Language Immersion: Madrid

Lanugage Immersion: Madrid| Explorica Educational Travel
¡Hola Madrid! Dive right into Spanish language and culture in Spain's beautiful capital with themed classes and activities that will get you conversing with locals in no time.
Learn more
-
Day 1 Overnight Flight to Spain (Madrid)
Day 2 Hola Madrid (must depart North America on a Saturday)
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Details: Madrid city walk
Life in Madrid is centered around talking, toasting and tapas-eating. In a walk through this crowded and social city, your Tour Director will help you get to know the lay of the land. Then stroll over to the Puerta del Sol, the bustling city center. Next, you'll relax at the Plaza Mayor, a grand square where every sort of human drama has taken place—trials of faith, public burnings of heretics, royal marriages, the canonization of saints, and countless balls and bullfights. End at the Plaza de España for a stop at an outdoor café.
Details: Puerta del Sol
Explore the Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid's busiest and most historic squares. While here we will view the Kilometre Zero marker, from which all distances in Spain are measured, and Madrid’s symbol, the Madrono.
Details: Plaza Mayor
Spend time in the Plaza Mayor, Madrid's most famous square. Throughout its long history the square has hosted markets, bullfights, soccer games, public executions, and the Spanish Inquisition. It is now ringed by shops and cafés and is often filled with artists and musicians.
Details: Plaza de España
The Plaza de España is a popular place to gather in Central Madrid. It features a large monument to Miguel de Cervante, author of Don Quixote.
Day 3 Spanish History
Tapas dinner
Details: Conversational Spanish language class
Prepare for an afternoon of immersive activities with a three-hour conversation class focusing on a new theme each day!
Details: Toledo guided excursion
Long the spiritual capital of Spain, Toledo still captures the heart with its spectacular surroundings of ochre-colored mountains. El Greco created some of his greatest works here, including his most famous painting, "The Burial of Count Orgaz." You’ll also see the city's cathedral, St. Mary's Synagogue, and the Church of Santo Tomé.
Details: Toledo Cathedral visit
Enter Toledo Cathedral, a Gothic landmark filled with remarkable art and history. Admire the dramatic Transparente, El Greco’s Twelve Apóstoles, and an exquisite alabaster Last Supper. Then see the famous 500-pound gilded monstrance, believed to contain New World gold and still used in Toledo’s annual Corpus Christi procession.
Details: St. Mary’s Synagogue visit
Visit The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, the oldest intact synagogue building in Europe. As it was constructed by the Christian Kingdom of Castile and designed by Islamic architects for Jewish use, it is considered a symbol of cooperation among the three religions.
Details: Sword factory visit
Toledo is famous for its traditional crafts, especially sword-making. Find out more at a local Toledo sword factory.
Day 4 Spanish Gastronomy
Conversational Spanish language class
Mercado San Anton interactive visit
Details: Spanish cooking class
Learn to cook with the foods that the country you are touring is most famous for. Join a professional chef in the kitchen to learn how to make delicious traditional dishes – and then reward your hard work with a taste of the finished product!
Day 5 Spanish Heritage
Conversational Spanish language class
Flamenco Lesson & Show
Details: Las Ventas Bullring guided visit
Bullfighting is an important aspect of Spanish culture. Get the chance to tour an actual bullring and learn about the history of this Spanish art form.
Day 6 Spanish Art
Conversational Spanish language class
Details: Royal Palace visit
Browse through the 3,418 rooms in the largest palace in Europe. Art lovers will marvel at the walls lined with priceless paintings, but don’t expect to catch a glimpse of the Spanish royal family—they reside elsewhere.
Details: Reina Sofía Museum visit
Officially recognized as Spain’s National Museum of 20th-Century Art, the Sofía— as it’s commonly known—stands as a cornerstone of modern Spanish culture. Its collection showcases pivotal works by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, artists who helped redefine modern art on a global scale. Picasso’s Guernica anchors the museum as a powerful symbol of 20th-century history and expression, complemented by a vibrant library, archive, bookstore, and restaurant that make the Sofía a dynamic center for contemporary culture.
Day 7 Spanish Culture
Conversational Spanish language class
Details: Parque del Retiro visit
Enjoy the relaxing atmosphere in the Parque del Retiro, once the grounds of Felipe IV’s royal palace complex. Our visit gives us the opportunity to interact with the locals, and perhaps visit the vendors or listen to the musicians that always seem to be present.
Details: Real Madrid Stadium guided visit
Tour of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of the Real Madrid football club. The third most visited museum in Madrid. The museum compiles all of the history surrounding the club and has interactive screens to learn everything about the team. Our tour will include a walk on the field and an opportunity to enter the dressing room of the team to feel the excitement the players feel before going out on the pitch. (The tour may be modified in the event of a match day.)
Day 8 El Escorial & Segovia
Details: El Escorial & Segovia guided excursion
In the mountains northwest of Madrid, El Escorial was commissioned by Philip II as a monastery and palace. Though impressively enormous, El Escorial is almost stark—the undecorated rooms that Philip occupied show the king’s simple tastes (later kings added just a bit more decoration). Many Spaniards consider this feat of architectural excess the eighth wonder of the world. Continue on to beautiful medieval Segovia for the 2,000-year-old, 30-meter-high Roman aqueduct and the almost fairytale-like castle of the Alcázar, extensively rebuilt in 1862 in an exaggerated version of the 15th-century original.
Details: Segovia Alcázar visit
A castle fit for a king! This stone fortification rises up imposingly from a rocky crag in the old city of Segovia. See its towering round turrets, spindly spires, luxurious throne room and fully stocked armory.
-
Day 9 Flight home from Madrid

