World Heritage cities - Mid South Spain

If you want to be a witness of three cultures and want to walk through historic cities like Madrid, Ávila, Talavera de la Reina, Cáceres, Cordova, Toledo, Cuenca, Alcalá de Henares then you have to read more about this tour. Spain is one of the countries with the largest number of cities with the Unesco World Heritage status. That’s why we can guarantee you that visiting these cities will be a fascinating experience. Read route description

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1st Day: MADRID
Arrival at Madrid Barajas airport. Welcome of the group and transfer to the hotel. Free time. In the evening all guests are invited to a Welcome cocktail where there will be a meeting with the group leader and a short briefing about the tour. All participants will receive a welcome pack with detailed information about the programme. Dinner will be served in the hotel. In the evening, optional walk downtown. Accommodation.

2nd Day: MADRID - ÁVILA (109 km)
Breakfast. Sightseeing guided tour of Madrid by bus, stopping at the most interesting places in the district called Madrid de los Austrias (Plaza Mayor), then to Puerta del Sol, Paseo del Prado (Prado Museum, Thyssen Museum and Queen Sofía Museum), Gran Vía and Plaza de España, and ending at the Royal Palace, the official Royal residence of the Borbon family till 1931. Departure for Avila. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Lunch in a restaurant.
Avila is the best-preserved example of a medieval walled city in the world. Its impressive walls are approximately two and a half kilometres long. We will start the visit at the Cathedral, Romanesque and Gothic styled, both a church and a fortress set in the defensive precinct of the city.
The Royal Monastery of Santo Tomás, once a summer residence of the Catholic Kings was afterwards the headquarter site of the great inquisitor Torquemada. Continuation of this cultural route through the old town where we will see the Church of Santa Teresa with a baroque façade, the Guzmanes Tower, the Mansiones de los Deanes, with a baroque and Plateresque decoration and San Pedro Church. Finally, we will look at the outside of San Vicente Basilica Church, whose western gate represents a Romanesque jewel. Return to the hotel, dinner and accommodation.

3rd Day: ÁVILA -TALAVERA DE LA REINA - CÁCERES (300 km)
Breakfast. Departure for Caceres crossing the Gredos Mountains, one of the most beautiful natural spaces in Spain. We will stop in Talavera de la Reina, a Castilian town known for its pottery and handicrafts, and visit the gothic-mudejar Colegiata Church. Free time in the old town for some shopping. Lunch. Arrival to Cáceres, the third most important monumental ensemble in Europe.
We start the tour at the Estrella Archway and walk to Santa Maria Square to find the Concatedral, the Episcopal Palace, the Carvajal Palace and the Golfines de Abajo Palace, (juxtaposing the Gothic, Mudejar and Plateresque styles), an occasional residence of the Catholic Kings. We will continue our route passing by the Casa de las Cigüeñas, the Casa de las Veletas, now the Provincial Museum of Archaeology, then the Casa del Comendador de Alcuescar, at present a Hotel-Parador, the Golfines de Arriba Palace and back to the Estrella Archway. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and accommodation.

4th Day: CÁCERES - CORDOVA (318 km)
Breakfast and departure for the legendary city of Cordova : founded by the Romans, its heyday arrived when it became the capital of Al-Andalus: more than three hundred mosques, innumerable Palaces and public places were built, in direct rivalry with the opulence of Constantinople and Damascus.
Lunch. Our tour starts at the Roman Bridge and the Tower Fortress of the Calahorra. We continue by visiting the Great Mosque: in 1236 when Cordoba was re-conquered by Fernando III the Holy King, the new governors, impressed by its beauty didn't destroy it but built a Catholic Cathedral within its walls.
We walk on to the Alcazar, a residence fortress built by King Alfonso XI, containing Roman mosaics, sarcophagus, beautiful courtyards and gardens. Finally a short walk through the Jewish quarter will take us to the Synagogue.
In this unique city the traveller will be able to observe the fusion of arts and cultures, witness of the coexistence of three religions: Christian, Muslim and Jewish.
Transfer to the hotel for dinner and accommodation.

5th Day: CORDOVA - TOLEDO (353 km)
Breakfast. Leaving for Toledo we cross La Mancha plains, the scenery that inspired Miguel de Cervantes in his worldwide famous work "Don Quixote's". Arrival to Toledo and sightseeing tour around the famous medieval walls. We will focus our attention on the nine superb gateways. The most important are the Bisagra Gate and the Cambrón Gate.
Lunch. A walk in the old town will take us to the Cathedral, (gothic style), whose Mayor Chapel, the Choir Chairs and the Museum are not to be missed: the Museum houses a great number of paintings by the famous Goya, Velázquez, Tiziano, Rubens, Rafael and El Greco. After, we shall visit the Jewish synagogues: Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca and the Tránsito Synagogue, today the Sephardim Museum.
To end the tour we will visit the San Juan de los Reyes Monastery, a mixture between the late gothic and the Mudejar. Free time for shopping: buy a sample of the traditional Toledo weaponry, embroidery or Talavera ceramics. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and accommodation.

6th Day: TOLEDO - CUENCA (188 km)
Breakfast and continue our route by departure for Cuenca. A well-preserved medieval town, constructed by the Arabs in a defensive position in the heart of the Cordova Caliphate and located on a stone platform, surrounded by a fortified wall.
In our tour around the old town, we will find the Casas Colgadas, built in the 14th century: hanging houses suspended from steep cliffs overlooking the Huecar river and now housing the Abstract Art Museum. After lunch, we will visit the Gothic- Norman style Cathedral, containing sculptures by Alonso Berruguete. We continue the tour and reach the church of San Pedro to see its Renaissance façade and the Baroque church of San Miguel. Free time before the transfer to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

7th Day: CUENCA - ALCALÁ DE HENARES (168 km)
Breakfast and departure for Alcalá de Henares. We start today’s tour at the University of Alcalá, founded in 1499 by Cardinal Cisneros. Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón designed its superb Plateresque. Not to be missed are the courtyards, the Paraninfo and San Ildefonso Chapel, where the Cardinal Cisneros is buried.
Walk around the old town to visit the 18th century San Bernardo Convent, containing a religious museum. Not far from this point we have the Cervantes Museum, located in the house where the writer was born. After Lunch, we can enjoy some free time in Mayor Street to purchase some souvenirs of this historical city. Arrival at the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

8th Day: ALCALÁ DE HENARES - MADRID - DEPARTURE
Breakfast and free time before the bus transfer to the airport for departure. End of this cultural route.