Alfarnatejo (Spain) | Algarve (Portugal) | Avila (Spain) | Barcelona (Spain) | Costa del Sol (Spain) | Fatima (Portugal) | Gibraltar | Granada (Spain) | Lisbon (Portugal) | Madrid (Spain) | Obidos (Portugal) | Porto (Portugal) | Salamanca (Spain) | Segovia (Spain) | Seville (Spain) | Torremolinos (Spain) | Valencia (Spain)
The following are Best of Spain and Portugal - Small Group end Barcelona tour dates available from Trafalgar. Select a bonus offer graphic to view its details, including its terms.
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Arrive in Madrid, Spainās capital since the 16th century, where the grand layout of the Bourbon period meets older barrios built around markets and neighborhood squares. Meet your Travel Director and your small group over dinner in a local restaurant, sharing a meal and getting to know the people youāll be traveling with across Spain and Portugal.
Explore Madridās central neighborhoods with your Local Specialist, moving through the Old Quarter that grew around the cityās original medieval fortress and later expanded under the Habsburgs. Continue to the Prado Museum, founded in 1819 and recognized for its extensive European collection. Youāll join an art historian to view works by VelĆ”zquez, Goya, Titian, Rubens and others, gaining clear context for the artists who shaped Spainās cultural record.
Travel to Segovia and walk its historic streets with a Local Specialist, viewing the AlcĆ”zar fortress that once guarded the approach to the Castilian plain. After your stop at the AlcĆ”zar, youāll continue to the Roman aqueduct, a 1st-century engineering work that supplied the city with water for centuries. From here, youāll journey on to Salamanca, passing the medieval walls of Ćvila. On arrival, your inimitable Local Specialist will guide you to Plaza Mayor and the university buildings that shaped the cityās academic life from the 13th century.
Cross into Portugal and travel to Porto, a city shaped by its medieval Ribeira district and long history of Atlantic trade. Begin at the wine cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, where port has been stored and aged since the 18th century, and join a guided tasting that introduces the regionās unmistakable flavors, from the golden tawny to deep red rubies. Continue with an orientation tour led by your Travel Director through the key riverside quarters and stepped streets. Afterwards, youāll have time to explore spots such as the SĆ£o Bento stationās tile panels, the riverside lanes of the Ribeira, or the compact merchantsā quarters around ClĆ©rigos Tower.
Travel south to FĆ”tima, Portugalās most renowned place of pilgrimage, marked by the Sanctuary complex built after the reported apparitions of 1917. Continue to Ćbidos and walk within its medieval walls, moving through narrow lanes and whitewashed houses that reflect the townās fortified character. Try the local cherry liqueur, ginja, traditionally served in small chocolate cups, before traveling on to Lisbon, a coastal capital shaped by Moorish foundations and centuries of maritime trade. You may choose to join an Optional Experience and dine at a family-run restaurant known for its traditional Portuguese seafood.
Explore Lisbon with a Local Specialist, beginning in the Baixaās Lower Town and the broad Pombal Square, rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. Continue into the BelĆ©m Quarter to view the Monument to the Discoveries and the BelĆ©m Tower, and pause to try pastĆ©is de BelĆ©m, the custard tarts first baked by Jerónimos monks in the 19th century. Visit the National Coach Museum to see its collection of royal carriages from the 16th to 19th centuries. Later, enjoy free time to follow the riverfront paths of BelĆ©m, browse Chiadoās shops or take the tram up to Alfama.
Depart Portugal this morning and travel south into the Algarve, pausing in one of the regionās coastal towns for lunch. Long shaped by fishing, trade and a warmer Atlantic climate, the Algarve brings a different character to the day before you continue east and cross into Spain. From here, travel through the landscapes of AndalucĆa and arrive in Seville later in the afternoon. The evening is at leisure in Seville, giving you the chance to make the most of the city after dark. You might stroll through Santa Cruz, settle into a tapas bar in Triana where flamenco has deep roots, or head to a rooftop terrace for views across the historic center.
