Best of Spain With Salamanca Extension

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-trails 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.

Visit the Museo del Prado, home of works by Spain's great masters, including Francisco Goya, Diego Velázquez, and El Greco.

Take 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 Alcala triumphal arch, built to honor Carlos III’s entry into Spain.

Long the spiritual capital of Spain, Toledo still captures the heart with its spectacular surround of ocher-colored mountains. El Greco created some of his greatest works here, including his most famous painting, "The Burial of Count Orgaz." You’ll also visit the city's cathedral, St. Mary's Synagogue, and the Church of Santo Tomé.

Tapas purportedly originated when bartenders set a small plate ("tapa") over patrons' glasses of sherry and wine to keep the flies out. The bartenders starting 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.

Stop at Córdoba to visit one of Spain’s most impressive monuments, the Moorish Mezquita, which dates from the 8th to the 10th centuries. Walk through narrow white-washed alleys, passing tile covered patios, dotted with vibrant colored flowers. Don’t miss the beautiful back quarters.

See the twisted alleyways and cobbled streets of Seville with the help of a licensed, local guide. Your first visit will be to the Barrio de Santa Cruz, formerly the old Jewish quarter of the 17th-century. Now, lovingly restored, these properties are among the city’s more exquisite and expensive. Next you will enter the high, fortified wall of the Alcázar, a palace built by a Christian king named ‘Pedro the Cruel’. Now it is the official residence of the king and queen of Spain. End the day with a visit to Columbus’ gravesite.

Charming white-washed houses and ochre-colored palaces with ornate façades. Jasmine-covered balconies and luxuriant parks. Jean Cocteau listed Seville (along with Peking and Venice) as one of the three most magical cities in the world. Santa Teresa proclaimed its beauty was the work of the devil. Decide for yourself as you stroll the streets with your Tour Director. Climb to the top of the Giralda Tower, the greatest symbol of the city. It was once the minaret of Seville’s greatest mosque, built between 1184 and 1196. Later, Christians destroyed the mosque but couldn’t bear to tear down the tower, so they incorporated it into their new cathedral.

The birthplace of emperors Trajan and Hadrian, Italica still flaunts the third-largest Roman amphitheater in the world and amazing ancient mosaics, many still being uncovered by archaeologists, ranging from simple geometric patterns to elaborate scenes of Neptune and the seasons.

Originating from gypsy music and dance in Southern Spain, flamenco dancing has become a Spanish institution. Dancers use intricate footwork and elaborate arm gestures to convey the mood of the music, which can range from lamentation to celebration.

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.)

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 Renaissance gateway 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.

See brilliant Barcelona, a city of graceful Gothic churches, wrought-iron balconies and wide, grand avenues filled with outdoor cafés. Throughout the city, daringly innovative buildings sit side-by-side with the medieval past. A licensed, local guide will show you some of the high points of this architectural showcase. First stop: the pointy spires of the La Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family), a half-finished church complex that became the obsession of Barcelona's famously eccentric architectural genius, Antoni Gaudí. Continue to the Spanish Village, where you'll view replicas of famous buildings and sights from every region of Spain. Then step back to the past with a journey up to Montjuïc (Hill of the Jews). See the fortress built atop an ancient Jewish cemetery. Site of numerous battles to control Barcelona, this hill was also the location of the 1992 Olympics.

Flowers, pedestrian boulevards, and decorative pavement make Barcelona a great walking city, and your Tour Director will show you where to stroll. See the Mercat de la Boquería, where the bright colors of fruits and vegetables, spices, fresh seafood and meat -- not to mention about a hundred different types of cheese -- vie for space in the market stalls. In the city center you'll see the Monument a Colom, a towering statue of Christopher Columbus. Gaze at the city stretched out before you, the mountains in the distance, and the Mediterranean Sea at your back. Then it's on to the best walk in the city, Las Ramblas, a mile-long pedestrian street that offers up the carnival of urban Barcelona. Have your palm read or browse through the strip's famous open-air shops. Enough walking for one day? Pull up a chair, order a café con leche, and watch the parade of street performers from your seat.

This commercial center of the Basque country has been transformed in the past few years into a showplace of modern city-planning and world-class art. Architect Frank Gehry’s stunning new Guggenheim museum leads the way, along with Norman Foster’s futuristic subway and the Santiago Calatrava glass footbridge, which allows visitors to practically walk across water.

Located on a ridge on a dramatically barren plain, Segovia has dramatic Roman and medieval monuments. As you approach town, a giant cathedral greets you first. Only after passing does the town come into view through a steep and narrow valley. Stop to examine the Segovia basilica and the Santo Domingo de Silos Benedictine Monastery.

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.

Stop in the mystical town of Avila, where the famed 16th-century mystic and Catholic saint Santa Teresa de Jesus wrote and founded monastic communities.

The past and present meet in Salamanca. Like many great medieval cities, Salamanca has a multitude of towering cathedrals and convents. Yet, the city’s university students give it a hip, international vibe. One of the leading institutions of Europe, the university has attracted countless Spanish intellectuals, including Antonia de Nebrija and Miguel de Unamuno.