Spain's Cultural Capitals

13 days
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Experience the cultural diversity of Spain on a journey through three of this vibrant nation's most fascinating cities. Discover the country's cosmopolitan pulse in the modern capital of Madrid, then travel east to visit Valencia, a seaside city with more than 2,000 years of history, that is quickly establishing itself as one of Spain’s most enticing modern t...
From$1,895
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Overview

Trip type
Group Tour
Lodging level
Standard - 3 star
Physical level
Easy
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Highlights

    • Explore Madrid
    • Visit the Synagogue of El Transito
    • Discover the historical sites of Valencia
    • Explore Barcelona
    • Visit Sagrada Familia basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

What's this trip about?

    Experience the cultural diversity of Spain on a journey through three of this vibrant nation's most fascinating cities. Discover the country's cosmopolitan pulse in the modern capital of Madrid, then travel east to visit Valencia, a seaside city with more than 2,000 years of history, that is quickly establishing itself as one of Spain’s most enticing modern travel destinations. Finish your Spain tour in Barcelona, where the old medieval charm of the city’s Barri Gotic competes with the modernist architectural innovations of Antoni Gaudi for your adoration. With four nights in every city, you'll have ample time to see the sights and immerse yourself in each region’s unique cultural traditions as you tour Spain.

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Details

Itinerary focusClassic Highlights
Group sizeStandard Group - 25 + people
Age rangeNo age restrictions
Flights and transportAll internal ground transport included
Start CityMadrid
End CityBarcelona

Travel Themes

  • Cultural

Destinations

  • Europe
  • Spain

Attractions

  • Barcelona
  • Cuenca
  • Madrid
  • Toledo
  • Valencia

Activities

  • Culture
  • Historic sightseeing

Trip includes

    • Choose to purchase Grand Circle's airfare, and your airport transfers, government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges are included. Or, make your own air arrangements
    • Accommodations for 12 nights in comfortable rooms with private baths
    • 22 meals: 12 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 6 dinners
    • 6 included tours
    • Exclusive Discovery Series events: Flamenco dancing experience • Home-Hosted Lunch • Life of Antoni Gaudi tour
    • Gratuities on your main trip for local guides and motorcoach drivers
    • Personal headset for all included and optional tours on your main trip
    • Exclusive services of a local Grand Circle Program Director (assigned to no more than 42 travelers)
    • 5% Frequent Traveler Credit toward your next Grand Circle trip—an average of $213
    • Private motorcoach land travel
    • Baggage handling for 1 piece of luggage per person, including tips

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Itinerary

Travel Map

Day 1: Arrive Madrid, Spain

Land in Madrid this morning, where a Grand Circle representative will meet you at the airport to transfer you to your hotel. This evening, meet up with your Program Director for an orientation briefing, in which you'll get a preview of the upcoming discoveries of your...

Day 2: Madrid • City tour

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Spain's vibrant capital city enjoys a reputation as an extraordinarily welcoming one. Though the metropolis boasts a population of more than three million people, a great many of the city's residents (called madrilenos) are transplan...

Day 3: Madrid • Optional Segovia tour

Meals: Breakfast

Today is yours to make your own discoveries in Madrid, if you'd like. Or you can join an optional full-day tour to Segovia, which, with its dramatic hilltop location and stunning medieval architecture, might feel like a fairy tale come to life....

Day 4: Madrid • Optional Toledo tour • Flamenco experience

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Spend another day acquainting yourself with Madrid, or join an optional half-day tour to another one of Spain's historic cities (and another UNESCO World Heritage Site), Toledo. This quintessentially Old-World city boasts a rich mult...

Day 5: Madrid • Cuenca • Home-Hosted Lunch • Valencia

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodations: Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace or similar

Depart Madrid this morning for Valencia, stopping along the way to explore the breathtaking mountaintop city of Cuenca. The Moors who founded the city chose its hilltop locat...

Day 6: Valencia • City tour

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Accommodations: Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace or similar

Continue your tour of Spain in Valencia, the country's third-largest city, as well as one of its oldest. It has been many things over the centuries—a Roman settlement, a Moo...

