Spain and Portugal at a slower pace: Lisbon, Seville, Granada, Madrid and Barcelona

Arrive in Lisbon

Lisbon Airport (LIS) to your hotel in central Lisbon

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Lisbon
• Environ 30 min de route

Soir

In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the hotel for a short briefing: how the days are paced, where the seats and rest stops are, which tickets are timed and why. Then a short ride to a neighbourhood restaurant for a welcome dinner of Portuguese dishes, grilled fish or a slow-cooked stew, and a glass of vinho verde.

Compris

• Pick-up at Lisbon Airport (LIS)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner in central Lisbon

Belém and a fado dinner

Lisbon: Belém, then Alfama by vehicle

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Lisbon
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

After an unhurried breakfast our vehicle takes us along the Tagus to Belém, about 20 minutes, and drops us at the door of the Jerónimos Monastery for a mid-morning timed entry. With a local guide we walk the double-storey cloister, carved in the Manueline style with ropes, shells and sea creatures, and see the tomb of Vasco da Gama in the church; the cloister is on one level and there are benches along it. The monastery and the Belém Tower share a UNESCO World Heritage listing, and we see the tower from the flat riverside path. Next door is the bakery that has sold pastéis de Belém since 1837, and we sit down for a warm custard tart and a coffee.

Après-midi

We are back at the hotel by lunchtime and the afternoon is free.

Soir

In the evening the vehicle takes us up into Alfama, Lisbon's oldest and steepest quarter, so nobody climbs its stairways, and we walk a few level metres to dinner with live fado.

Compris

• Jerónimos Monastery on a timed entry with a local guide
• Pastéis de nata and coffee in Belém
• The Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries from the riverside
• Dinner with live fado in Alfama, with door-to-door transport

Activités en option

• São Jorge Castle by taxi in the free afternoon (entry on the day)
• The Gulbenkian Museum, flat and with a lift and seating

Sintra's palaces, at our pace

Lisbon to Sintra and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Lisbon
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

This is one of the few mornings we leave a little early, because Sintra fills with day-trippers by late morning and the first timed entry at Pena Palace, which we confirm with your departure, is the calmest hour there. Our vehicle takes about 40 minutes to reach the park gate, and the park shuttle (or our vehicle where permitted, confirmed with your departure) carries us up the steep hill to the palace door, so the climb is done for you. Pena is the yellow and red 19th-century royal palace on the summit; inside are the rooms the last kings of Portugal used, and the terraces look over the Moorish Castle to the Atlantic on a clear day. The palace has stairs inside, and your guide shows the way round that keeps them to a minimum.

Après-midi

The shuttle brings us down to the village for a long, seated lunch. Afterwards we visit the Sintra National Palace on the village square, known for its two great conical chimneys and its tiled rooms, before an early return to Lisbon.

Compris

• Pena Palace on the first timed entry, with the park shuttle up and down
• Sit-down lunch in Sintra village
• Sintra National Palace with your guide

Activités en option

• Quinta da Regaleira and its Initiation Well, for anyone happy with many steps and uneven paths

A short flight to Seville

Lisbon to Seville by direct flight

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Seville
• Environ 45 min de route

Matin

The morning is free: a last coffee in the Rossio, or the flat Baixa streets once more.

Après-midi

Around midday our vehicle takes you and your bags to the airport, ten minutes away, and your guide handles the check-in as a group. You land at Seville's San Pablo Airport (SVQ) in the afternoon; remember to put your watch forward an hour, as Spain is an hour ahead of Portugal. Another vehicle meets the flight, and it is about 20 minutes to the hotel in the old town, our base for three nights.

Soir

There is time for a rest before an easy evening walk with your guide through the orange-tree squares of the Santa Cruz quarter to see the Cathedral lit up, with plenty of places to stop for a drink.

Compris

• Transfer to Lisbon Airport and from Seville Airport, with bags handled
• Direct flight from Lisbon to Seville in economy, with one checked bag
• Short evening walk in Santa Cruz with your guide

The Alcázar and the Cathedral

Seville: the Real Alcázar and the Cathedral

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Seville

Après-midi

The afternoon is free, when Seville itself rests.

Soir

In the evening we take seats at a flamenco show.

Compris

• Real Alcázar at opening with a licensed guide
• Seville Cathedral, with the Giralda ramps for those who want them
• Flamenco show with reserved seats in the evening

Activités en option

• Hospital de los Venerables and its Velázquez painting, in the free afternoon
• A horse-drawn carriage ride to Plaza de España and María Luisa Park

Córdoba by fast train

Seville to Córdoba by high-speed train and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Seville
• Environ 45 min de route

Matin

We take a mid-morning train in reserved seats, and a vehicle meets us at Córdoba station and drops us near the Mezquita-Catedral, which saves the 20-minute walk in. Begun as a mosque in 785 and enlarged over two centuries, it holds a forest of more than 800 columns joined by red and white striped arches, with a Renaissance cathedral nave built into its centre from 1523, after the city was taken in 1236. A licensed guide takes us through the prayer hall to the gilded mihrab; the floor is level throughout.

