-Day 1 Start tour
Day 2 Hola Madrid
Meet your tour director and check into hotel
Details: Madrid city walk
Life in Madrid is centred 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: Prado visit
Visit the Museo del Prado, home of works by Spain's great masters, including Francisco Goya, Diego Velázquez, and El Greco. Please note that on some occassions the Prado could be substituted for the Reina Sofia Museum, featuring works from Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí among others.
Day 3 Madrid landmarks
Details: Madrid guided sightseeing tour
Get a taste of Spain's cultural, political and economic center with a tour led by a licensed local guide. See Madrid's mix of traditional and modern as you visit the Royal Palace, an 18th-century masterpiece. The enormous Baroque palace currently has more rooms (2,800) than any other European palace, but it was originally supposed to be four times as large. The palace is dripping with porcelain, jeweled clocks, amazing ceiling frescoes—the most magnificent, in the Throne Room, was done by the Venetian artist Tiepolo when he was in his seventies. Next take a look at the Neoclassical architecture of the Prado Museum and the Puerta de Alcalá triumphal arch, built to honour Carlos III’s entry into Spain.
Details: Tapas dinner
Tapas purportedly originated when bartenders set a small plate ("tapa") over patrons' glasses of sherry and wine to keep the flies out. The bartenders started piling the plate with cold cuts, olives, or salad, and the bite-size snack was born. (We're unsure how they kept the flies out of the cold-cuts... maybe that's how the sandwich was invented?) Over time, these working-class snacks have become more elaborate, with each region adding its own specialties and cooking techniques to create unique tastes and combinations.
Day 4 Madrid--Costa Del Sol
Travel to Costa del Sol via Granada
Details: Alhambra guided visit
Granada sits on three gentle hills, which are dwarfed on a clear day by the majestic snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Atop one of these hill sits the imposing but delicate Alhambra palace. Golden pink hues give this sprawling Moorish castle an otherworldly aura. One of the best rewards of climbing up to see it is the view of the city mixed in with orchards, tobacco fields and poplar groves.
Day 5 Gibraltar
Details: Gibraltar excursion
Venture into tiny Gibraltar, officially a British colony, whose three square miles host over 44 nationalities. Its most famous site, the 1400-foot Rock of Gibraltar, hosts a different species altogether: the Barbary monkeys, the only primates in Europe. Legend says that once they disappear from Gibraltar, so will the British — the British Army actually once took charge of keeping the monkeys well fed. From the top of the Rock you can see into Africa, the only place you can do so in all of Europe. (Non-U.S. citizens should check with their embassy or consulate for entry requirements.)
Day 6 Costa del Sol--Fes
Ferry to Tangiers
Lunch
Travel to Fes
Details: Tangier guided sightseeing tour
Tangier, a Moroccan port on the Strait of Gibraltar, has been a strategic gateway between Africa and Europe since Phoenician times. Its whitewashed hillside medina is home to the Dar el Makhzen, a palace of the sultans that's now a museum of Moroccan artifacts.
Day 7 Fes landmarks
Fes guided sightseeing tourFes-Jdid Mellah, Royal Palace, Fes el Bali Medina, Karaouine Mosque, University of Al-Karaouine, Medersa Bou Inania
Details: Fes guided sightseeing tour
As the former capital of Morocco and one of four Imperial Moroccan cities, Fes is an ancient city full of cultural and religious history. Explore the winding, dusty and car-free streets of Fes el Bali, the walled old city, visit the expansive Royal Palace and gardens, see the towering minaret of Kairaouine Mosque which dates back to 956 AD and head to one of the leading spiritual and educational centers in the Muslim world, the University of Al-Karaouine.
Day 8 Fes--Casablanca
Travel to Casablanca via Rabat
Details: Volubilis Roman Ruins visit
Uncover thousands of years of history at this incredible archaeological site featuring some of the best preserved Roman ruins in North Africa. Founded in the 3rd century B.C., Volubilis served as one of the most important outposts of the Roman Empire before coming under control of the Abbasids in the 6th century and Idris I some 200 years later. (Incidentally, Idris I was founder of the Idrisid dynasty and you can visit his tomb at the nearby town of Moulay Idris.)
Details: Rabat guided sightseeing tour
Morocco’s capital is a mix of governmental buildings, religious institutions, textile factories and tourist attractions. Travel to see the green-roofed Mohamed V Mausoleum, considered a masterpiece of Alaouite dynasty architecture and the huge Hassan Tower, a red sandstone minaret that was started in 1195 AD but never completed. Located right in the heart of Rabat, the Royal Palace is a sumptuous example of Islamic architecture and is seat of the Moroccan government and home to the King of Morocco.
Day 9 End tour
Details: Fly home from Casablanca
You may fly home late on Day 9 or early on Day 10.
Day 9 Start extension to Marrakech
Travel to Marrakech
Details: Casablanca guided sightseeing tour (time permitting)
Follow in the footsteps of Hollywood legends in the city made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. On this walking tour of North Africa’s largest port city, take in old world Arab-Muslim architecture juxtaposing modern European designs. Notice striking cultural detail from the Royal Palace to the seventh largest mosque in the world, the Hassan II Mosque, that towers majestically over Casablanca’s skyline. Then, meander the souks of the Old Medina swirling with silks, spices and artisan crafts before kicking back to piano tunes at Rick’s Café. (Go on … request As Time Goes By. Just one more time!)
Day 10 Marrakech--Casablanca
Travel to Casablanca
Details: Marrakech guided sightseeing tour
Marrakesh, a former imperial city in western Morocco, is a major economic center and home to mosques, palaces and gardens. The medina is a densely packed, walled medieval city dating to the Berber Empire, with mazelike alleys where thriving souks (marketplaces) sell traditional textiles, pottery and jewelry. A symbol of the city, and visible for miles, is the Moorish minaret of 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque.
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip airfare
- 7 overnight stays (9 with extension) in hotels with private bathrooms
- Full European breakfast daily
- Dinner daily
- Lunch on Day 6
- Full-time services of a professional Tour Director
- Guided sightseeing tours and city walks as per itinerary
- Visits to select attractions as per itinerary
- Tour Diary™
- 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. Please visit our Fees FAQ page for a full list of items that may not be included in the cost of your tour.
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