Your Local Specialist Travel Advisors For Custom Tours in Spain & Portugal
Highlights of Jewish Spain 11 nights
Prices from 3998 EUROS PER PERSON
Your Local Specialist Travel Advisors For Custom Tours in Spain & Portugal
Prices from 3998 EUROS PER PERSON
Trip Overview:
On this private 11-night Jewish highlights tour you’ll travel to places that celebrate the Golden Age in Medieval Spain when the Spanish Jewish community lived and prospered in all of Spain’s great cities. Featuring expert guided private tours, it begins in Barcelona. In addition to seeing the Jewish sites in the Catalonian capital, you...
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Trip Summary:
Barcelona 3 nights - Cordoba 1 night - Granada 2 nights - Seville 2 nights - Madrid 3 nights ...
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Access:
Daily departures.
Arrive into Barcelona International Airport. Depart from Madrid or vice versa.
Totally Spain does not arrange International Flights so you have the flexibility to book the flights you prefer. We can recommend a US 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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Barcelona, Spain
Arrive in Barcelona International Airport. You’ll be met at the airport by your private driver who will transfer you to your centrally located 4-star Barcelona hotel.
Barcelona is without doubt one of Europe's most exciting cities. It is a place of extraordinary architectural dazzle, achieved by what has been called both Catalán Art Nouveau and Modernisme, by architects Gaudi, Domenech i Montaner and Puig i Cadafalch. Monumental sculptures by local masters like Joan Miró adorn public spaces, and museums house extraordinary treasures ranging from works of the ancient Romans to those of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. The city is further enhanced by brightly colored outdoor markets, a magnificent Mediterranean port , and a plentiful array of stylish restaurants. Needless to say, the nightlife is splendid.
This afternoon is at leisure to get settled in and adjusted to Spanish time.
Activities & Services Included today
Barcelona, Spain
This morning after breakfast you’ll be met at your hotel by your expert local guide, who will escort you on a tour of the former Jewish quarter in Barcelona known as El Call (from the Hebrew for ‘kahal’ meaning community). As you walk your guide will bring to life the history of these medieval streets. You’ll learn where the original synagogue and the kosher butcher were located. It is believed that up to four synagogues were located in this city. You’ll be shown Hebrew letters and inscriptions on other buildings around the city. You’ll track the history of the community from a position of great respect in the 11th century to segregation in the 14th century and forced conversion or expulsion in the 15th.
After lunch (not included) you are joined again by your guide and a driver. Your tour this afternoon is of Antoni Gaudi’s architecture. You'll visit inside sights including Parc Guell and the Sagrada Familia (construction started in 1882 and still continues to this day!) before going to the Paseo de Gracia to see the exterior of La Pedrera (Casa Mila) with your guide. Afterwards you'll visit the interior independently at your leisure.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Barcelona - Daytrip to Girona, Spain
Daytrip to Girona & Besalu
Today you’ll visit the city of Girona and the town of Besalu. You’ll be collected by your private driver and guide at your hotel and continue to Girona.
The Jewish community in Girona dates back to 890. It was a very important Jewish centre during the Middle Ages and it still has the best-preserved and most important Jewish quarter in Spain. The site was discovered accidently by a property developer. Some of the families expelled in 1492 had bricked off or closed off their properties believing they would return some time in the future. Catholic neighbours were reluctant to re-open these properties fearing they might be considered Jews themselves and so the area was entombed. In the late 1970s, when the old town was being re-gentrified, a land purchaser discovered the remains of Nahmanides’ yeshiva.
Your guide will take you from the main street (which was a Roman Road) to the archways and narrow paths between stone buildings. As you travel through the old walkways where the sunlight doesn’t reach – you will feel like you have walked back in time. In the heart of this quarter is a new educational and cultural complex called the Bonastruc Ca Porta Centre, which recreates Jewish life through art exhibits, musical events and food tastings. Surrounding a patio on the site of an ancient synagogue, the complex includes a Catalan Museum of Jewish Culture, the Institute for Sephardic and Kabbalistic Studies, and a library that houses important medieval Jewish manuscripts.
