Welcome to the “City of Counts,” capital of Catalonia. Individual or group transfer to the hotel, only with prior reservation (extra service). At 6:30 pm, meeting with the tour guide in the hotel lobby for program presentation. Dinner included.
Breakfast, departure to visit the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia, masterpiece by Antoni Gaudí (entrance included). Continued visit, passing by “La Pedrera” and “Casa Batlló,” two other great works by Antoni Gaudí, continuation to Montjuïc, passing by Plaza de España. Lunch in a restaurant. Departure to Montserrat, the sacred mountain is one of the most important in the country, where in the year 880 AD an image of Our Lady (Black Virgin, also called “Morenita”) was found. Return to the hotel. We recommend a stroll along Las Ramblas or watching the light and sound show at the largest luminous fountains in Europe.
Breakfast, departure to the Principality of Andorra (a small country located in the heart of the Pyrenees). Arrival in the Principality of Andorra, one of the oldest countries in the world founded in 788 AD. Under French and Spanish protectorate until 1993, the year Andorra gains permanent seat at the U.N., and assumes itself as a completely sovereign and independent state. Check-in and lunch at the hotel. After lunch, departure to visit the historic old town. Free afternoon.
Breakfast, departure to Lourdes (city and Marian sanctuary), brief stop at the modern and bold sanctuary of Our Lady of Meritexell (Patroness of Andorra), continuation to the thermal water town of Ax-Les-Thermes. Departure towards the historic city of Foix. Visit to the imposing and unique medieval castle of Foix (entrance included). Continuation of the journey to Lourdes. Arrival in the city for hotel check-in, dinner at the hotel. After dinner, possibility to participate or watch the emotional candlelight procession.
Breakfast, departure to visit the Bétharram caves, inside we will walk through, descend into a pit until we find an underground lake that we will cross in a small boat. A small train will guide us through the depths of the cave BACK to the surface (unforgettable). Return to the hotel for lunch. Visit to the sanctuary complex, museum containing some relics of Saint Bernadette, the young shepherdess to whom the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception appeared on February 11, 1858, underground basilica of Pius X. Continuation to the Massabielle grotto. We will continue with the visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Crypt, and the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Dinner. Possibility to watch or participate in the emotional candlelight procession.
Breakfast, we will leave the hotel on foot towards the Mount of the Via Sacra where hundreds of life-size images made of cast iron and bathed in gold tell us the 14 stations of the Passion of Christ. Lunch at the hotel. Free afternoon, we recommend the baths of holy water, a ritual practiced by thousands of pilgrims, visit to the medieval castle of Charlemagne (not included), birthplace of Bernadette, wax museum (not included), or simply a stroll through the pleasant surroundings. Dinner at the hotel.
Breakfast, departure towards Pau, the birthplace of several kings of France, including Henry IV, married to Marie de Medici and grandfather of the “Sun King” Louis XIV. Napoleon Bonaparte completely razed the city and built a new one, using its model for other works in various capitals he conquered throughout Europe. Brief stop in the city. Continuation to San Sebastian, also known as the city of elites. It is also the city with the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the famous Michelin Guide. It is known for its “Pinchos.” In the afternoon, we will take a panoramic tour, check-in, free time before dinner (included) at a chefs restaurant.
Breakfast, departure to the port city of Bilbao, the city is the most populous in the entire Basque Country. Panoramic tour with a stop for an exterior visit to the famous Guggenheim Museum, designed by internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry. Departure for Santillana del Mar (autonomous region of Cantabria), magnificent medieval village that belongs to the network of the “most beautiful villages and towns in Spain,” lunch. Departure for Cangas de Onís, capital of the first Christian kingdom of the Reconquest of the entire Iberian Peninsula. Arrival at the hotel, check-in, dinner included.
Breakfast, departure for Covadonga, where Don Pelayo and his army fought a bloody battle against the Muslim Arabs, emerging victorious and forming the first kingdom of the Christian Reconquest, the kingdom of Asturias. Visit to the sanctuary and the site of the battle. Departure for Oviedo (current capital of the kingdom of Asturias). Walking tour through the streets, gardens, and its famous statues that have been offered over time by the laureates of the renowned “Prince of Asturias Award.” Possibility to visit the magnificent cathedral and its greatest treasure (the Holy Ark) containing relics brought from Jerusalem, such as the linen cloth that covered the face of Jesus Christ in his tomb. Check-in at the hotel, dinner.
