Tour Highlights

• Enjoy eight nights in the intimate and distinguished lodgings of Spain’s paradores and Portugal’s pousadas: medieval monasteries, historic fortresses, and stately palaces.
• Sightsee in the Portuguese capital, where highlights include the majestic 16^th-century Mosteiro dos Jerónimos monastery, the iconic Tower of Belém, and the inspiring Monument to the Discoveries.
• Sample wine at a local winery in the agricultural Alentejo province, a region of olive groves, cork trees, fragrant vineyards, and bountiful wheat fields alive with colorful flowers.
• In enchanting Evora, a UNESCO site and one of Portugal’s architectural gems, stay at a pousada considered the country’s finest.
• Stop in the ancient Spanish city of Mérida, which contains more Roman ruins than any other in Spain.
• Staying in a pousada in Carmona, travel to Seville, a city of beauty and romance that delights the senses, and that inspired Carmen and Don Giovanni.
• Take an excursion to Cordoba, once the capital of the Moorish kingdom of Al-Andalus, where highlights include the atmospheric Old Quarter and the revered Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral.
• In the charming, unspoiled town of Ronda, built at the edge of a dramatic gorge, enjoy views from your parador at the gorge’s edge.
• Enjoy regional specialties at a special tapas lunch at the parador.
• Experience perhaps the most extraordinary and best-preserved Moorish monument in existence: Granada’s grand Alhambra palace and its acclaimed Generalife gardens.
• Travel to Toledo, capital of medieval Spain commanding an incomparable hilltop setting overlooking the Castilian plains and boasting some of Spain’s greatest architecture.
• Savor a three-night stay in monumental and dignified Madrid, where touring includes the majestic 2,800-room Palacio Real and Plaza Mayor, the city’s grand square.
• Spend time in the Prado, one of the world’s greatest museums, displaying treasures of the Spanish masters, as well as superb collections of the Italian and Flemish masters.
• Explore bustling Barcelona, Spain’s cultural and commercial capital, with its medieval Gothic Quarter and popular Ramblas waterfront promenade on a 4-day/3-night post-tour extension.

If you would like to view a digital copy of this trip’s brochure, please click on the words “Digital Brochure” under Additional Resources (follows directly below Itinerary at a Glance) on this webpage.

* Cal lecturer’s participation cannot be guaranteed and is contingent upon a minimum number of paying travelers.