Spanish and Portuguese Landscapes

Welcome to Madrid!
Welcome to EuropaMundo!!!.  


IMPORTANT -  IF YOU REQUESTED ADDITIONAL NIGHTS on arrival at the hotel you will have your booking made but the guide of your trip will normally not arrive until the start of the included activities. YOUR TIME BEFORE THIS MOMENT IS THEREFORE FREE. At your hotel they can help you with all the information you need.  

NB:   The schedules you will find in this itinerary are approximate. The guide, depending on the situation and in order to improve the development of the circuit, may adjust the schedules. 

Upon arrival at the airport, we shall be waiting to transfer you to your hotel.  Check the informative panels in the hotel reception area for the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travellers to receive information about the circuit. 

Towards the end of the day, we provide transfers to the Egyptian Debod temple, Plaza de España and Gran Vía, a vibrant district where you can dine at your preferred restaurant, Indian, Chinese, Spanish and Middle Eastern are some of the options.

Highlights: Guided tour and stroll through Retiro Park. Visit to Las Ventas Bullring (admission included) and transfer to Plaza del Oriente.   

The day starts about 08.30 hrs with a comprehensive tour through the centre of Madrid including Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá,  Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor. 

Visit to Retiro Park , an oasis in the city centre, where we will see the lake and the Glass Palace. Admission to Las Ventas Bullring included . This is one of the most famous bullrings in the world where we will learn about the tradition of “corridas” in the Bullfighting Museum. 

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon.


At sunset we provide a transfer to Plaza de Oriente , opposite the Royal Palace, an elegant and bustling area with many restaurants serving different exquisite cuisines (Indian, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Spanish, International)  in which to enjoy a pleasant dinner. Return to hotel.

Total distance:  450 km 
Scenery: The plains of La Mancha with the shadow of some mills and the great extensions of olive groves in the province of Jaén.
N ote: i f the group of English-speaking travelers is fewer than 10, they will share the trip to Granada with Spanish-speaking passengers).

08:00 hrs. - Madrid – departure. We travel to the South.  We stop at PUERTO LÁPICE, a beautiful town of La Mancha plain evoking the figure of Don Quixote de la Mancha. 

13:45 hrs. - GRANADA  – Arrival at the hotel.  Lunch included.   After lunch, we head to the Alhambra to visit the palace and the gardens of the Generalife;  Reservation, local guide and entrance included.

19.00 hrs.- Enjoy an  evening transfer to the Albaicín of Granada , a World Heritage site along with the Alhambra, where you can enjoy dinner in a restaurant  in the narrow winding streets of this captivating Medieval Moorish quarter. Return to hotel. Tonight you have the option to attend a flamenco dance show and the traditional neighborhood of Sac­ramonte.


Note : In the Alhmabra complex, the Nazari palaces allow a limited number of people in at a time. Sometimes your visit may be in the afternoon, depending on the timetables in which we are allowed in. In the highly improbable case of not being able to visit this area of the Alhambra, a visit to the Alcázares, which have similar architecture and features,  will be included in Seville

Total distance:  400 km 
Scenery: Mediterranean and mountain scenery.   

08:00h Granada – We set out for the Costa del Sol. 
10.00 hrs- Málaga - Arrival and time for a stroll in the historic centre with its cathedral and the Picasso Museum. 

11:30h.- We will leave Malaga and continue along the coastal motorway with beautiful views of the Mediterranean. 
12.30 hrs. - Arrival at Puerto Banus, in Marbella , a pretty high level recreational port. Time to stroll on the marina, with its cosmopolitan, luxurious atmosphere. 

15.00h Marbella – We leave for the mountains, which was once overrun by bandolliers. 
16.30 h Ronda – Arrival at the “White City”, located in a magnificent natural setting with its large gorge that divides it in two. Time to explore.

18:00h Ronda – Continuation to Seville.
20:00h Seville – Arrival at the end of the afternoon. 

Highlights:   Guided visit with local expert in Seville.  Boat trip along the river Guadalquivir.   Evening transfer.


After breakfast, a local expert guides you through a scenic visit of Sevilla (if the English-speaking group is fewer than fifteen people, the tour can be conducted in both English and Spanish). Lasting one hour and a half featuring the Cathedral and the Giralda, Plaza de España, the beautiful banks of the river Guadalquivir, the Golden Tower, the districts of Santa Cruz and Triana, the Maestranza Bullring, and Cartuja Island. After the tour, we will include a  boat trip along the river Guadalquivir , enjoying the panoramic views from the boat. Enjoy leisure time straight afterwards or the tours to the Cathedral or the Flamenco Show that will be offered  as optionals by your guide. 

At the end of the afternoon, we will go to the historic city centre area ( calle Alfonso XII) where many different restaurants can be found. You can choose your favorite cuisine: Indian, Halal, Chinese, Spanish, International and so on.  Return to the hotel.

Total distance: 495km  
Scenery: : Attractive landscapes of white villages, mountain ranges, castles en route. 
Note: In Portugal we must set our watches back one hour.   