Après-midi

Afterwards a short, flat stroll through the Judería, the old Jewish quarter of whitewashed lanes and flowered patios, brings us to a long, seated lunch of Córdoba dishes such as salmorejo.

Soir

We are back in Seville by late afternoon, with a free evening.

Compris

• Reserved high-speed train from Seville to Córdoba and back
• The Mezquita-Catedral with a licensed guide
• Short walk through the Judería
• Sit-down lunch in Córdoba

Antequera's dolmens on the way to Granada

Seville to Antequera, then Granada

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Granada
• Environ 3 h de route

Matin

We leave Seville at about 9:30 after breakfast and drive east through olive country, about an hour and 40 minutes, to Antequera, a market town in the middle of Andalusia. Just outside it are the Dolmens of Antequera, burial mounds built more than 4,500 years ago from enormous stone slabs, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016. The path from the visitor centre to the Menga dolmen is short and level, and you can walk into the chamber under its capstones without a step.

Après-midi

Lunch is a long, seated meal in town, with porra antequerana, the local cold tomato soup. In the afternoon it is just over an hour on to Granada, our base for two nights, so we reach the hotel by about 4 pm with two hours to rest.

Soir

As the light softens, a small minibus takes us up the steep Albaicín, the old Moorish quarter, to the Mirador de San Nicolás, where the Alhambra turns red against the Sierra Nevada at sunset; nobody has to walk the hill, and anyone who would rather stay at the hotel simply does.

Compris

• Dolmens of Antequera with your guide
• Sit-down lunch in Antequera
• Sunset at the Mirador de San Nicolás, reached by minibus

The Alhambra, early

Granada: the Alhambra and the Generalife

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Granada
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

This is the morning the early start pays off. Nasrid Palaces entries are timed and in your name, and the first slot of the day is the calmest one, so our vehicle takes us up the hill to the Alhambra gate for the first slot, usually around 8:30 and confirmed with your departure. With a licensed guide we walk through the Mexuar and the Comares Palace, past the long pool of the Court of the Myrtles, into the Court of the Lions and under the honeycomb ceiling of the Hall of the Two Sisters. The Alhambra is large, so we take it in stages with seated breaks: a rest on the terraces of the Partal gardens, then the Palace of Charles V, and the lower water gardens of the Generalife. The Alhambra, the Generalife and the Albaicín are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Après-midi

The vehicle has us back at the hotel by early afternoon for a free afternoon and a siesta.

Soir

In the evening we sit down together to a dinner of Granada dishes.

Compris

• The Alhambra with a licensed guide: the Nasrid Palaces on the first timed entry, the Partal gardens, the Palace of Charles V and the Generalife
• Dinner together in Granada

Activités en option

• Granada Cathedral and the Royal Chapel, with the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, both flat and close to the hotel
• An Arab-style bathhouse in the old town

By train to Madrid

Granada to Madrid by direct train

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Madrid
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

A direct train runs from Granada to Madrid in about three and a half hours, across the olive groves of Jaén and up onto the plateau of La Mancha, and we take a mid-morning one in reserved seats. A vehicle carries the bags from the hotel to the station and from Atocha station to the hotel in Madrid, and your guide helps lift cases onto the racks.

Après-midi

We reach Madrid in the early afternoon and check in to the hotel, our base for three nights, between Sol and the Paseo del Prado. The rest of the day is free. Most people are glad of a quiet afternoon, and a late lunch on your own at one of the cafés on the Paseo del Prado or a rest in the hotel suits the pace.

Soir

In the early evening your guide offers a short, level stroll to the arcaded Plaza Mayor for anyone who wants to get their bearings. Madrid eats late, so a 9 pm table is early.

Compris

• Reserved direct train from Granada to Madrid, with bags moved by vehicle
• Short evening stroll to Plaza Mayor with your guide

Toledo

Madrid to Toledo and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Madrid
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

Toledo is about an hour south of Madrid by road, set on a rock almost wrapped by the Tagus, and we go in the morning, before the midday heat. First the vehicle stops at the Mirador del Valle across the gorge, for the view El Greco painted, without leaving the roadside. Then we ride the public escalators from the riverside up into the old town, which saves the steep streets. A local guide leads us through a UNESCO World Heritage city where Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities lived side by side for centuries. We see the Cathedral, with its carved choir stalls and the Transparente, a baroque altar lit through a hole cut in the vault, then the small church of Santo Tomé for El Greco's Burial of the Count of Orgaz, and the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca with its white horseshoe arches. Lunch is a long, seated meal in the old town, and we are back in Madrid by late afternoon.