After lunch (not included) in Girona, you’ll travel to Besalu – a stunning town which first welcomed its Jewish community in the 9th century. In fact, Girona’s first Jewish community came from here.
Near the Mihah, where most Jews lived, you’ll see the site of the synagogue that was built in 1264. Although there are no remains of the synagogue, the place is still called ‘Pla dels Jueus’ or Place of the Jews.
You’ll visit the 12th century mikvah (ritual Jewish bath), one of the only three from the same period that have been kept in Europe – which was discovered in 1964. This mikvah is a stone room with 36 steps where strategically placed openings allow the rising river to flood it to the correct water level each spring and fall.
Return to Barcelona in the evening.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Barcelona - Cordoba (by High Speed Train), Spain
Today following breakfast you'll be transferred from your hotel to Barcelona train station for your high-speed train to Cordoba famous for its well-preserved Jewish quarter and the mighty Mezquita (mosque-cathedral). A driver will meet you upon arrival and transfer you to your centrally located hotel.
This afternoon meet your expert local Cordoba guide at your hotel and spend the afternoon exploring the city that was the great Moorish capital of Al Andalus. A walk around the old Jewish quarter gives the sensation that little has changed since the 10th century. Visit the Mosque-Cathedral or Mezquita which is without doubt one of the most famous constructions in all of Andalusia and is one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world. The original Mosque was built between 786 and 788 by Abd ar-Rahman, but over the centuries, many additions and extensions have been made. Following the Christian conquest it was consecrated as a Cathedral in 1236.
Visit the Synagogue built in 1314, a beautiful Mudejar building nearly perfectly preserved and the only synagogue in Spain from that time not to have been turned into a Christian building. See Almodovar gate or ‘Gate of the Jews’ as it is known locally and the monument to the great Jewish doctor and philosopher, Maimonides. You will also visit the Casa Sefarad, a cultural project concerned with Judeo-Spanish culture, history and tradition that through it’s unique collection and cultural activities aims to make known the rich legacy of the Sephardic tradition. The exhibition on Sephardic food surprises most contemporary Spaniards who don’t know that staples such as ‘cocido’ stew is of Jewish origin.
Later at your leisure we recommend a walk to the Roman bridge across the Guadalquivir river. You may wish to visit the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Fortress of the Christian Monarchs) a Mudejar palace from 14th century with a beautiful Moorish garden complex, which served as the seat of the Inquisition´s Tribunal in the 15th century. Try to see a number of the beautiful courtyard patios also.
Note that the third week in June is when the annual International Sephardi Music Festival takes place in Cordoba’s Botanic Gardens.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Granada, Spain
This morning after breakfast you will be transferred to Cordoba Train station to take the high speed train across the Andalucian countryside to Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors in Andalusia. A private driver will meet you upon arrival and transfer you to your centrally located Granada hotel.
Granada is perhaps most famous for its exquisite Alhambra Place, a complex of palaces built around courtyards of flowering trees, pools and fountains. It’s often hailed as the most exciting, sensual and romantic of all European monuments. Set on a wooded hill above Granada city, the Alhambra Palace was built in the 14th century by the sultans of Granada, rulers of the last Muslim kingdom in Al-Andalus. It reveals the brilliance and spirit of the Moorish culture in Andalusia at a time when the rest of Europe was only just beginning to emerge from the Dark Ages.
This afternoon you will be met by your expert local guide who will take you on a walking tour of the old quarter of Granada. You’ll learn that the Jewish community lived in Granada in perfect freedom until the first persecution in 1066 when the entire Jewish population fled or was killed. You’ll hear about the Treaty of Granada in 1491 (signed by Queen Isabella and Emir Muhammas XII) that protected religious freedom and you’ll find out that it was revoked by the Alhambra Decree in 1492. You'll also see the cathedral and Royal Tombs, burial place of the Spanish monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand, the so-called Catholic Monarchs.
