Amazing Spain and Portugal (Winter)

Madrid draws you in through broad boulevards, clipped façades and stone streets that shift from the old-world restraint of Habsburg Madrid to the grand early 20th-century sweep of Gran Vía. You might catch the warm scent of coffee and churros drifting from nearby churrerías. From cafe tables, the low murmur of voices spills onto the pavement as the Spanish capital begins to open around you.

This evening, join your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner at a local restaurant, where glasses catch the light, wine is poured and the table fills with the comfort of Spanish cooking.

In Toledo, Spain's former capital stands high above the River Tagus, its city walls following the curve of the water below. As you move through the city, Arab, Jewish and Christian histories sit close together in cool Gothic stone, brick arches, carved plasterwork and inscriptions along its narrow lanes. At a Damascene workshop, you'll hear the light tick of tools against metal as a local artisan works fine threads into dark steel, a Moorish craft passed down through centuries. With your Local Specialist, you continue within the city walls, following winding streets worn smooth over time before entering the Church of Santo Tomé to stand before El Greco's The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.

Later, the road leads south to Granada.

At the Alhambra, you'll hear the patter of fountains against stone as water runs through courtyard channels. With your Local Specialist, you'll walk through palace rooms layered with glazed tile, fine plasterwork and arabesque walls before continuing into the Generalife, once a summer retreat, where clipped hedges frame garden pools and shaded paths lead you through the grounds. Then, see the city your way with your choice experience. You may follow the lanes of the old Jewish quarter, where wrought-iron balconies lean close and orange trees gather in small plazas, or take in Seville from a wider view on a panoramic drive.

Enjoy a relaxed start or choose to join one of two Optional Experiences: admire the architectural elegance of Pilatos Palace, or explore the Alcázar of Seville and nearby Plaza América, home to graceful pavilions from the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition. Continue exploring the city with a Local Specialist and stroll through the atmospheric Santa Cruz Quarter.

Later, visit the Seville Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and the final resting place of Christopher Columbus.

In the evening, take part in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at the Cristina Heeren Foundation. Try your hand at flamenco during a lively dance lesson, then witness this expressive art form brought vividly to life in a passionate performance.

You'll journey into the Alentejo, where olive trees, cork oaks and wide horizons shape the landscape. Évora greets you with wide squares, arched walkways and pale façades edged with ochre. In this university town, history is woven through the streets. Roman columns and medieval walls sit beside cafe awnings and the hum of everyday life. At São Francisco Church, the Capela dos Ossos reveals one of Portugal's most extraordinary interiors: bone-covered pillars rising towards painted ceilings, walls arranged in careful patterns and arches that make the room feel both regal and intricately made.

Later, the road leads to Lisbon.

This evening, you may choose an Optional Experience at a family-run restaurant, where seasonal Portuguese seafood meets the sizzle of the pan and fresh plates are shared around the table.

With your Local Specialist, Lisbon leads you to Belém, where patterned pavements, the Tagus nearby and the warm butter-sweet scent of Pastéis de Belém from the patisserie that has guarded its secret recipe for almost 200 years. You'll continue to the Monument to the Discoveries and Belém Tower, the fortress once surrounded by water and now set on the riverbank. At the National Coach Museum, polished wood, painted panels and gilded carriages reveal the ceremony of Portugal's royal past.

This afternoon is yours at leisure, or you may choose an Optional Experience to the Portuguese Riviera, where Atlantic roads and elegant resort towns carry you beyond the capital.

North of Lisbon, you'll travel through green hills to Fátima, Portugal's most celebrated place of pilgrimage. At the chapel marking the 1917 appearance of the Virgin Mary to three children, you'll glimpse pilgrims moving quietly through the open sanctuary around you. Crossing back into Spain, you'll continue to Salamanca, a city warmed by honey-coloured sandstone and the elegant arcades of Plaza Mayor. Across the River Tormes, you'll take in the Puente Romano.

The road takes you across the rock-strewn hills of Castile towards Ávila, where red clay roof tiles slope over pale stone houses, all enclosed by an immense 11th-century ring of towers, gates and battlements. You might run your hand along the rough grain of the town's stone walls and feel the scale of those ancient defences against your palm. Back in Madrid, you'll explore more of the capital with your Local Specialist.

Later, join your Travel Director and travelling companions for dinner at a local restaurant, where the room fills with the clink of glassware, shared dishes and the easy warmth of a journey well travelled.

Your tour comes to a close today with a transfer to Madrid-Barajas Airport. As you leave Madrid, you take with you the feel of ancient stone, the sound of flamenco guitar and the pleasure of meals shared across Spain and Portugal.