Day 7: Valencia

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Accommodations: Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace or similar

Today is yours to spend in Valencia as you please, with lunch on your own. You might choose to stroll idly along the manicured gardens of the Turia riverbed, or seek out loc...

Day 8: Valencia • Lladro Museum

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodations: Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace or similar

After breakfast this morning, you'll visit the Lladro Museum, where you'll find a collection of highly valued handcrafted porcelain figurines. Lladro figurines are internatio...

Day 9: Valencia • Tarragona • Barcelona

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodations: Eurostars Cristal Palace or similar

Depart Valencia by motorcoach this morning for Barcelona, stopping along the way to stretch your legs in Peniscola, a scenic seaside town. Here, you'll have some time on your ...

Day 10: Barcelona • City tour

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodations: Eurostars Cristal Palace or similar

Today, begin your exploration of Barcelona, the second-largest city in Spain and the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia. Barcelona has been a vital center of trade ...

Day 11: Barcelona • Optional Montserrat & Codorniu Winery tour  OPTIONAL TOUR

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Accommodations: Eurostars Cristal Palace or similar

Today you have the opportunity to explore Barcelona on your own. You might choose to wander through the winding alleyways of Barcelona’s old city center, or Barri Gotic (Goth...

Day 12: Barcelona • Life of Gaudi experience

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Accommodations: Eurostars Cristal Palace or similar

One of Barcelona's most significant contributions to the European cultural scene is its one-of-a-kind architecture, designed in the Catalan Modernist style. The man who spear...

Day 13: Barcelona • Return to U.S.

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the airport today for your flight home. Or continue your tour of Spain as you begin your optional post-trip extension to Malaga.

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Dates & Availability

Price From $1,895
Price per day$146
Last Updated: 8/2/2018

Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Grand Circle Travel.

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Grand Circle Travel Reviews & Ratings

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Andrea

Apr 2020

value and service outstanding

I've traveled with this company 4 times and find the value and service outstanding. If you are on a slim budget try the " last minute" opportunities. We got an inc...

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Virginia

Apr 2020

each one has been wonderful

Have taken 12 trips overseas with this company and each one has been wonderful.

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Charlotte

Apr 2020

Excellent service

Excellent service on ship, considerate of their clients, wonderful discovery trips.

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Grand Circle Travel

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Grand Circle Travel offers distinctive international vacations for older Americans. Established in 1958 by Ethel Andrus, educator and founder of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), we view world travel as a powerful lever for lifelong learning. We make it accessible through trips that deliver unmatched discoveries, leisurely pacing, more travel choices, and comprehensive value.

Our values are the foundation upon which our company is built. They are what our beliefs and actions are derived from. Our values shape our decisions, give direction to our growth, and allow us to measure our progress.

Teamwork: We believe in groups of people who work together to create excellent results, solve difficult problems, support each other personally and professionally, and recognize their success. In a fast-paced and rapidly changing environment each member of the team is critical for success. Empowered teams are committed to taking the necessary actions to ensure that the team will reach its goals. Every member must be fully accountable for the team’s and one’s own personal results.

Thriving in Change: In these times of rapid change, global competition, and high volatility in the travel industry, we must be prepared to change course and move forward. Being well organized may sometimes be less important than moving quickly. The goal is for each of us to maximize our effectiveness, and ultimately our success, in an unpredictable and ever-changing environment.

Quality: Our decisions must be made and actions taken in accordance with high standards of quality and service. Quality can be subjective, and in our business quality often involves a compromise between speed and perfection. When the level of quality required is in question, we will operate to the high standards expected by our customers. Excellence in our quality will continually enhance our repeat business and ultimately our financial performance.