You’ll be taken to the Realejo also known as the Juderia or Jewish Quarter during the Muslim period of rule. The old gates and walls have not survived but the upper parts of the Quarter retain some if its original labyrinthine layout – a feature of Moorish urban design. Here you'll visit Sephardic House - a privately-run Sephardic museum that opened in 2014.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Granada, Spain
Today, following breakfast, you’ll be transferred privately from your hotel to the Alhambra Palace to meet your expert guide for a peaceful private guided visit of the Alhambra Palace and Generalife Gardens.
This complex of palaces built around courtyards of flowering trees, pools and fountains is often hailed as the most exciting, sensual and romantic of all European monuments. It’s beauty shows the brilliance and spirit of the Moorish culture in Andalusia at a time when the rest of Europe was only just beginning to emerge from the Dark Ages. You will also tour the Generalife - the Summer palace and gardens of the Sultans. It is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens. Prepare to be wowed by the water features and courtyards.
This afternoon is at leisure to relax and enjoy Granada. Perhaps go for lunch at a ‘Carmen’ (a traditional Granada house with a large garden of vines and fruit trees) with stunning views of the Alhambra in the Albaicin or maybe enjoy refreshments in the open air with some of Granada’s legendary tapas.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Seville, Spain
This morning, after breakfast and checking out, you’ll once again be met at your hotel by a private driver who will transfer you to Granada train station where you will take the high speed train to Seville. Upon arrival you'll be met by a private driver who will transfer you to your centrally located Seville hotel
This afternoon is at leisure. If you are interested in Mudejar buildings we recommend a visit to the Casa de Pilatos, completed in 1540 and situated in the Barrio Santa Cruz (the old Jewish quarter).
This evening you’ll attend a flamenco performance, the musical roots of which are many including Jewish, gypsy and moorish along with European and African influences.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Seville, Spain
Your private guided visit today will focus on the history of the Jews not only in Seville but also in Spain. Your guide will take you through the former Jewish Quarter that encompasses the neighbourhoods of Santa Cruz, Santa María la Blanca and San Bartolomé while providing you an insight into all aspects of Judaism in Seville - the first city in Spain to where the jews returned after 1860 and settled down again, creating the first jewish community of Spain following the expulsion in 1492. Seville’s Jewish community, although very small today, was the second largest after Toledo.
Your tour of the key Jewish sites will include the Santa Cruz Square; location of the old synagogue that became a Christian church after 1391 – it was sadly destroyed in 1811. You’ll visit the former synagogue-church of Santa Maria la Blanca – built in 1252. You’ll also be shown the church of San Bartolome. It survived the fate of the previous two synagogues in the late 14th century but by 1490 was remodeled. You’ll also visit three gates – De la Carne, San Nicolas and Meson del Moro - which provided access to the Jewish Quarter. And you will be taken to the site of the Cano and Cueto cemetery also.
Following your tour enjoy lunch and afterwards enjoy an independent visit with pre-booked tickets to the stunning Alcazar, the site of the marriage between Carlos V and Isabel of Portugal in 1526. Every period from the Arabic to Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque and more is on display in this UNESCO-listed site that is still used by the Spanish Royal Family when in Seville.
Later you may wish to learn a little about the city’s connection with the Discovery of the New World. We recommend a visit to the Indias Archive located in what used to be the Mercaderes Market built in 1572. Inside you’ll find many invaluable documents that give context to the first voyage of Christopher Columbus undertaken in 1492 (the same year of the expulsion) and the trade links that followed.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Seville - Madrid (by High Speed Train), Spain
Today after breakfast you will be transferred to Seville train station to take the high speed train to Madrid. A driver will meet you on arrival and transfer you to your centrally located hotel.
