DAY 01 MADRID
A private vehicle with driver will pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel. Later in the day, you will enjoy a tour from the Royal Palace and the Austria quartier to the Borbon Madrid where the Museo del Prado is located. Enjoying tapas all along.
HISTORICAL WALKING TOURS IN MADRID
People visiting Madrid for the first time often feel just the slightest bit overwhelmed: the noise, traffic, bars, stores… the life of a city in full swing. So who better than a local Madrileño to guide you through all the chaos and show you the real city, its history and its people?
During our tour, the city will pop up around us, proudly revealing places, which fully preserves the flavor of very distant times. As if the city were a stage, history has left a deep-seated footprint over time. From its founding as Mayrit by the Arabs in the 9th century, through the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties’ reign, to the latest events of the 20th and 21st century, life in Madrid seems much like a novel by Cervantes or Calderón de la Barca: intertwining sleep and sleeplessness, art is mistaken for life.
During our journey, we’ll discover the thrilling history of an open, cosmopolitan city, where tradition and cutting-edge go hand-in-hand, and stories of war, kings and queens, invasions, ghosts and lovers will provide the perfect backdrop for some tapas and a top-flight wine in one of the city’s hundred-year-old locales. And the Museo del Prado for a perfect conclusion to our first day in Spain
DAY 02
Day time you is at your leisure to explore on your own. In the evening, enjoy a visit to one of the best flamenco shows in Spain.
FLAMENCO UP CLOSE
Enjoy one of Madrid’s leading venues, where you can see old stars together with young awarded new figures. A wonderful dinner is also served at the premise.
DAY 03 MADRID-CORDOBA
The hotel will arrange a taxi to take you to Madrid train station for your high-speed train to Córdoba. You should take another taxi at Córdoba`s train station to take you to your hotel.
Later in the afternoon, our guide will pick you up to see the Mezquita and the Judería.
THE MEZQUITA OF CORDOBA
In 929 DC, Abd-al-Rahman III, of the Umayyad dynasty, the family of the Prophet Mohammed, proclaimed himself Caliph of Cordoba, declaring independence from the rest of the Islamic empire. Al-Andalus became the primary Muslim power in the Western Mediterranean, and the Mezquita, or Mosque, became the most important in the entire West.
It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and is the best-preserved building from its period. It increased in both size and beauty as the city gained more political and social importance, and was even spared during the Christian Reconquest. It was converted into a Christian cathedral in 1238, and its Byzantine mosaics and the extraordinary system of two-tone horseshoe-shaped arches underwent several expansions, emulating both Renaissance and Baroque styles.
DAY 04 CORDOBA-CARMONA
A private vehicle and driver will pick you up to take you to the beautiful village of Carmona and its Parador, where you will be staying. Later meet your guide will pick you up for a walking guided visit of the town and its monuments.
CARMONA, THE CITY AND IT’S PARADOR
Carmona is a small city, but definitely stands out due to the traces left by those cultures that have populated it during its extensive churches. You will enjoy its astonishing historic quarter, dominated by the imposing image of its Arab fortress, the Alcazar del Rey Don Pedro and surrounded by churches, palaces and city walls.
Precisely, the Alcázar del Rey Don Pedro houses the Parador, which is considered one of the 5 best in Spain due to its beauty and wonderful service. Wonderful views will await you after enjoying its gorgeous pool, which will be quite appreciate it in Andalucia at that time of the year. Its construction and the tiles, marbles and plasterwork will take you right into the past mudejar inhabitants.
DAY 5 DAY TRIP TO SEVILLE
The visit to Seville’s Cathedral is one of the highlights of Andalucia. A private driver will pick you up at the hotel and then drop you back to Carmona at the end of the day. The drive is only half an hour away (approx). Your guide will meet you at the Cathedral.SEVILLE’S CATHEDRAL: MAGNA HISPALENSIS
he Cathedral of Seville is a must-see. Everything in it is amazing: Its art gallery surpasses 700 pictures of a first-rate artistic category and its altarpiece is the largest in Christendom. It is also the world’s largest Gothic building with other wonders as its astonishing Renaissance rooms, its fabulous collection of sculptures and, of course, the Giralda tower. To amaze was the determination of the builders when they stated their intention to “make a temple so large that in the coming centuries we will be deemed to be crazy”.DAY 6 SEVILLA-GRANADA
A private vehicle and driver will transfer you from you hotel in Carmona to your hotel in Granada, where depending on the timing of the Alhambra, you will either visit it this day or enjoy the rest of the day on your own.DAY 7 GRANADA
Meet your guide at the hotel & take a taxi together to the Alhambra. After your guided visit your guide will drop you back at your hotel.THE ALHAMBRA
Ever since the Catholic Monarchs conquered Granada in 1492, the Alhambra, qalat al-Hamra, or the Red Castle, has fed the fantasies of travelers and visitors alike. And ever since the publication of Washington Irving’s book, Tales of the Alhambra, the site’s spectacular gardens, the sounds of its fountains, and its mysterious, sophisticated rooms have inspired travelers to imagine exotic scenes, transporting them to a fascinating world, far away in time and space. The Alhambra, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, is a truly singular place in Spain, representing more than 400 years of Islamic heritage, which affords it historical originality with respect to the rest of Europe. There’s no other crossroads in the world as important as this Nasrid palace, no place as spellbindingly beautiful, where a sunset over its battlements alone makes the journey worthwhile.DAY 8
Get picked up from your hotel and get dropped at the airport. Board a flight from Granada back to United States. Most flights from Granada will make a change either in Malaga or Madrid.
What Our TRAVELERS say
Usha, had a great time! Ronda is really a lovely city. The travel arrangements worked out really well! I really appreciate all of your assistance in putting the plans together, finding the hotels, etc. We’ll certainly get in touch when we have future travel plans. All my best, and thanks again.
Darin D.