Length: 12 Days. Group educational tours for 12 or more students or adults. Self-designed custom tours typically led by teachers of high school juniors and seniors.
Highlights: Madrid City Tour, Prado, Evening Walking Tour, El Escorial, Valley of the Fallen, Tapas Dinner, Zaragosa, Barcelona City Tour, Nimes Amphitheatre, Maison Carrée, Arles, Aix-enProvence, Monaco Tour, Musée Oceanographic, Eze, Perfume Factory, Florence City Tour, Accademia, Evening Walking Tour, Rome City Tour, The Colosseum
Itinerary: Madrid (2), Barcelona (2), Nîmes (1), Nice (2), Portofino Area (1), Florence (2), Rome (2)
Day 1 – Depart USA
Jet overnight to Spain!
Day 2 – Madrid
Bienvenido a Madrid, where your two-week adventure begins. A guided City Tour takes you to see the Palacio Real, the Cibeles fountain, the Puerto del Sol, and on a visit to the Prado Museum in the heart of Bourbon Madrid. Be sure not to miss Goya’s Majas. This evening take a walking tour with your guide to the lively Plaza Major.
Day 3 – Madrid
Enjoy a guided tour of El Escorial, site of the Royal Apartments, then continue on to visit the Valley of the Fallen, an architectural wonder built to honor those who died in Spain’s Civil War. Option: Tour historical Toledo, a town within a ring of Gothic and Moorish walls. Tonight, savor a Tapas Dinner of traditional Spanish delicacies.
Day 4 – Barcelona
Transfer to the airport to fly to Barcelona, a Mediterranean seaport and capital of Catalonia.
Day 5 – Barcelona
See the panoramic view from Montjüic, Barceloneta and its beaches, Barrio Gotico, Plaza de España, the Palacio Nacional, then tour Gaudí’s amazing Church of the Sagrada Familia. Option: Visit the Picasso Museum to view the artist’s works.
Day 6 – Nimes
Transfer to France through Perpignan, and arrive in Nîmes to visit the Amphitheatre, built by Romans in the first century AD, and the Maison Carrée, an excellently preserved Roman temple dating from the time of Augustus.
Day 7 – Nice
Journey through Arles, an important center of Provençal life, then on to Aix-en-Provence, a city filled with plane trees and bubbling fountains. Arrive in Nice and begin exploring this most ancient of cities on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Day 8 – Nice
Bonjour! Take a guided tour of Monaco, the principality considered to be the jewel of the French Riviera. See the casinos, the palace, and visit the Musée Oceanographic. Tour a perfume factory near the hilltop town of Eze and continue back to Nice.
Day 9 – Portofino
Travel to the Italian Riviera via Genoa. After an overview of the unspoiled Cinque Terre region, arrive in the resort of Portofino. Enjoy a beautiful walk to the lighthouse at sunset.
Day 10 –Florence
Stop in Pisa to view the world famous architectural wonder, the Leaning Tower. Arrive in Florence, Italy’s center of art and culture.
Day 11 –Florence
Today’s guided Florence City Tour introduces you to the Duomo with Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise. Also see the Church of San Lorenzo and the Bargello. Proceed to the Accademia, home to Michelangelo’s David. Option: Tour the Uffizi Gallery to see the Medici family collection of art masterpieces.
Day 12– Rome
Transfer to Rome via Orvieto and take a funicular up to visit the Gothic cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo. Arrive in Rome for a walking tour to Piazza Navona and the beautiful Trevi Fountain.
Day 13– Rome
On today’s guided Rome City Tour you will visit the Colosseum, see the Arch of Constantine, the Imperial Forums, Piazza Venezia, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuel. Continue to Vatican City to visit St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museums including the magnificent Sistine Chapel.
Day 14– Depart
Board your flight and return home with new appreciation for the history, people and wonders along the Mediterranean Sea.
Travel Resources
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