Discover Spain: Custom Tour of Madrid, Toledo, Seville and Barcelona
What to expect on this itinerary
In Spain, the architecture alone tells tales of the country’s multifaceted history on this 9-day itinerary. Catholic cathedrals reveal a surprising Moorish past, medieval quarters whisper the aura of bygone centuries and whimsical Gaudí designs inspire the modern imagination. With its resplendent Islamic, Jewish and Christian heritage, Spain has an incredible number of UNESCO World Heritage monuments, and you’ll have a chance to see as many as ten of these specially designated sites. This sample tour to Spain takes you to the beautiful and intriguing cities of Madrid, Seville, Toledo and Barcelona. Soak up the cosmopolitan ambience and immerse yourself in the local traditions.
Customizable Itinerary
Madrid - Leisure Time and a Tapas Tour
Your tour begins in the beautiful city of Madrid, the capital of Spain. Upon your arrival at the airport, you’ll be greeted by your driver and provided a transfer to your hotel. You’ll be staying at a hotel in the center of Madrid near the Prado Museum and some of the best tapas restaurants. This afternoon you’ll begin your exploration of the city with a guided Art Walk. The guided tour allows you to discover the internationally renowned Museo del Prado. This exceptional collection includes the masterpieces of El Greco, Velazquez and Goya, among others. After your art tour, you’ll have time to stop for tapas at a stylish neighborhood bar. When ordering a glass of wine, you’ll be offered a snack such as tortilla de patata (potato omelette), cured ham, sausage or fried shrimp. Tapas help keep you going until the late-evening Spanish dinner. Live like the locals: eat dinner late and enjoy the amazing nightlife that usually unfolds spontaneously. The city is literally hopping with cafes, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. All that you need to do is walk outside and then see where the evening takes you!
What's Included:
Madrid - Private Guided Visit to Madrid’s Habsburg Palace
Madrid - Full-Day Excursion to Toledo
Seville - Leisure Afternoon and an Evening Flamenco Show
Seville - Guided Sightseeing Tour of Seville’s Highlights
Barcelona - Travel to Barcelona; Afternoon Tour of Gothic Quarter and Picasso Museum
Guided Tour of Gaudí Masterpieces throughout Barcelona
Barcelona - Leisure Day in Barcelona or Optional Excursion to Beaches or Wine Country
Barcelona - Tour Concludes with Departure from Barcelona
Trip Highlights
- Cosmopolitan ambience of Madrid and Barcelona
- Go on an art walk to visit world-class museums in Madrid
- Experience traditional Spanish culture and customs in Seville
- Discover the Moorish influence in Madrid, Seville and Toledo
- Visit the beautiful Alcázar, the old Moorish palace, in Seville
- See the historic city of Toledo, an UNESCO World Heritage site
- Tour fantastical and modern Gaudí monuments in Barcelona
- Savor the delicious Catalonian and Andalusian gastronomy
- Enjoy the nightlife in Seville and see a Flamenco performance
Detailed Description
See the amazing sites that tell the fascinating story of Spain’s multicultural past. The glorious Moorish kingdoms of Islamic al-Andalus flourished for 700 years until the final Christian Reconquista in the 15th century. Nearly every cathedral that you’ll see in Southern Spain’s Andalusia was once an Islamic mosque. Madrid also has an interesting legacy as the capital of a world power in the 16th century, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty—the Austrian royal family. Many of the elegant palaces, churches and government buildings in Madrid have a distinct Austrian architectural influence.
You’ll visit an incredible number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the historic city of Toledo and Antonio Gaudí’s fantastical Modernist buildings. With this customized tour, all of your travel logistics will be pre-arranged and knowledgeable guides will show you around so that you get the most out of your visit.
First you’ll visit the grand city of Madrid. When Spain was a world power, Madrid was the city where the King held court. The immense Royal Palace in Madrid was inspired by the Louvre in Paris and is one of the most impressive palaces in Europe. Madrid’s Museo del Prado has one of the finest collections of art masterpieces in Europe, most notably the exceptional works of Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. From your base in Madrid, you’ll make an all-day excursion to Toledo. This UNESCO World Heritage City has an unbelievable wealth of historic monuments: palaces, fortresses, mosques, medieval synagogues and a magnificent Gothic Cathedral.
