Scintillating Spain (07 nights/08 days)

Day 1: Arrive Madrid

Arrive in Madrid. Transfer from airport to hotel. Rest of the evening free for leisure to explore the beautiful city on your own. Overnight in Madrid.

Day 2: Hop on Hop off Tour

Today after breakfast, enjoy all the major sights of the city and learn about its history with this Hop-on Hop-off tour valid for one day. The funniest and easiest way to know the city on our double decker buses. With one ticket, you will be able to hop on and off the bus all day along the route of your choice or change to another, admiring the architectural and cultural magnificence of Madrid, with the commentaries offered through a headphones audio system in eleven different languages (Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and Japanese). The operational frequency, depending on the season of the year, ranges approximately between 8 and 15 minutes and every route takes about 80 min. The tour offers you 2 Hop-on Hop-off routes to customise your own tour of Madrid. Route number 1 (blue colour) covers the major sights of the city and the route number 2 (green colour) gives you easy access to many of Madrid’s top museums, shops and attractions. Overnight in Madrid.

Day 3: Half day Toledo 

Today after breakfast, discover the “City of the Three Cultures”! A half day visit to Toledo, one of the oldest cities in Europe, to see the most important of the city’s monuments. Located 70 km away from Madrid is Toledo, a beautiful city-museum declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is one of the oldest towns in Europe and has a great artistic beauty and buildings from almost all periods in history (Arabian, Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance and Baroque style). Toledo is called the “City of the Three Cultures”, since Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together. In the XVI century, it was also the place of residence of the great painter El Greco. ITINERARY: Outside view of the Cathedral; Church of St. Tome with El Entierro del se or de Orgaz, masterpiece of El Greco; Synagogue of Sta. Maria la Blanca; Museum of Victorio Macho; Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes; demonstration of the famous technique of damascene (incrustation of precious metals in steel) and panoramic sightseeing of Toledo. Evening free for leisure. Overnight in Madrid.

Day 4: Madrid – Barcelona 

Today after breakfast, check out of the hotel to board your train Barcelona. Evening free for leisure. Overnight in Barcelona.

Day 5: Hop on Hop off Tour

Today after breakfast, discover the sights of Barcelona while travelling on a double-decker bus. This tour is operated by double-decker open-top buses offering the most convenient way to discover the most interesting museums and attractive sights this exciting city has to offer. You can get on and off as many times as you wish at any of the 44 stops, combining the three routes within the same ticket. A brief explanation at the stops will be given by a guide who is travelling on board. You will also be provided with a guide book on three different languages. Overnight in Barcelona.

Day 6: Free for Leisure

Today after breakfast, enjoy the day at leisure to explore the beautiful city on your own. Overnight in Barcelona.

Day 7: Montserrat Half Day Morning Tour

Today after breakfast, enjoy a visit to the Royal Basilica on Montserrat Mountain’s Natural Park. Start your half day trip from Barcelona in a comfortable Bus to the mountain of Montserrat which rises majestically to 4,051 feet (1,236 meter). The popular imagination has seen human or animal shape in some of these peaks, giving those names and inventing legends to explain their fantastic origins. This trip to Montserrat will give you the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful and breathtaking views of the Montserrat Mountain, one of nature’s special creations. You will visit the Royal Basilica of Montserrat, which holds the famous 12th century Romanesque carving of Virgen Moreneta (the Black Virgin). You will be able to see this famous statue of the Black Virgin from a distance. The Benedict sanctuary of Montserrat has been founded in 1025 and provides a mystical backdrop for the Virgin of Montserrat, the patron saint of Catalonia who is enshrined in the monastery’s Royal Basilica. The little monastery soon began to receive pilgrims and visitors who contributed to the spread of stories of miracles and wonders performed by the Virgin. Today, Montserrat has been modernized to continue attending to the needs to pilgrims, one thousand years after it was originally founded. You will be given some free time to visit the audiovisual exhibition about the history and creation of Montserrat. And taste typical liquors of Montserrat. On some days the children’s choir sings in the monastery and so you may be fortunate enough to catch one of their delightful performances. Overnight in Barcelona.

Day 8: Depart Barcelona

Today after breakfast, check out of the hotel and transfer to airport to board your flight back to India.