  • Or
  • -
    Day 9 Start extension to Barcelona
    Travel to Barcelona on the AVE
    Day 10 Barcelona landmarks
    Details: Barcelona guided sightseeing tour
    Experience the best of Barcelona, a vibrant city where Gothic churches, colorful mosaics, and bold modernist architecture all blend together in unforgettable ways. Wander through lively streets lined with wrought-iron balconies and buzzing cafés as your local guide introduces you to the city’s most iconic sights. Take in an outside view of La Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s astonishing unfinished basilica, before heading into the bright, imaginative world of Park Güell, where sweeping terraces and vivid tilework overlook the entire city. Then continue up to Montjuïc, the historic hill that has witnessed centuries of battles and later welcomed the 1992 Olympics, offering panoramic views and a perfect look at Barcelona’s mix of creativity, culture, and history.
    Details: Gaudí’s Sagrada Família
    This breathtaking basilica, widely regarded as Antoni Gaudí’s greatest masterpiece, has been rising slowly over Barcelona’s skyline since 1882. Its soaring towers, intricate façades and dreamlike geometry make it one of the most extraordinary architectural projects in the world, and with completion expected in 2026, you’ll witness a landmark still very much in the making.
    Details: Montjuïc Hill
    Travel to Barcelona’s mountain of Montjuïc, the focal point of two of the city’s key international events: the World’s Fair of 1929, of which many structures still remain; and the 1992 Olympic Games. Montjuïc features the largest "green zone" in the city with miles of forests and parks.
    Details: Park Güell visit
    Discover the whimsical world of Park Güell, one of the most iconic elements of the UNESCO-listed “Works of Antoni Gaudí.” This imaginative hillside park blends vibrant mosaics, organic forms, and sweeping city views. Highlights include the famous mosaic lizard, the colorful serpentine bench, and the forest of Doric columns ingeniously designed to function as part of Gaudí’s drainage system. It’s a place where architecture, nature, and artistry come together in unforgettable ways.
    Details: Las Ramblas scavenger hunt
    Take interactive learning to another level with a Tour Director-led scavenger hunt of Las Ramblas, the most famous pedestrian street of Barcelona! Complete exciting activities and solve fun clues. Each clue and every activity is built to maximize on-tour experiential learning.
    Details: Paella dinner
    Paella is a Valencian rice dish with ancient roots that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near Albufera lagoon on the east coast of Spain.
    Day 11 Flight home from Barcelona
    Map of Lanugage Immersion: Madrid| Explorica Educational Travel
    Tour Includes:
    • Round-trip airfare
    • 7 overnight stays (9 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
    • Full European breakfast daily
    • Dinner daily
    • Full-time services of a professional tour director
    • Guided sightseeing tours & city walks as per itinerary
    • Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
    • Language classes (15 hours)
    • Tour Diary™
    • Tapas Dinner
    • Local Guide and Local Bus Driver tips; see note regarding other important tips
    • Note: On arrival day only dinner is provided; on departure day, only breakfast is provided
    • Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Optional excursions, optional pre-paid Tour Director and multi-day bus driver tipping, among other individual and group customizations will be listed as separate line items in the total trip cost, if included.

    We are better able to assist you with a quote for your selected departure date and city over the phone. Please call 1.888.378.8845 to price this tour with your requested options.

    Tours departing in October 2027 or later cannot be priced here. Click here to get a price quote or call us at 800-771-5353 to price your trip.

    Please select a postal code
    0.00 total fee
    Basic Options


    Estimate total number in your group, including yourself and any chaperones
    Private Tour
    Please wait while we process your request...

    This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; others help us improve the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our privacy-policy to learn more.