Windmills in Castilla La Mancha in Spain

The Don Quixote Tour of Spain: In the Footsteps of a 400 Year Old Masterpiece

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

Spain

Places Visited

Toledo, La Mancha, Oropesa, Orgaz...

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Suggested Duration

11 Days

Don Quixote is the epitome of ancient Spain, a surrealist adventure blessed with unrivaled poetry and fantasy. Celebrating the 400 year anniversary of Cervantes’ masterpiece, this handcrafted itinerary recaptures the Spain of Don Quixote, taking a seductive route bathed in history and legend. Windmills, walled towns, wine estates, paradors; the fictional blurs with the exquisite as you recreate a knightly story and one of the greatest works of Western literature.

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Tour the Spain of Miguel de Cervantes’ imagination, journeying through the windmills of La Mancha and the tiny towns that inspired Don Quixote's adventures
  • Immerse yourself in the beauty of Spain's Golden Age by sleeping in exquisite paradors, converted castles and monasteries that recreate 17th century glory
  • Enjoy two days of exclusive wine tasting at some of Spain's oldest wine estates and historic vineyards
  • Get lost in some of Spain's finest medieval sites; including castles, tiny hilltop villages of whitewashed stone, noble 16th century houses, and quaint stone churches
  • Explore the life of Miguel de Cervantes, visiting the prison where he wrote Don Quixote and the inspiration for “somewhere in La Mancha in a place whose name I do not care to remember…”
  • No journeys are longer than one hour as you relax in the historic heart of Spain
  • An expert Don Quixote guide is your chauffeur, breathing life into the stops on this Council of Europe accredited cultural route

Detailed Description

Bathed in fantasy and swashbuckling adventure, Don Quixote is one of the greatest literary fictions of Western history. While the hero imagines his knightly story, Miguel de Cervantes’ inspiration can be found all over the historic La Mancha region of Spain. Celebrating the 400 year anniversary of the book's full publication, this unique tour recaptures the quixotic spirit and timeless glory of a Spain that lives long in everyone's imagination. Wander through the cobbled streets of whitewashed stone villages, admire the windmills that Quixote once fought, sleep in castles direct from idealistic fairytales, and settle into the rhythm of medieval Spain. The destinations feel fictional, lost in their ancient glory and unchanged for centuries. But then a feast of tapas and wine is delivered to an al fresco terrace and the surreal becomes real.

This itinerary connects destinations on the European Council accredited Don Quixote cultural route, taking you across the plains of La Mancha and the heart of Spain's Golden Age. An expert guide helps your imagination run away with the adventures of Quixote as you visit the places that influenced and inspired Cervantes’ idealism. Accommodations are mostly in paradors: 16th and 17th century buildings that have been converted to luxurious hotels. Sleep in castles and monasteries, tucked away in towns unchanged since the book's publication. All transfers are by luxury saloon vehicle and the itinerary has a very relaxed pace, with lots of time for leisurely Spanish dinners and evenings absorbing the atmosphere of village plazas.

Start in Oropesa, a medieval town of such splendor it seems mythical. Cross the 11th century drawbridge to the 16th century castle parador and the quixotic paradigm immediately takes over. Spend days three and four touring the tiny traditional villages and famous windmills of La Mancha, stopping at museums, plazas, and fascinating structures of 16th century stone. Day five is dedicated to wine tasting at the home of Dulcinea, the woman Don Quixote's wooed with his knightly errands of chivalry. Enjoy some of Spain's finest paradors on days six and seven, the relaxed destinations combined with a visit to the prison where Cervantes wrote his masterpiece.

As you journey south you weave into the mountains of La Mancha, mysterious villages clinging to peaks with promises of medieval glamour. Day eight visits some fabulous vineyards in a little visited part of Spain, while day nine explores the most influential town in the book, Tomelloso. Completing the tour, you head to Madrid on day ten, stopping at two magnificent palaces en route. After ten days on this luxury Spain tour, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha is more than fiction; it's an ode to the timeless beauty of Spanish tradition and culture.

Starting Price

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

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