MADRID 55ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Transfer to the hotel. Evening transport to the Gran Vía district. Welcome to Madrid! Upon arriving at the airport we will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. You can enjoy free time until your tour starts. Please, check the informative posters placed at the hotel reception area which have all the information about the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travellers. Towards the end of the day, we provide transfers to the Egyptian Debod Temple, Plaza de Es­paña and Gran Via; a vibrant district where you can dine at your preferred restaurant: Indian, Chinese, Spanish and Middle Eastern are some of the options available.

MADRID 55ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Madrid city tour. Stroll through the Retiro Park. Visit to the Las Ventas bullring. Evening transfer. The morning starts with a comprehensive tour through the centre of Madrid including the Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá, Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor. We then will visit Retiro Park, an oasis in the city centre, where we will see the lake and the Glass Palace. A visit to Las Ventas Bullring (admission included) is next. This is one of the most famous bullrings in the world where we will learn about the tradition of the “corridas” at the Bullfighting Museum. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon at your own leisure. At sunset we will provide a transfer to Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, an elegant and bustling area with many restaurants serving different cuisines, such as local Spanish food, international and Chinese. Enjoy a pleasant dinner of your choice. At the end of the evening we will return to the hotel together.

MADRID 55ºF - CACERES 57ºF - EVORA 59ºF - LISBON 63ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Mediaeval Cáceres. Chapel of bones of Evora. We leave Madrid and travel towards Extremadura. In CACERES you can have lunch and stroll in the historic centre, one of the best preserved mediaeval and Renaissance open complexes in the world. Once in Portugal, we will stop in EVORA, a World Heritage city with its white streets, its Renaissance palaces and its cathedral. We will include entry to the impressive chapel of bones, built using 5,000 skeletons! LISBON, arrival at the end of the afternoon.

LISBON 63ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Visit Lisbon. Evening transfer. In the morning we will have a sightseeing tour with a local guide (note: in the event the group is under 12 people, the ex­planations may be given by our guide). We will visit the tra­ditional neighbourhoods including the Belem district, which is the birthplace of the great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the Fifteenth Century. We will have a look around the Monument of the Discoveries, Belem Tower, and the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy the free afternoon when you are free to explore the city at your own leisure. In the late afternoon, we will have a transfer to the Restauradores Square, a public square with plenty of restaurants and cafes. We suggest you ride the Elevador Da Gloria funicular that takes you to the viewpoint of San Pedro with beautiful views over Lisbon and the Bairro Alto. Return to the hotel.

LISBON 63ºF - FATIMA 61ºF - PORTO 61ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Fatima Shrine. Visit Porto and the old cellars. We will head to the north of Portugal and visit FATIMA, an important sanctuary. We will continue on our way through to PORTO, Portugal’s second largest city. We will have time to have lunch and then go on a sightseeing tour of this city, which sits on the bank of the Duero river, and its historic city centre. We will also include a visit to the old cellars. Free time.

OPORTO (PORTO) 61ºF - BOM JESUS DO MONTE SANCTUARY - CAMBADOS 57ºF - SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA 55ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Cable car ride to the Bom Jesus Sanctuary. Wine and Mussels tasting on a boat trip. Visit Santiago de Compostela. On this day we will travel through beautiful landscapes. In the city of BRAGA, we will get on the world’s oldest cable car to ride up to the Santuário do BOM JESÚS, where we will enjoy its gorgeous views. We recommend trekking back down in order to admire its beautiful stairway. Then, we will resume our trip and head to Galicia. We will visit the historic town of CAMBADOS in Rías Baixas where we will go on a glass bottom boat trip in which we will learn about the production of mussels and oysters. Wine and mussel tasting included. At lunchtime we will arrive in SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, where we will go on a guided tour with a local guide. This town was a famous pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages.

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA 55ºF - LUGO 46ºF - O CEBREIRO 46ºF - LEON 46ºF - OVIEDO 52ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Beautiful landscapes. Visit Oviedo. We will travel along the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) to Castile. In LUGO we will have time to visit the historic town centre and Roman walls, which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will make a stop en route in O´CEBREIRO, a small Galician stone village. Arrival in LEÓN at lunchtime, where we will have time to visit the Gothic cathedral with its stained-glass windows and to stroll through the historic town centre. After that, we will cross the Cantabrian Range mountains on our way to Asturias. Arrival in OVIEDO in the mid-afternoon. We will include (occasionally on Tuesday mornings) an hour-and-a-half visit of the city with a local guide in which we will visit its 9th century cathedral, Calatrava Congressional Palace, Campoamor Theatre and Calle de la Rua.

OVIEDO 52ºF - COVADONGA - SANTILLANA 52ºF - SANTANDER 52ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Fantastic landscapes. Altamira National Museum. Panoramic city tour of Santander. We will travel to Picos de Europa. We will visit Basílica de COVADONGA, which is surrounded by beautiful scenery. Then, we will resume our journey following the coastline to SANTILLANA, one of Spain’s most beautiful towns, and we will visit its well-preserved medieval quarter. We will also visit the National Museum and Research Centre of ALTAMIRA (ticket included) located in the vicinity of this town. We will later travel to SANTANDER, the region’s capital, a coastal city with amazing views and beaches. We will explore and learn about this elegant city and beautiful bay on the included panoramic city tour. NOTE: On some high difficulty dates (especially in summer from May to mid September), some groups can be accommodated in Bilbao.

SANTANDER 52ºF - BILBAO 52ºF - FORONDA SERVICE AREA (REFRESHMENT BREAK) - MADRID 55ºF

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Bilbao. Wine Museum in La Rioja. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Dinner in Zaragoza. We will follow the motorway along the Cantabrian coast; some of the scenery we will go through as we travel between the mountains and the sea is of special beauty. BILBAO. We will arrive in the Bask Country’s largest city and, upon arrival, we will go on a short tour of the city with a local guide which will cover: Guggenheim area, old quarter, Cathedral… then there will be free time for some “pintxos”. After lunch, we will leave Bilbao and head to Madrid where we will be arriving at around 21.00h. Note: In case the group is small, the portion of the trip from Bilbao to Madrid may be done by train or regular transport. End of our services. Please, check the time of your flight in case you might need an additional night.