Andalucia & Barcelona

DURATION: 7 DAYS / 6 NIGHTS

Guaranteed Departures - Every Monday

° Transportation by deluxe air conditioned motor coach

° 6 Nights in 4 star hotels as shown

° Meals Indicated on Itinerary by (B) Breakfast, (L) Lunch, (D) Dinner

° Experienced multilingual tour conductors during the tour help you with your accommodation and assure you of a

  pleasant vacation

° Local sightseeing tours as described below

° Entrance fees to the monuments

° Expert local guides

Day 1- Monday - Madrid - Cordoba - Sevilla
Your tour starts with a departure from the bus Terminal in Madrid at 8:00 a.m. through La Mancha to Cordoba. This ancient city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the living legacy of the diverse cultures that settled in it throughout history. Today we are going to visit the Arab Mosque - Cathedral which lies in the historic heart of the city, and is one of the most beautiful examples of Muslim art in the whole of Spain. Next is one of the most evocative Jewish quarters in Spain - Juderia. A labyrinth of streets and little squares with a typical Andalusian flavour. Our tour continues to Sevilla. Built on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, Seville became a very prosperous city and a trading port with the Americas. (D)

Day 2 - Tuesday - Sevilla
After breakfast, we visit the Park of María Luisa, one of the finest in Spain. It was donated to the city of Seville in 1983 by the Duchess of Montpensier, the Infanta Maria Luisa Fernanda de Orleans. From the park's entrance we can see the two slender towers of Plaza de España stretching up towards the sky. The plaza was designed by Anibal Gonzalez, Seville's best - known twentieth - century architect. Next we proceed to the typical Barrio de Santa Cruz - the district of Santa Cruz covers the historic and artistic quarter of Seville. Walking through Seville streets you can see colourful 12th century buildings and smell orange blossoms. The balance of the afternoon is at leisure. (B,D)

Day 3 - Wednesday - Sevilla - Granada
Following breakfast we depart for Granada - the city made for strolling and daydreaming. Our sightseeing tour today includes the Alhambra with its beautiful Nazari Palaces and the Generalife. A World Heritage Site, the complex of the Alhambra and the Generalife is the most visited monument of Granada. City, fortress and palace of the kings of the Nasrid dynasty, its rooms and gardens are the highest expression of the Muslim art in Europe. The Generalife gardens are perched on a hill facing the palace complex. They were designed for the recreation of the Arab monarchs who entered the gardens from the Palaces through the Puerta de Hierro (Iron Gate), which stands next to the Tower of Los Picos. (B,D)

Day 4 - Thursday - Granada - Valencia

Morning departure via Guadix, Baza and Puerto Lumbreras towards the Mediterranean coast and Valencia. Few cities are, like Valencia, able to combine so harmoniously historical architecture with the most modern, avant-garde buildings to be erected in the new millennium. Thanks to its location, Valencia has been the Spanish gateway to the Mediterranean, with the special charm that seaport cities have. (B)

Day 5 - Friday - Valencia - Barcelona
After breakfast time at leisure. At mid morning we depart for Barcelona - the capital of Catalonia. Barcelona is a cosmopolitan Mediterranean city declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. (B)

Day 6 - Saturday - Barcelona
Morning city sightseeing tour visiting the Park of Montjuic with spectacular views. Overlooking the harbor the hill of Montjuic is a symbol of pride ever since the Romantics discovered its beauty in the 1800's. Next we visit the Olympic Ring, followed by the monument to Columbus and the old Gothic Quarter. Barri Gotic, the old town district known as the Gothic Quarter for the treasure house of Gothic monuments found here, occupies what was formerly an ancient fortified Roman village. It is the site of historic monuments and modern institutions. The balance of the day at leisure. (B)

Day 7 - Sunday - Barcelona - Zaragoza - Madrid
After breakfast departure through Lerida - the great unknown city with a rich and restless culture that can be found in the current modern city, and Zaragoza where Romans, Moors, Jews and Christians left their cultural legacy behind, waiting to be admired to this day. After we enjoy some free time we continue to Madrid. Our tour ends upon arrival in Madrid. (B)