Grand Tour of Spain & Portugal

Regional departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then to Portsmouth/Plymouth for the overnight crossing to Santander.

Please note: When you board the ferry at Portsmouth/Plymouth you will require a small overnight bag containing any essential items such as medication. Please note that this small bag (no larger than a small rucksack) is counted as part of your overall luggage allowance.

Arrival in Santander, then travel to our overnight hotel in Salamanca.

This morning we see the beautiful city of Salamanca, considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Spain and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We then head west, crossing the border into Portugal and continuing to the city of Porto, regarded as being one of the oldest tourist destinations in Europe. Porto is famous for its artistic heritage, Port Wine and open-air leisure spaces. To introduce you to the city, why not join our optional sightseeing tour accompanied by a local English speaking guide. Later this afternoon we continue to our hotel in Porto or Aveiro for an overnight stay.

Porto Walking Tour can be pre-booked to secure your place.

En route, we pause in the famous pilgrimage town of Fatima. Fatima is one of the most important Catholic shrines in the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is famous for the apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary that appeared to three shepherd children; Lucia dos Santos and her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta. Between May and October of 1917, the three children witnessed several apparitions. The last one, on October 13th, was confirmed as a miracle witnessed by approximately 60,000 people and is known in the Catholic world as "the day the sun danced". We head south to Lisbon for a two-night stay.

Enjoy a full day at leisure in Lisbon. We start with a panoramic drive around the main sights to allow you to get your bearings. The remainder of the day is free for you to relax and explore this spectacular city at your leisure.

We leave Lisbon and commence our journey back over the border into Spain. En route we pause in the Moorish hill-top town of Évora, one of Portugal’s most beautifully preserved medieval towns. Aside from its historic and aesthetic virtues, Évora is also a lively university town, and its many attractive restaurants serve up hearty Alentejan cuisine. We continue to our hotel in Seville for a three night stay.

Join us today as we spend an included full day in Seville. To help you discover Seville’s fantastic sights and stories, why not join our local guide for an optional sightseeing tour. The city is over 2000 years old, and has a very rich architectural and monumental history. We see Plaza de Espana and the area of the 1929 Ibero-American exhibition. We will also visit the Barrio Santa Cruz area, a maze of narrow streets, picturesque alleys and hidden delights. For the rest of your time, you are free to relax and enjoy the unique atmosphere of this lovely city. Please note that the Seville Walking tour does involve a degree of walking and is not suitable for any clients with walking difficulties.

The Seville Guided Sightseeing Tour is highly recommended and includes entrance to the Alcazar Royal Palace, so must be booked in advance. The cost is from £60 and includes a fully guided tour. Please ask for details when booking this holiday.

Today our optional excursion takes you to the old town of Cádiz. It is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe and is now well into its fourth millennium. The ancient centre, surrounded almost entirely by water, is a romantic assortment of sinuous streets, municipal beaches and rambunctious taverns. Worth a visit are the city's Cathedral and churches of Santa Cruz and San Felipe Neri, which is famous throughout Spain as the place where, in defiance of Napoleon's siege, the provisional government was set up with its own liberal Constitution. Other points of interest are La Santa Cueva, home to several paintings by Goya, and stately mansions such as the Casa del Almirante and Casa de las Cadenas. The old city looks quite Moorish in appearance and is intriguing with narrow cobbled streets opening onto small squares. The golden cupola of the cathedral looms high above long white houses. There will be ample free time for you to explore the town at your leisure.

We leave Seville and head east to Granada for a two night stay. En route we visit Córdoba, where you can join our optional guided walking tour seeing the celebrated courtyards and patios, the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter and the famous Plaza del Potro. Córdoba was once the largest city in Europe and its incredible history is represented by the beautifully preserved buildings and squares. It is home to the famous Mezquita, a 12th century mosque, which dominates the town centre and is a symbol of worldly and sophisticated Islamic culture. (Entrance not included). It is impossible to overemphasise the beauty of Córdoba’s great mosque, with its remarkably peaceful and spacious interior. The Mezquita hints at a lavish and refined age when Muslims, Jews and Christians lived side by side and enriched their city and surroundings with diverse and vibrant cultures. The medieval centre is a warren of narrow streets surrounding the Mezquita. It is home to some excellent bars and restaurants, some of which have become sights themselves. The main shopping streets are found to the north and west of Plaza de las Tendillas, which is the city’s main square.

Cordoba Walking Tour can be pre-booked to secure your place.

Enjoy a full day in Granada with an optional guided tour of the vast *Alhambra Palace, which dominates the skyline with the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background.

A visit to the Alhambra Palace and its beautiful gardens is highly recommended and extremely popular, and must be booked in advance. The cost is from £55 and includes a fully guided tour. Please ask for details when booking this holiday.

We leave Granada this morning and head north to Toledo, often regarded as the Spanish city with the greatest wealth of monuments. The top attractions in Toledo include the city's magnificent cathedral, which houses some beautiful stained glass, delicate wood and stone sculptures plus a large collection of paintings. We continue to Torrejon, Madrid for a three-night stay.

This morning we have an included full day in Madrid, a truly cosmopolitan city with a wealth of cultural attractions. Why not join our optional guided coach tour, which will allow you to discover many highlights of the city. We will see the famous Salamanca quarter, with its exclusive boutiques and embassies. We also discover the Borbones Quarter, with its many museums, Jardin del Retiro, and House of Parliament, and the Asturias Quarter which is home to the superb Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real de Madrid), which is the official residence of the King and Queen of Spain. Our guide will also help us discover 21st century Madrid with the New Parliament, 4 towers, and Stadium Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid Walking Tour can be pre-booked to secure your place.

Free day in Madrid or join us on our optional excursion as we discover the Cities of Castile – Avila and Segovia. We head first to the World Heritage Site of Avila, which is well known for the amazingly intact 11th century wall that surrounds the city and the old town. We then travel to Segovia, which quite rightly lays claim to being the most spectacularly sited city in Spain. It is also famous for its Alcazar, a beautiful 11th-century medieval fort known to be Walt Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s Castle.

We travel through the spectacular mountain scenery of the Basque region to Ciboure or Biarritz on the Basque coast for a two-night stay.

Join our optional excursion back into Spain and to the beautiful Basque town of San Sebastián. San Sebastián has four main districts. The lively Parte Vieja (old town) lies across the neck of Monte Urgull, the bay’s eastern headland. South of the Parte Vieja is the commercial and shopping district, the Centro Romántico. It’s a handsome grid of late-19th-century buildings extending from behind Playa de la Concha to the banks of Río Urumea. On the east side of the river is the district of Gros, a pleasant enclave that, with its relaxed ambience and the surfing beach of Playa de Gros, makes a cheerful alternative to the honeypots on the west side of the river. Right at the opposite, western end, of the city is Playa de Ondarreta (essentially a continuation of Playa de la Concha), a very upmarket district known as a millionaires' belt on account of its lavish holiday homes. There will be ample free time for you to explore all the town has to offer.

To the Paris area for an overnight stay.

Return home.