Breakfast, we will head towards the city of La Coruna, the most elegant city in the entire Autonomous Community of Galicia. Its seafront promenade, Maria Pita Square, and the Tower of Hercules (the oldest Roman lighthouse in the world, still in operation) will enchant you. After lunch, departure towards Santiago de Compostela, where between the years 813-820 AD, an urn is said to have been discovered containing the mortal remains of the apostle James the Greater (the first martyr apostle). One of the main pilgrimage sites worldwide. Arrival at the hotel, check-in, free time. Dinner, at the end of dinner, we will participate in the famous “queimada,” a Celtic “RITUAL” that has endured to this day.
Breakfast, departure for a visit to Santiago, a city of worship and World Heritage Site, where we will explore its historic center, Obradoiro Square, Cathedral, and visit the crypt where the Saint’s mortal remains rest. Departure towards the city of Braga (Portugal), one of the oldest cities in Europe, the city of archbishops, the “Portuguese Rome.” Visit to the two Sanctuaries: Sameiro Sanctuary and then Bom Jesus Sanctuary, in late Portuguese Baroque style, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also have the opportunity to descend the mountain on the world’s oldest functioning hydraulic elevator (descent included). Arrival at the hotel, check-in, dinner.
Breakfast, free morning to visit the historic center, with highlights including the Old Cathedral of Braga, dating back to the 11th century. Its gardens and picturesque streets make this city the 3rd with the best quality of life in Portugal. Departure towards the city of Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city. In the afternoon, we will visit Gaia, famous for its Port Wine cellars, where we will have the opportunity to visit one of the many cellars for a tasting of this divine nectar. Arrival at the hotel for check-in, departure for a spectacular dinner aboard a “cruise,” called the “Six Bridges Cruise” on the Douro River. We will sail under the bridges between Gaia and Porto. Return to the hotel.
Breakfast at the hotel, departure to explore the city and its historic center, Clérigos Tower, Avenida dos Aliados, Lello Bookstore, São Bento Railway Station, Porto Cathedral, and its magnificent viewpoint. We will stroll along the waterfront to the mouth of the Douro River. Lunch on your own (not included). Free afternoon to enjoy the city at your leisure, or the possibility to participate in an optional excursion to the city of Guimarães (the birthplace of the foundation of Portugal). Dinner included at the hotel.
Breakfast, at the appointed time, departure towards the city of Fatima (Altar of the World), where in 1917 Our Lady of the Rosary appeared to three shepherd children. Stop in the city of Aveiro (the Portuguese Venice) for a boat ride along the city’s canals, on the famous Moliceiro boats (included), and tasting of one of the most typical sweets, the famous “ovos moles.” Departure towards Coimbra with a stop at the Convent of Santa Clara, where the tomb of Queen Saint Isabel is located (visit to the convent not included). A privileged place with a stunning view over the old city of Coimbra and its Mondego River. Arrival in Fatima, hotel check-in, free time, dinner included.
Breakfast, departure to visit the Sanctuary complex of Fatima (Chapel of Apparitions and its basilicas). Free time for prayers, candle offerings, etc. Lunch included at the hotel. In the afternoon, visit to Aljustrel and Valinhos, the native villages of the three shepherd children and the site of the first apparitions. Return to the city, free time, dinner included, possibility to participate in the candlelight procession.
Breakfast at the hotel, departure for the Batalha Monastery, (King João I of Portugal promised to the Virgin Mary, if he won the battle against the Kingdom of Castile (Spain), he would build, in the place of the battle, the greatest monastery ever built up to that time, Portugal won, consolidating once and for all the Castilian claim to the throne of Portugal. King João fulfilled the promise he had made to the Virgin Mary and ordered the construction of what is now part of the World Heritage, the Magnificent Batalha Monastery (inside it, there is the tomb of the unknown soldier and the National Pantheon). Continuation to Alcobaça for a visit to the Monastery of Santa Maria of Alcobaça, where the tombs of King Pedro and Queen Inês are located, his “favorite” posthumously crowned Queen of Portugal. Departure to the village of Obidos, one of the most beautiful medieval walled villages in Portugal. Arrival in Lisbon, check-in at the hotel, dinner not included.
Breakfast at the hotel, visit to the city: Belem Tower, Monument to the Discoveries, Jeronimos Monastery, taste the internationally renowned pasteis de Belem. Avenida da Liberdade, Restauradores Square, Rossio, Pombaline Downtown, Commerce Square (Terreiro do Paço). Lunch on your own. In the afternoon, visit to the Church of Santo Antonio, a walk to São Jorge Castle. Fado night in a typical restaurant (included). Return to the hotel.
(END OF OUR SERVICES).