Madrid stands at the very centre of Spain –geographically, culturally and politically. Madrid 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. The power and glory of Madrid is reflected in its parks, plazas, boulevards and in the pride and panache of today’s Madrilenos. For all its international veneer, however, the city remains thoroughly Spanish, and Old Madrid has been designed on a human scale rather than a monumental scale.
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.
The remainder of the day is at leisure. Your pre-booked entrance ticket to the Prado Museum could be used this afternoon if you wish or tomorrow.
JEWISH MADRID
There is a small but active Jewish community in Madrid. The main centre is the Beth Yaacov Synagogue on Calle Balmes where there is a small history museum inaugurated in 2007 by the Jewish Community of Madrid that can be visited though a pre-booked appointment is necessary. Its opening coincided with the 90th anniversary of the opening of the first synagogue in Madrid since the days of the Inquisition. With its collection of photographs, documents and published materials, it provides information about the recent history of the Jewish Community of Madrid. Visitors are reminded of what it was like for Jews to return to Spain after an absence of some 400 years.
The Old Jewish Quarter of Madrid began to emerge in 1085, near the present-day Teatro Real and Calle del Arenal. Next to the Jewish Quarter or `juderia´was the cemetery, located in what is now Plaza de Oriente. Three centuries later the bubonic plague forced the Jews to relocate to the New Jewish Quarter beside the Campo del Rey - Plaza de la Armería - where the Almudena Cathedral now stands.
The monument to the victims of the holocaust was inaugurated in 2007 by Madrid City Council and the Jewish Community of Madrid and it is located in the Garden of the Three Cultures in Juan Carlos I Park. It was designed by artist Samuel Nahon and architect Alberto Stisin.
Since 2008 the streets of Madrid have played host to Hanukkah celebrations, the Festival of Lights. The mayor of Madrid and dignitaries from the Jewish Community and Sefarad-Israel take part in the lighting of the candles on a day full of festive atmosphere with music, traditional peonzas (spinning tops) and buñulos (fluffy profiterloes)
Note that kosher cuisine is readily available in Madrid from several establishments near the synagogue.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Madrid, Spain
This morning you will be met by your expert local guide for a walking tour of Madrid.
Tour the historic Hapsburg Quarter and see Madrid’s magnificent plazas such as the Plaza de Oriente where you visit inside the Royal Palace, the Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, the San Miguel market, Cibeles Fountain and more.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Daytrip to Toledo, Spain
Today your destination is Toledo. You'll be transferred from your hotel to Madrid train station to board the high speed train to Toledo. Upon arrival you’ll meet our expert local guide who will first take you by taxi to the Cigarrales area for some magnificent panoramic views of Toledo city over the Tagus River.
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.
Your guide will lead you on a walking tour exploring the old city while you learn about the three cultures that lived side by side during the Middles Ages and see the most important sights in Toledo including Zocodover Square, Alcazar of Toledo, Santo Tome Church,Transito Synagogue, Santa Maria La Blanca and cathedral (entrance included).
Free time for lunch and sightseeing at your leisure before returning to Madrid by high speed train where you will be met by your driver and transferred back to your hotel.
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.
Activities & Services Included today
Meals Included today
Please remember that this tour can also be done in reverse starting in Madrid and finishing in Barcelona. It can also be used as a template for a custom trip should you wish to modify, add or subtract days to suit your schedule.
ORIGINAL & RELATED POSTS FROM TOTALLY SPAIN'S BLOG
Jewish Heritage Sights in Spain
Must Sees in Andalusia
What to do in Madrid. 10 Things we love in Spain's Capital City
Guide to Gaudi's Barcelona
High-Speed Train in Spain
Day Trips from Barcelona
Day Trips from Madrid
Best Cities in Spain
Best Monuments & Museums in Spain
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Accommodation (based on 2 people sharing)
Meals
Transport
Private Guided Tours
Pre-Booked Entrance Tickets
Special Highlights
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.
Prices from
3998 EUROS PER PERSON
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