (2 nights) - LEON (1 night) - BURGOS (2 nights) - SEGOVIA (2 nights) - MADRID (1 night) ...
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Access:
Daily Departures.
Flying into Madrid International Airport. Departure from Madrid.
Totally Spain does not arrange International Flights so you have the flexibility to book the flights you prefer. We can recommend a travel agent with whom you can book your international flights if required. Otherwise a website such as Skyscanner is very useful for checking up-to-date flight schedules and prices.
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Madrid, Spain
Arrive in Madrid. You’ll be met at the airport by your private driver who will transfer you directly to your centrally-located Madrid hotel for 3 nights.
Madrid stands at the very centre of Spain –geographically, culturally and politically. This capital not only offers the culture and good times of a sophisticated, modern city but it also retains the charm and elegance of its early years. Among the splendid attractions of Madrid are the Prado Museum; home to masterworks of Goya, Velazquez and El Greco: the 19th century Villahermosa Palace now the Thyssen-Bornemizsa Museum; the Reina Sofia Art Centre showcasing more than 300 modern works by Dali, Miro & Picasso among others; the 18th century Royal Palace on the lovely Plaza de Oriente; the bustling Puerta del Sol with its many shops, restaurants and tapas bars; Rastro Market on Sundays one of the oldest outdoor markets in Europe; and Retiro Park for strolling while admiring local artists and buskers.
Take your time to settle in. Take a stroll in your neighbourhood that is bustling with atmospheric cafes, bars and restaurants.
For Madrid and for all the other places on this tour, we’ll provide you with our Totally Spain City Guides which highlight the best cafes, bars, restaurants along with museums, parks and other cultural spaces you can explore in your free time. Your Totally Spain agent will also make personal recommendations based on your final choice of hotel and the size of your party.
We can also assist with restaurant reservations and booking other attractions to avoid queues.
Activities & Services Included today
Madrid, Spain
After a delicious buffet breakfast you’ll be met at your hotel by your expert local Madrid guide who will take you on an private tour of the historic city centre. You’ll enjoy visiting such places as the principal streets and squares including the Plaza del Sol, Plaza Santa, Plaza Mayor as well as the Mercado San Miguel, one of Madrid’s famous food markets. Remember this tour can be tweaked if you have other special interests. You only need to let your Totally Spain representative know this.
You will continue with your guide to Plaza de la Villa and the Plaza del Oriente. Visit the Royal Palace that stands on the site of an old alcazar fortress and a former Moorish castle. The current building was completed in 1764. With 3,418 rooms there’s something to represent every style (and every monarch) since its construction.
This afternoon visit the Prado Museum at your leisure as we have included pre-booked tickets for you that avoid lining-up. The museum is a wonderful space dating back to 1785 that now houses art from the 12th to the 19th century including large permanent collections by Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, Bosch, Titian, Van Dyck and Rembrandt.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Toledo, Spain
This morning you'll pick up your Standard size manual car and drive to Toledo.
This afternoon your local expert guide will take you on a tour of Toledo.
Toledo, the former capital of Spain and the stronghold of Castilian kings was, just before the expulsion, one of the leading centres of Jewry in Spain the `Jerusalem of the west´. One of the most beautifully preserved medieval cities in all of Europe, it was the site of the famed `school of translators´ of King Alfonso `The Wise´ and here Muslims, Jews and Christians coexisted in harmony for centuries. In the 14th century, after the Jews had been expelled, eight of the citys ten synagogues and its five Talmudic schools were destroyed. The remaining synagogues were converted into churches. One was the Samuel Halevi Abulafia Synagogue known nowadays as Nuestro Señora del Transito. Built in 1357 it is full of Moorish carvings, arcades and a beautiful panelled wooden ceiling. Two years after the expulsion it became a Catholic Church and, since 1972, a Sephardic Museum with historic Hebrew inscriptions. The other is Santa Maria La Blanca ( formerly the Grand Synagogue ) which is now empty. It was built by Arabs in the 12th century and appears more like a mosque than a synagogue. The previously mentioned School of Translators, where Jews used their knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew to translate philosophical and scientific works into Latin and Spanish, can still be seen in the Plaza Santa Isabel.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Caceres, Spain
Today, check out of your Toledo hotel and head northwest into the region of Extremadura, land of the Spanish Conquistadors, to Caceres. Journey time is about 2.5 hours. Native sons Pizarro, Cortes, De Soto and Balboa left this vast, beautiful and little-visited region that borders Portugal to conquer the New World.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Caceres, Spain
This morning you will be met at your hotel by your expert local guide for a tour of Caceres.
