Customized Group Travel and Tours to Europe Asia Middle East North America STS

Destination > Europe > Spain

Spanish Fiesta

Day 1: Home - Paris

Depart today by wide bodied jet for Paris.

Day 2: Paris (D)

Today you arrive in Paris. Upon arrival you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. En route, enjoy a panoramic sightseeing tour of this city of perfume and charm, everlastingly beautiful and unchanged. No other city has lavished such energy and attention upon its music halls and cabarets: such names as “Opera Comique”, “Follies Bergere” and “Casino de Paris” are famous around the world. Your city tour including Les Grand’s Boulevard, L’Opera, Place de la Concorde, Les Champs Elysees, L’Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame etc. Upon arrival at your hotel, you have the rest of the day to acclimatize yourself to the time change or wander the fascinating streets of Paris.

Day 3: Paris (B, D)

Meet your guide for your half day walking tour of this romantic city. Spend the morning meandering the Champs Elysees, marvel at the Arc de Triomphe and then visit the magnificent gilded Dome Church where you will see the imposing tomb of the Emperor Napoleon. The remainder of the day will be free to visit Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and shop or spend time visiting more of Paris’s endless sights. Tonight you may wish to visit the Eiffel Tower for a spectacular night view of the city.

Day 4: Paris - Versailles (B)

This morning after an early breakfast you will board your coach and head off for a morning excursion to Versailles to visit this creation of the French Monarchy at the time of its greatest splendour. Consisting of the great palace, breathtaking gardens and the Trianons, it is a wonderful harmonious composition of building and landscape, a unique expression of the vitality of French art during the 17th -18th century. Between 1682 -1789, Versailles was the seat of government and France’s political capital. Today the Chateau of Versailles seems outrageously large but in 1682 when Louis XIV took up residence it housed about 15,000 noblemen, servants and hangers–on who moved in with Louis. Built between 1662 and 1690, it took 26,000 labourers and soldiers to construct. Later you will return to Paris and have the remainder of the day free to shop, have lunch and explore on your own the vibrant streets of this historic city.

Day 5: Paris - Madrid (B)

This morning you will be transferred to the train station for your journey train to Madrid. En route relax and enjoy the sights from your window. Admire the lovely old towns and buildings and the picturesque landscape as you rumble along the tracks. Arrive in Madrid and transfer to your hotel.

Day 6: Madrid (B)

After breakfast this morning, you will begin your day with a morning sightseeing tour of Madrid. This sophisticated, proud, stylish and outgoing city was at one time cloaked in authoritarian repression and insularity. Since the civil war, expansion has been vast and rapid but most of the great monuments of the 17th and 18th century survive. There are sweeping plazas and grand boulevards, fountains and palaces, elegant buildings and more than 40 museums. Your tour will take in the 18th century Royal Palace, the Puerto del Sol, the Cervantes Memorial, Plaza Mayor, Gran Via, El Retiro Park and the Prado. Highlights will also include a visit to the old city and the Cathedral. The afternoon will be free to visit the Prado Museum, the 18th Royal Palace the Reina Sofia Art Center, shop or enjoy sightseeing on your own.

Day 7: Madrid - Toledo - Granada (B, D)

Depart early this morning for the historic city of Toledo, the ancient Castillian capital. Toledo boasts a long history dating back to 193 B.C. when the Romans founded the city of Toletum. For centuries it flourished as a city of silk and steel where clergy, merchants and the military co-existed under Moorish rule. At one time it had a population of 200,000 almost 4 times what it is today. For centuries Toledo also enjoyed the reputation as a center for learning and was at one time the capital of Spain. With Toledo’s long history of peaceful coexistence amongst the Jews, Moors and Christians, the city is dotted with historically important buildings of religious significance. Tourists are hard pressed to view even the exteriors of all these monuments in a single day. Highlights of your guided tour will include the Gothic Cathedral, the 13th century synagogue and the El Greco House and Museum. Later you will depart and travel through the rugged landscape of Don Quixote’s La Mancha to the city of Granada.

Day 8: Granada (B)

Today begin your day with a guided tour of the spectacular 13th century Moorish palace, the Alhambra. This gorgeous hilltop fortress palace of the Nasrid kings has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site- Spain’s single biggest attraction. Your tour of the palace includes the Casa Real (Royal Palace) considered to be the Alhambra’s crown jewel, and Generalife Gardens, the colourful terraced flower gardens, cypress lined walkways and pools of the summer home of the Nasrid rulers. In the lower city, the Royal Chapel serves as a trophy to celebrate the triumph of the Catholic monarchs over the Moors to take the city as well as a mausoleum. Then have time on your own to shop in the Moorish market.

Day 9: Granada - Seville (B, D)

Depart this morning for Seville, the vibrant capital of Andalucia. Seville is one of Seville’s loveliest cities and it works at preserving the fascinating Roman, Moorish, Judaic, and Christian past that made it so. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Seville was the richest and most powerful city in Spain filled with Renaissance palaces, churches and monasteries decorated with frescoes and paintings. But although Seville preserves its traditions, much of the city has a new look thanks to the changes brought about by Expo’92 the worlds fair celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ history making voyage. Remainder of day free for you to explore on your own.

Day 10: Seville (B, D)

Today you will enjoy a morning sightseeing tour of Seville. Visitors spend most of their time on the east bank of the river in the compact area of the Centro Historico, an old town that once huddled inside the city walls. Highlights of the tour will include Seville’s 4 greatest treasures, the Santa Maria Cathedral with the tomb of Christopher Columbus housed below, the Giralda Tower, the Alcazar, and the winding streets of the Barrio de Santa Cruz. Also see Maria Luis Park, the old Maestranza bullring, and the Barrio de Ttriana, a working class district with its own colourful personality. Once a gypsy haven, it resounds with flamenco music from tabernas. This afternoon is free to shop, enjoy lunch in an outdoor café, or just wander in this graceful and elegant city. This evening you will attend a traditional flamenco show.

Day 11: Seville - Home (B)

Hasta la vista. Transfer to the airport and fly away home!

Tour includes:

Return airfare from Home
Arrival and departure transfers
9 nights accommodation
Breakfast daily
5 dinners
Panoramic sightseeng tours of Paris, Madrid, Seville
Half day guided walking tour of Paris, Toledo
2 day metro pass in Paris
Entrance to Notre Dame Cathedral
Half day guided tour of Versailles
Entrance to Versailles
Transfer to train station in Paris and to hotel in Madrid up on arrival
Train transfer between Paris and Madrid
Coach from Madrid to Seville
Guided tour of the Alhambra
Entrance to the Alhambra in Granada
Entrance to Cathedral and Grecos in Toledo
Entrance to Cathedral, Giralda tower, Alcazar and Maestranza in Seville
Flamenco show in Seville

#17 - 15168 - 22nd Ave, Surrey, B.C. V4A 9T4 Phone: (604) 538-2853 Fax: (604) 538-2863
Toll Free: 1-866-538-2853 Email:ststours@telus.net B.C. Reg. No. 24835
Copyright © 2004 STS Group Tours. All rights reserved.
Created & Maintained by In Vancouver Web Services