Compris

• The Mirador del Valle viewpoint
• Toledo with a local guide: the Cathedral, Santo Tomé and the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca
• Sit-down lunch in Toledo

The Prado, unhurried

Madrid: the Prado, then a free afternoon

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Madrid

Matin

The Prado opens at 10, so there is no rush this morning; we walk a few level minutes from the hotel and go in with an art guide. Rather than trying to see everything, the guide chooses the rooms that matter most and the visit lasts about two hours, with benches in many galleries: Velázquez's Las Meninas, the court portraits and dark late paintings of Goya, El Greco's tall, flickering saints, and Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. There are lifts between floors, and the museum has offered wheelchairs on loan; we confirm this with your departure. We finish in time for a late-morning coffee in the museum café or across the road in the Retiro park, where the boating lake and the Crystal Palace are a gentle stroll away.

Après-midi

The afternoon is free. The Royal Palace, the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum or a long Spanish lunch are all easy from the hotel, and your guide can book a taxi for any of them.

Compris

• The Prado with an art guide

Activités en option

• The Royal Palace of Madrid in the free afternoon
• The Thyssen-Bornemisza museum, next to the hotel area

Fast train to Barcelona

Madrid to Barcelona by high-speed train

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Barcelona
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

We leave the hotel mid-morning for Atocha station, while the vehicle takes the bags, and board a reserved high-speed train to Barcelona, about two and a half to three hours across Aragon and down to the Mediterranean. Seats are assigned and the carriages have room to stretch.

Après-midi

We arrive at Sants station in the early afternoon and a vehicle takes us to the hotel, our base for the last two nights, where the afternoon is yours to rest. In the late afternoon your guide offers a short, level walk through the Gothic Quarter, the medieval core of the city, past the Cathedral and the Roman columns of the Temple of Augustus to the Plaça del Rei, with a café stop on the way. Anyone who would rather keep the energy for tomorrow can stay at the hotel.

Soir

The evening is free in a city that dines even later than Madrid.

Compris

• Reserved high-speed train from Madrid to Barcelona, with bags moved by vehicle
• Short walk through the Gothic Quarter with your guide

The Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló and a farewell dinner

Barcelona: the Sagrada Família, then Passeig de Gràcia

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Barcelona
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

Our vehicle takes us to the Sagrada Família for a mid-morning timed entry with a licensed guide, when the sun comes through the stained glass on the east side and the nave glows blue and green. Antoni Gaudí worked on the basilica from 1883 until his death in 1926, and building still goes on; your guide explains how the tree-like columns carry the vault and what the Nativity and Passion facades tell, and there are seats in the nave. The Nativity facade and the crypt are part of the UNESCO listing of Gaudí's works.

Après-midi

Lunch is a seated meal in the Eixample, and afterwards we visit Casa Batlló on the Passeig de Gràcia, Gaudí's apartment house with a facade of broken tile and bone-like balconies; a lift serves its floors, and how step-free the roof terrace is we confirm with your departure.

Soir

Back at the hotel there is time to rest before the farewell dinner of Catalan dishes, when your guide goes over tomorrow's transfers.

Compris

• The Sagrada Família on a timed entry with a licensed guide
• Sit-down lunch in the Eixample
• Casa Batlló, with its lift
• Farewell dinner in the old town

Activités en option

• A tower lift at the Sagrada Família, booked with your entry, subject to availability and with a stair descent
• Park Güell, which is hilly, by taxi on your own

Depart Barcelona

Your hotel to Barcelona Airport (BCN)

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

The trip ends after breakfast, with no early call. A driver takes you and your bags from the hotel to Barcelona El Prat Airport (BCN), about 15 km and 30 minutes away, at a time set around your flight, so flights at any hour of the day work. If you are flying out late, leave your bags at the hotel and spend the morning nearby: a last coffee in the arcaded Plaça Reial, the Picasso Museum in El Born, or the seafront promenade at Barceloneta, which is flat and lined with benches. If you would like more time, ask us about extra nights in Barcelona, or a few quiet days in Girona or on the Costa Brava, and we will quote for them with the same kind of hotel. Your guide says goodbye at breakfast, and a driver does the transfer; your guide first checks that everyone's transfer and flight details are right before the group goes its separate ways.

Compris

• Drop-off at Barcelona Airport (BCN)