08.30 hrs.- Seville- – departure-. We travel to the west of Andalusia. Pleasant landscapes en route.
 
10.00 hrs.- Rabida Monastery – We visit ( entrance included) this Franciscan monastery  where Christopher Columbus got help to start his journey. We will know the monastery.  After the monastery we will visit the Caravels Museum, an open air museum located in Palos de la Frontera, the port from where he embarked on his voyage, where there are replicas of the caravels with which Columbus left for the Americas.

12.15 hrs.- Palos de la Frontera. We leave Andalusia to set out for Portugal. We enter the Algarve region and continue between mountains towards the interior of the country.
  13.15 (14.15h. in Spain)- Mertola . We stop in this picturesque white city, old Muslim population. Its present church was once a mosque. Time for lunch.

14.45 hrs.- Mertola. Departure. We travel through the Alentejo region.
16.30 hrs. - Évora. – Arrival. To the capital of the Alentejo, one of the oldest cities in Portugal with its wide streets, its Renaissance policies and its cathedral, a city declared by Unesco World Heritage. We include entrance to the Chapel of the Bones built with 5000 skeletons.

18.30 hrs. - Évora. -departure. 
20.00 hrs. – Lisbon. Arrival.

Highlights-  Comprehensive tour of Lisbon. Night transfer to Restauradores Square.

09:00h. - Start of our  tour with a local guide  (explanations may be given by our guide if the group has fewer than 12 people). We visit traditional neighborhoods, which take in the Belem district, which is the birthplace of the great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the fifteen century.  We shall look round the Monument to the Discoveries, Belem Tower and to the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 
The afternoon is free so that you can explore this great city independently.


18:00h.- At the end of the afternoon, we include transportation to  Restauradores Square  , full of atmosphere with its bars and cafes from where you can take the "Elevador da Gloria" (not included) that brings you to the Upper district and its viewpoint of San Pedro with beautiful views over Lisbon and the Bairro Alto. Return to hotel.

Total distance covered: 320 km.
  
Countryside:  Pleasant green scenery, hills, historic cities.    

07:30 hrs - Lisbon - Departure.  
09:15 hrs - Fatima  -Arrival. Time to visit the Sanctuary.   

11.00 hrs - Fatima - Departure.   
13:30 hrs - Oporto.  - Arrival. Time for lunch. In the afternoon, we will make a  tour of the city  of approximately two hours  with a local guide:  the river Duero, its historic centre declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Iron Bridge. At the end of the tour, we will also  visit one of its centenary wineries  where the famous "Vino de Oporto” is made.  Free time. 

Total distance covered: 270 km.
 
Countryside:  Beautiful green countryside and views over the Rías Bajas. 
NB:  Remember that we will be taking a boat trip. Have you got warm clothing for the crossing?   

08.00hrs.- Oporto -departure. 
09.00 hrs. - in the city of  Braga  is the  sanctuary of Bom Jesus ; we include a trip on the oldest funicular in the world... Moved only with water, after a visit to the sanctuary, we suggest walking down the beautiful staircase admiring the views and the sanctuary gardens.  

10:15 hrs Bom Jesus -departure. We go into to Galicia, with views over the Galician estuaries. We will see the Ría de Arosa. 
13.00 hrs (12.00 hrs in Portugal) - Cambados  - Arrival. A historic maritime town. We include a  glass bottomed boat trip along the Ría de Arosa  estuary. We will be told how mussels are grown. On the boat, we include  wine tasting and mussels.  Time afterwards to stroll in Cambados and have lunch. 

16.00 hrs -Cambados. - Departure.  
16.45 hrs -Santiago de Compostela.  - Arrival. We include a  panoramic tour of the city  with a local guide. They will tell us how St James brought pilgrims over the centuries, we will stroll through the mediaeval streets in the centre and admire the cathedral.  

NB:  On some dates (particularly on the festivity of Santiago, or St James) our groups may be accommodated in a town near Santiago. 

Total distance covered: 660 km.
  
Countryside:  Attractive green scenery, villages. Castilian landscapes.

08.00 hrs. - Santiago -departure. Following the ancient way of St James amidst picturesque scenery, we travel to Lugo.   
09:30 hrs.- Lugo  - Free time, you can stroll around its walls built more than 2000 years ago by the Romans, declared UNESCO World Heritage.  

11.00 hrs.- Lugo -departure. We travel to Castile, and on our way we make a stop at O Cebreiro, a small Galician stone village that shows us this region’s traditional way of life. 
14:15 hrs. -Leon . - Time for lunch and stroll in this historic Leonese capital which stands on the Way of St James. Its Gothic cathedral stands out with magnificent stained glass windows.   

16:45 hrs -Leon. - Departure. W e leave Leon for  MADRID , arriving at around 21.00hrs. 


Note:  If the number of travellers from Leon to Madrid is very small, the trip may be done by train or regular transport.   

End of our services. Check the time of your flight in case you need an additional night.