ESSENTIAL SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

After arriving at Madrid-Barajas Airport, we will be greeted and transferred to our hotel.

We will have the rest of the day to relax and begin enjoying the capital of Spain.

Madrid, lively and awake at all hours, is famous for being an open city where people of all kinds and from anywhere come together.

In addition to its well-known museums, lively avenues with all kinds of shops, world cuisine restaurants, and incomparable nightlife, Madrid surprises with quiet historic corners full of charm for strolls.

There, we will find centuries-old taverns with family traditions where friends gather for a drink, neighborhoods of all styles, and alternative cultural centers away from the more touristy circuits.

At the same time, this city has an authenticity that is hard to match. It is hospitable, diverse, and undoubtedly one of the most interesting in Europe.

Greca Tip: As in any other large city, the center of Madrid offers a diverse variety of gastronomic venues to suit all tastes, where you can taste the traditional local tapas.

The morning will start with a complete breakfast at the hotel and at the indicated time you will meet the group to do a comprehensive tour through the center of Madrid including the Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá, Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor.

Then you will visit Retiro Park, an oasis in the city center, where you will see the lake and the Glass Palace. A visit to Las Ventas Bullring is next. This is one of the most famous bullrings in the world, where you will learn about the tradition of the “corridas” at the Bullfighting Museum.

Admission is included to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid, considered by many to be the best football club in the world. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon at your leisure.

Greca Tip: Las Ventas Bullring was used as a stadium in the past. The Beatles performed there in 1965.

After breakfast you will leave Madrid and travel towards Extremadura. Once in Merida we´ll visit the archaeological complex of the Roman Theatre and Amphitheatre (tickets included), a World Heritage Site renowned for its excellent state of preservation. There will be time for lunch in the pleasant pedestrian historic center bustling with life and restaurants.

After crosing the border you will get in Portugal. The first stop will be in Evora a World Heritage city with its white streets, its Renaissance palaces and its cathedral. In this small village, you will get in to the impressive chapel of bones, built using 5,000 skeletons!

Your day will end in Lisbon, arriving at the end of the afternoon.

Greca Tip: Lisbon is much older than Rome. Archaeological evidence goes back to the indigenous population. The settlement at Lisbon dates back to at least the 8th and 6th (BC), and the first settlers traded with Carthaginians.

In the morning, after a full breakfast, you will have a sightseeing tour with a local guide. You will visit the tra­ditional neighborhoods including the Belem district, which is the birthplace of the great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the Fifteenth Century.

You 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 to explore the city at your own leisure.

In the late afternoon, will be an available 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 Barrio Alto. Return to the hotel at night.

Greca Tip: Around the world, there are about 250 million Portuguese speakers, and this language is spoken all the way from Angola to Brazil. In fact, this language is ranked 5th among world languages with an impressive number of native speakers.

When breakfast is done, you will head to the north of Portugal and visit Fatima. The sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima has become, throughout the years, the fourth biggest catholic pilgrimage site in the world, due to the apparitions of Virgin Mary to three little shepherds in 1917.

You will continue on your way through to Porto, Portugal’s second largest city. Here you 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. Will also be possible to visit to the old cellars. 

The Porto wine, or vinho do Porto, comes from the world’s third oldest protected wine-producing region. The most famous product of Porto is the eponymous wine known as port. It’s been popular for a very long time.

The Douro wine-producing region is the third oldest and most protected one of its kind.

The rest of day will be free for you to enjoy.

Greca Tip: The Portuguese believe in fate, whether good or bad. It is part of their fantastic culture. One example of a word usually used by the locals is the ‘saudade.’ This word refers to an intense and sorrowful longing or nostalgia for someone or something you miss deeply and can never get back.

On this day you will travel through beautiful landscapes after a complete breakfast.

The first stop will be in the city of Braga, you will get on the world’s oldest cable car to ride up to the Santuário do Bom Jesús, where you will enjoy its gorgeous views. We recommend trekking back down in order to admire its beautiful stairway.

Then, you will resume the trip and head to Galicia. On the way you will visit the historic town of Cambados in Rías Baixas where you will go on a glass bottom boat trip in which you will learn about the production of mussels and oysters. Wine and mussel tasting included.

At lunchtime you will arrive in Santiago de Compostela, where you will go on a guided tour with a local guide. This town was a famous pilgrimage destination since the Middle Ages.

Greca Tip: We recommend watching "The Way", a film that will get you in the story of pilgrimage.

After breakfast, you will travel along the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) to Castile region. 

First stop it's in Lugo, you will have time to visit the historic town center and Roman walls, which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Following the way, you will make a stop on route in O Cebreiro, a small Galician stone village. Arrival in León at lunchtime, where you will have time to visit the Gothic cathedral with its stained-glass windows and to stroll through the historic town center. 

The cathedral was built on the site of the old Romanesque cathedral, the remains of the Palace of Ordoño II and the Roman baths. 

You will depart Leon at around 17:00h and arrive in Madrid at around 21.00h.

Tip Greca: In León it is possible to find Gaudí's art. The Casa Botines (built 1891-1892) is a modernist building. It currently houses a museum dedicated to Gaudi, Spanish art of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the history of the building itself. After being built for a fabrics company, it was adapted to serve as the headquarters of a local savings bank.

After a tasty breakfast, the tour will come to an end, hopefully full of unforgettable memories!

Having spent a few fantastic days with Greca, we hope to see you again soon to help create and enjoy some more wonderful moments that you will cherish forever!

Have a nice trip! Or, as Spanish people say: "¡Buen viaje!".

Greca Tip: Extend your stay in Madrid at Step 1 of your reservation!