Next visit the cities full of energetic Spanish ambience and tradition. Seville is a vibrant city of history and culture with a multicultural past. The Cathedral was converted from a mosque, and the Alcázar was the former Moorish palace. Enjoy the traditional customs, including tapas, evening strolls, leisurely dinners and Flamenco performances. Finally, visit the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona in Catalonia. Barcelona is a wonderful place to wander the grand boulevards and medieval pedestrian streets. Known for its love of life, Barcelona is famous for its fashionable people, meals outdoors and conviviality.
Starting Price
$4,800 per person (excluding international flights)
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.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 2733 reviews
The trip was great. Zicasso’s travel specialist and her crew put together a great itinerary and left us plenty of downtime, so we were not exhausted each evening. The drivers were good and, although not guides, offered plenty of history along the way. All the guides were exceptional.
We loved all the hotels, especially our hotel in the mountains. That was very special.
The travel specialist had obviously passed along the note that we did not want to go shopping, like sometimes happens with the guides.
The food and restaurant suggestions were all good.
Overall, it was a very well-planned and articulated agenda. The software that they use to keep in contact worked very well once I understood it! Lol.
My only comment was that on trips in the past, the beginning of the trip started with a personal stop at our hotel by a representative from the company. I understood later that their headquarters is in a more remote area. But if I was a new traveler, I would have enjoyed putting a face with the name. Fortunately, the package they left at the hotel did indeed have all our tickets and passes.
I would definitely recommend this travel company and would use them again.
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I went on a two-week trip through France and Spain, and my experience with Zicasso’s travel specialist was amazing! She was incredibly responsive and communicative, and made sure my trip went as smoothly as possible.
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It was a fantastic trip. Great activities were planned. It was seamlessly executed.
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Zicasso’s travel company took care of all our needs and if we needed to make changes or find reservations at great restaurants, they responded quickly and set us up in some fantastic restaurants.
The guides and drivers were all super-knowledgeable and nice. We would definitely use the travel company again for trips to Portugal and Spain, and also use Zicasso to help us find tour companies in other countries.
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Flawless doesn't begin to describe how incredible and meticulous the planning and taste that went into designing our Spain and Morocco trip. I reached out to Zicasso’s travel specialist far in advance, describing a dream vacation for my husband and me that included a near-impossible amount of locations to cover through both countries in only two weeks. We had tried coming up with an itinerary with another planner prior to meeting the travel specialist, but it did not work out. When we shared our vision with the travel specialist, he materialized it on paper in a way that made sense and even made adjustments that fit within our budget. We got to see every location with enough time to savor each.
The order of travel from Barcelona to Andalucía to Morocco was an intricate weave that told a story of cross-cultural exchange. We started off with Gaudí architecture and the Sagrada Família, sunsets at the Puente Nuevo, Alhambra, and Córdoba, marveled at the grandeur of the mosque cathedral, savored seafood paella and Picasso art in Málaga. We finished off road-tripping in Morocco, starting from the blue city of Chefchaouhen, continuing our journey through Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains. It was nothing short of magical.
We will never forget the beauty of the sun rising above the Atlas Mountains, private candlelit dinners on our private terrace in the riads, the colors of the souks, and the hospitality of our Moroccan hosts. Each riad was carefully selected and far exceeded our expectations. And of course, our driver in Morocco was an absolute delight and went above and beyond. Besides providing transportation, he acted as a friend who showed us the ins and outs, helping us see Morocco in a way that we would not have if we went in a large group or had chosen to come alone. Overall, my husband and I cannot recommend our travel specialist enough.
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Zicasso’s travel company designed a fabulous 17-day Spain and Portugal tour for us. It was a pleasure to work with our travel specialist during the entire design process. First, the travel specialist spent time talking to us over the phone so she could get to know what each of us wanted to get out of the trip. Armed with that information, she was able to come up with a recommended agenda. We went back and forth a few times until she designed a trip that suited both of our interests. This trip turned out to be the perfect balance between learning about the history of the area, experiencing the culture, and enjoying our surroundings in rural and urban environments.
The week before we left on the tour, we reviewed our entire trip with the travel specialist over the phone. She wanted to answer any questions we may have had and to make sure we understood how to use our trip app. The trip app made it easy to see what we were doing each day. It contained descriptions of each tour and what was significant about the sites we were visiting. We had access to all our tickets through the app. There were Google Map links, so we could easily navigate to the location we needed to be. Recommendations for various restaurants and other things to do in the area were also included in the app.
The travel specialist provided her contact information and back-up contacts in case we needed anything during our trip. She made it clear to us that if our guide or driver was more than five minutes late to contact her. The travel company was there to support us 24/7.
The travel specialist pays attention to details. I highly recommend the travel company for designing a trip to Spain and Portugal.
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