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Logistics

What's excluded

    • International Flights
    • Passport and Visa Charges
    • Personal Expenses

Accommodation

,Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace Valencia, Spain | Rating: Superior First Class The Superior First-Class Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace is located near the Plaza de España, just minutes away from the historic old city and the scenic gardens of the Turia riverbed. The hotel features free wireless Internet and an on-site restaurant, while each room includes satellite television, free mineral water, safe deposit box, and private bath with hair dryer. Eurostars Cristal Palace Barcelona, Spain The Eurostar Cristal Palace sits centrally Barcelona, in between the Passeig de Gracia and La Rambla, two of the city’s most fascinating roads, offering endless sights to visit within easy access. The hotel features complimentary wireless Internet access, and each air-conditioned room includes satellite TV, minibar, telephone, and private bath with hair dryer.
Cancellation policy

Number of days Prior to departure and the related cancellation charge

  • 90 days or more- $300
  • 89-60 days - 10% of selling price or $300—whichever is greater
  • 59-30 days - 65% of selling price
  • 29 days–departure - 100% of selling price
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Meals Included

12 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches and 6 Dinners

Age Requirements
No age restrictions
Optional Activities

Extensions

Pre-trip: Bilbao & San Sebastian, Spain

4 nights from only $995

Discover Basque culture on a tour of Bilbao

More than a third of our travelers have reserved this extension in 2016

Basque culture is known for its lively traditions, distinctive cuisine, and fierce regional pride. You’ll experience two of its gems, Bilbao and San Sebastian, in a four-night stay that introduces you to treasures of culture and nature. From Frank Gehry’s architectural masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum, to seaside San Sebastian, the playground of kings, you’ll enjoy a rewarding blend of included features and ample time to experience the leisurely rhythm of Basque life on your own.

Post-trip: Malaga, Spain

4 nights from only $845

Discover Spain’s Mediterranean Costa del Sol in Malaga

84% of our travelers rated this extension "Excellent" in 2015

On Spain’s Mediterranean Costa del Sol, Malaga provides a warm welcome for all who seek the balmy pleasures of Europe’s southernmost major city. In a leisurely four-night stay, you’ll be introduced to its rich history, which stretches back to the Phoenicians, and experience the seaside charms that drew Roman guards and Moorish caliphs, inspired native son Pablo Picasso, and still beckons sophisticated travelers today.

Optional Tours

Segovia

Day 4 $85 per person

With its dramatic hilltop location and stunning medieval architecture, your full-day visit to Segovia might feel like a fairy tale come to life. Your tour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site begins with the city’s Roman aqueduct, which was constructed without the use of mortar and is still standing today, due to the efforts of the local community to preserve it. Then stroll through the charming, narrow streets of the old Jewish Quarter before visiting the Plaza Mayor, a picturesque square surrounded by many of Segovia’s most important buildings, including its Gothic cathedral, an imposing 16th-century church that was one of the last of its kind built in Spain. The last stop on your tour is the Alcazar, a skyline-dominating castle perched idyllically on the top of a hill, whose romantic gables and turrets inspired Walt Disney’s design for the castle of Sleeping Beauty. Later, enjoy lunch (included with the cost of the optional tour).

Toledo

Day 5 $75 per person

Your tour of Toledo starts in its Old Town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), where you’ll visit the Synagogue of El Transito. The building is unique in that it was built during a period in the 14th century when construction of synagogues was generally forbidden in Spain. In 1492, Toledo’s Jewish community was expelled from the city, and the synagogue was converted into a church. Today, it is a museum. You’ll also stop at the Church of Santo Tome and the Gothic Toledo Cathedral, an important spiritual center of Catholic Spain since its construction in the 13th century. You’ll go inside to see its elaborate decor, including the magnificent altarpiece, a towering depiction of scenes from the life of Christ.

Montserrat & Codorniu Winery

Day 12 $80 per person

Explore Montserrat, a jagged mountain range outside the city which offers exhilarating hikes past peculiar rock formations and spectacular views of the Catalonian countryside below. The mountain is also home to a Benedictine abbey, which hosts the Virgin of Montserrat, a Black Madonna statue which attracts many devout pilgrims.

Then continue on to Codorniu Winery, a major producer of the local Spanish sparkling wine called cava. You'll learn about the production process and tour the cellars, where you'll have the opportunity to sample some of the finished product. The wine isn't the only thing on display—the building itself is visually impressive, as it is designed in the Catalan Modernist style for which the area is so well known.

Additional Information
Trip ID
grandc1-SpaCulGra

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