Meet your Local Specialist and explore Seville, viewing the symbolic Giralda bell tower and the Moorish-inspired MarĆa Luisa Park, with its tiled fountains, pavilions and ponds, before seeing the exterior of Seville Cathedral and walking through the former Jewish quarter. Spend the rest of the morning at leisure with time to visit the Plaza de EspaƱa or wander the lanes around the riverfront near Torre del Oro. In the afternoon, take part in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTERĀ® Experience at the Cristina Heeren Foundation, where a flamenco instructor will guide you through the basic rhythms and movements taught at this renowned school dedicated to preserving Andalusiaās artistic traditions.
Cross into Gibraltar for a closer look at this unique slice of the peninsula. Head up the Rock with a Local Specialist and explore St. Michaelās Cave ā a vast limestone chamber shaped by thousands of years of water and mineral movement. Keep an eye out for the Barbary macaques that live here under protected status. Youāll then follow the road along the Costa del Sol, tracing the shoreline past small coves and resort towns before rolling into Torremolinos for the evening.
A free day on the Costa del Sol gives you room to set your own pace. Wander Torremolinosā old fishing quarter in La Carihuela, stopping for fried pescaĆto or grilled sardines along the promenade. Walk the beachfront path towards BenalmĆ”dena, or head into MĆ”laga for its Alcazaba, cathedral and small neighborhood markets. If you prefer to keep things simple, spend the day drifting between cafes, shade and sea.
Travel into the hills around Alfarnatejo and walk the small town center with your Travel Director, passing quiet squares and the Iglesia del Santo Cristo de Cabrilla. Youāll head out to one of the areaās oldest olive groves to see how the trees are tended on this dry mountain terrain. At a rural mill, taste a few of the local oils with fresh bread and hear how each blend changes with the harvest and the age of the trees. Sit down to a home-cooked lunch with a local family ā simple Andalusian dishes, seasonal produce and a chance to hear how life moves in this part of the region. Afterwards, continue to Granada for a guided visit to the Alhambra with a Local Specialist, stepping through courtyards, carved plasterwork and gardens that trace the long Nasrid period of the city.
Upon arrival to Valencia stop to see the City of Arts and Sciences, the striking cultural complex built along the former Turia riverbed after the river was diverted in the 20th century. Continue through the ancient city gates to the Old City. You may wish to browse the shops, stop for a drink or take a short walk through the city center before dinner. This evening, join your group in a local restaurant for Paella Valenciana, the rice dish that has its roots in the fields and kitchens of this region.
Follow the coast north to PeƱĆscola and where youāll pause to view the 14th-century castle built by the Knights Templar, set high above the sea on a rocky headland. Continue along the Costa Dorada towards Sant SadurnĆ dāAnoia, long recognized as the heart of Spainās cava industry. Stop at a local bodega for a light lunch and a tasting, with an explanation of how the traditional method ā secondary fermentation in the bottle, long ageing on the lees and hand riddling ā shapes the character of each style. Travel onwards with your group to Barcelona, crossing into the wider metropolitan area before reaching the city center later in the day.
Enjoy early access to the Palau de la MĆŗsica Catalana. Take a drive through Barcelona with a LocalĀ Specialist along Passeig de GrĆ cia, where youāll pass balconies, stonework and rooflines shaped by the Modernista architects who rebuilt the cityās identity at the turn of the 20th century. Continue into the Eixample, following the sharp grid and open junctions that make this district easy to read from above and at street level. Youāll visit the Sagrada FamĆlia and stand close enough to see the differences between GaudĆās early stonework and the ongoing construction that rises around it. In the evening, meet your group for a final dinner, raising a glass to the days youāve spent traveling through Spain and Portugal and the moments that stitched the trip together. Ā *Please note that access to the basilica may be restricted for special masses, pilgrim visits or official ceremonies, and we may be unable to secure tickets to visit. Should this occur during your tour, you will visit the Hospital de Sant Pau instead, a striking example of Catalan Art Nouveau designed by GaudĆās contemporary, DomĆØnech i Montaner. Afterwards, join your Local Specialist in the gardens surrounding the Sagrada FamĆlia and take in the extraordinary exterior of GaudĆās iconic masterpiece.
Transfer to the airport, saying goodbye to your Small Group and Travel Director and bringing your journey through Spain and Portugal to a close.
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