Exhilarating Adventure to Barcelona & Madrid Tour

What to expect on this itinerary
During this luxurious 7-day adventure through Madrid and Barcelona, you will experience some of the most exclusive experiences that these cities have to offer. Vivacious street life bursts from the central avenues and open-aired plazas of Madrid's downtown and local bands catch the attention of passersby. Meanwhile, in Barcelona, artistic whimsy emanates from every storefront and the intricate architecture amazes all its visitors.
Customizable Itinerary
Barcelona - Dinner in Placa Reial
You will arrive at the Barcelona airport, where you will meet your private transport who will escort you to your hotel. Soon, you will arrive at your luxurious accommodation in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. You can unpack your bags as the chatter below ensues. Then, later in the afternoon, you can venture into the city for some self-guided exploration. Later, as the sky begins to warm with the red-orange hues of sunset, you can indulge in dinner at the Placa Reial. Here, children play pick-up games of soccer and street vendors sell light-up toys and other souvenirs.
What's Included:
Barcelona - Gothic Quarter and Sagrada Familia
Barcelona - Architecture Tour of Park Guell
Valencia - Paella Cooking Class
Madrid - City Tour Highlights
Madrid - Reina Sofia Art Museum
Madrid - Departure
Trip Highlights
- Dine in the moonlit Placa Reial and discover Barcelona's eclectic history when you stroll through the streets of the city's Gothic quarter
- Marvel at the kaleidoscopic hues of La Sagrada Familia before visiting other masterpieces of famed architect, Antoni Gaudi, including Park Guell
- Admire the futuristic designs of architect, Calatrava, at the City of Arts and Sciences before attending an authentic paella cooking class
- Peruse the halls of Madrid's Royal Palace and indulge in an array of local tapas in the Plaza Mayor
- Visit Picasso's masterpieces at the Reina Sofia Art Museum and stroll through the luscious public park that is known as Parque El Retiro
Detailed Description
Whimsical and fantastical architecture overflows from every alcove in the charming city of Barcelona. Ocean waves will lap against the sandy shore as gulls fly overhead. Moreover, families and couples will gather along the coastline in the moonlit Gothic Quarter for a relaxing dinner. Meanwhile, in Valencia, expert chefs mix perfectly seasoned rice, vegetables, and seafood in large cast-iron skillets. In the center of Spain, Madrid's locals and visitors meander through the Plaza del Sol, past the Royal Palace, and inside the Parque El Retiro.
When you arrive in Barcelona on your first day in Spain, you will be met by your private transportation for your exciting, 7-day expedition. You will settle into your hotel and indulge in an initial dinner at the Placa Reial. Then, the following morning, you will follow your expert guide along the cobbled streets of the Gothic Quarter as you learn about the city's history. Later, you will delve into the eccentric aesthetic of architect Antoni Gaudi at such famed masterpieces, such as the Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Park Guell, and La Sagrada Familia.
As you set out towards Madrid, you will make a brief stop in Valencia, which is the third-largest city in Spain. Here, you will participate in an authentic paella cooking class and visit the one-of-a-kind designs at the City of Arts and Sciences. Afterward, in Madrid, you will fall in love with the quickened pace and the leisurely attitudes of outdoor cafes, restaurants, and parks. Your expert guide will lead you to attractions, such as the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, and Parque El Retiro. Then, in the evenings, you can venture to the outlying neighborhoods of Malasana and Lavapies, where you can become lost in the vibrant arts and music scene.
Starting Price
$2,800 per person (excluding international flights)
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
The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 2673 reviews
Zicasso’s travel specialist and her team were fantastic. They were very responsive and quick to make changes when our arrival flight was delayed a day. The experiences were tremendous and the meeting times and contact points with various guides and drivers in several cities were well organized and seamless.
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It was the first time we’ve used a travel company and there’s no going back to doing the planning ourselves! Zicasso’s travel specialist designed a trip around our needs and preferences. We enjoyed excellent private tours, wonderful boutique and unique hotels, and many of his recommendations for restaurants and other things to explore. He went above and beyond to check in with us on how it was going, even arranging a takeaway breakfast for our early-morning flight!
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Zicasso’s travel partner created a beautiful trip for our family. It was a last-minute international trip and they planned everything for us, and responded to all our specific requests and changes with grace and patience. They pulled everything together so quickly. Their local knowledge and connections to the people and places that we wanted to go were incredible.
All our accommodations were incredible and the tours and tour guides were interesting and custom-built for our needs. The communication with them was clear, fast, and responsive. They were a great travel company and I highly recommend them.
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My husband, our two adult sons, and myself had the pleasure of going to Spain for 11 nights. We didn’t know much about the country, so we relied on Zicasso’s travel specialist to guide us. From the start, she explained the history, culture, food, etc.
We traveled to Madrid, Granada, Seville, Barcelona, and Costa Brava! We also took day trips to Toledo and Córdoba. We had excellent tour guides and drivers. Our trip flowed nicely, as we were on the go a lot of the time.
It was a trip of a lifetime for our family. We looked forward to the tapas, paellas, Jamón Ibérico, gazpacho, empanadas, rabo de toro, and, of course, the seafood every evening. The Spanish people were great and some we’ll never forget!
We learned so much about the ancient and early history, including the Roman conquest through the Medieval and early modern history. We were taking in this information all week, including the Prado Museum, the Picasso Museum, and the Dalí Theatre-Museum!
A simple family moment was sitting on our rooftop in Seville by the pool looking out at this beautiful city, which was difficult to leave!
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We visited Madrid, Toledo, San Sebastián, Bayonne, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Hondarribia, La Rioja, Barcelona, Montserrat, and the Penedes (Cava) region.
We loved our private guides, private wine tastings, and day trips outside of the big cities.
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We had been planning a two-week trip to Spain for most of 2024, researching the different regions, the available transportation options, and the logistics of trying to fit everything we wanted to do and see into two weeks. Once we felt comfortable having an informed conversation, we contacted Zicasso. We had used them for a prior trip to Italy in 2021. We were provided with two quality companies to assist us with planning our trip. Both companies provided us with proposals and itineraries based on our interests.
We chose this Zicasso travel company and could not have been happier with their attention to detail, communication, and customer service. We originally were working with one representative and, over the summer, we received an email introducing our new travel consultant. She immediately contacted us to introduce herself and to let us know that she was there should we need anything before, during, or after the trip. We had a pre-trip video meeting with her to answer some minor logistics questions. Two weeks later, we landed in Spain.
All of the companies selected for our trip, from drivers, guides, and cooking instructors to wineries were fantastic! Travel is more than the things you see and do; it's also about the people you meet while traveling. We thoroughly enjoyed everyone we met. They made us feel welcome and tailored each experience to what we were interested in.
Since our travel consultant lives in Madrid and our final stop was there, we made plans to get together for a drink to discuss our experiences. As we were discussing the trip with her, we realized we were having a hard time picking just one experience, one guide, or one place that was our favorite in each city.
We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted from this trip to Barcelona, Granada, Córdoba, Seville, Ronda, Madrid, and Toledo. The travel company listened to our interests and took to heart what we hoped to get from the trip. They designed and executed a fantastic two-week itinerary based on our budget. We are already thinking about a trip to Northern Spain in the future and our first call will be to the same travel company.
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