Caceres, declared a World Heritage by UNESCO and surrounded by Moorish walls, is splendidly preserved. Its handsome ochre-coloured mansions – belonging to the noblemen of the 15th and 16th centuries who fought against the Moors and journeyed to the Americas as conquistadors – line the city streets and small squares. Plaza Santa Ana forms the heart of the old city. From the 13th to15th centuries, Jewish families lived and worked in the Barrio de San Antonio. Discover the narrow alleys of the old Jewish quarter and see the modest homes of the aljama (the Jewish district in medieval times) and the synagogue, now the Ermita de San Antonio. Tour Yusuf al-Burch’s House and Museum, where the private baths may be either Jewish ritual baths or Arabic. Stroll beneath the Roman Arco de Cristo and you’ll arrive at the Olivar de la Judería, or the Jewish Quarters olive grove. Outside the city walls, a new Jewish quarter was constructed in 1478, where nowadays the Palace of La Isla sits on the site of the former synagogue here.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Salamanca, Spain
Today drive north to Salamanca, which as well as being Spain's most famous university city is also perhaps its finest exponent of Renaissance and Plateresque architecture.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Salamanca, Spain
Today you'll be met by your local guide for a half day private walking tour.
Salamanca has two Cathedrals in different styles; the newer 16th century cathedral and the adjacant 12th century Romanesque cathedral. The University, one of Europe’s oldest, features a stunning Plateresque facade. The Main Square, or Plaza Mayor, is without doubt one of finest in Spain. Other sights include the Baroque Town Hall, the 16th century Casa de las Conchas or House of Shells and others too many to mention.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Leon, Spain
Today following breakfast continue driving to Leon and check in at your hotel tehre.
This afternoon meet your expert local Leon guide at your hotel for a walking tour of the city.
Leon, as capital of the kingdom in the Middle Ages, played an important role during the Reconquest of Spain from the Moors. It´s most important building is the Gothic Cathedral with stunning stained glass windows. San Isidoro Basilica is another important monument containing the Romanesque Royal Pantheon, superbly decorated with 12th century frescoes. Renaissance architecture is finely represented by the Hostal San Marcos, nowadays part of the Parador Hotel chain. Antoni Gaudi also left his mark on the city of Leon when he was commissioned to design the Casa Botines, now the Museo Casa Botines.
This evening enjoy mingling with the locals and dining on free tapas, which Leon is famous for, in the atmospheric Barrio Humedo.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Burgos, Spain
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Burgos, Spain
Private Guided visit Burgos. Entrance tickets cathedral.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Segovia, Spain
Today travel to Segovia
Arriving in Segovia one must see the 16th century imposing Cathedral, the Alcazar that towers over the city and the outstanding and most distinctive symbol of the city, the Roman Aqueduct, built at the end of the first century AD.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Segovia, Spain
A day in the remarkable city of Segovia. Here there are countless traces of the past to be seen in buildings and remains of the old city. Most remarkable of all its landmarks is the incredible Roman aqueduct that towers over the town. Although it dates from the 1st century AD, it was still in use until two centuries ago. The awe-inspiring Alcazar (which inspired Walt Disney) has presided over the city since the middle ages and the imposing 16th century gothic Cathedral is also quite spectacular.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Madrid, Spain
En route to Madrid visit the spectacular Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial, the massive monastery-palace situated to the Northwest of the capital. This imposing palace was built between 1563 and 1584, in honour of St. Lawrence (San Lorenzo). Its artistic wealth includes works of the royal Habsburg collection and the library with over 40,000 books, which ceilings are decorated with frescoes by Tibaldi. Of special interest also are the Royal Pantheon and the Museum of Art.
This evening you’ll take part in a guided small group tapas tour with all food & drinks included. It’s a great way to experience Madrid’s most interesting and authentic bars and restaurants without the research or guesswork. Your guide will recommend the wines and other drinks to try and will order speciality tapas at each bar or tavern. Your guide will talk about the history of tapas, the types of tapas served in Madrid and elsewhere in Spain and will also give you a history of the neighbourhood you are visiting as well.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Departure,
After breakfast you’ll be collected at your hotel by a private driver who will transfer you to Madrid International Airport for your departure.
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Meals Included today
ORIGINAL AND RELATED POSTS FROM TOTALLY SPAIN'S BLOG
Spain’s UNESCO World Heritage Sights
What To Do in Madrid
Best Cathedrals in Spain
Best Monuments & Museums in Spain
Exploring Extremadura
Tipping in Spain – What & When to Tip
Best Plazas in Spain
Spain from North to South and East to West
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Accommodation (based on 2 people sharing)
Meals
Transport
Private Guided Tours
Pre-Booked Entrance Tickets
Group Guided Tours
Other
NOT INCLUDED
Flights, Personal Travel Insurance, Porterage (not commonly available in Spain), Tips, Meals, drinks or hotel extras other than those described above. Anything else not specified above.
LIKE THE LOOK OF THIS ITINERARY OR SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR?
Then please contact us today so that we can customize this trip to suit your exact needs and dates of travel; and prepare a personalized proposal for you to consider.
