TRIP ITINERARY TO MADRID


                                            Days 1-2
Depart for your overnight transatlantic flight to Madrid. An E.T.S. representative will greet you at the airport in the morning for a transfer to your hotel. After relaxing a little at the hotel, enjoy walking around the Plaza Mayor and Old Madrid on your own before dinner in the evening. D

                                                   Day 3
Today you are on your own to visit Madrid. You may wish to begin with a visit to the Plaza de Cibeles. Pass through the Alcala Gate for the walk to Retiro Park, with its monument to Alphonse XII and the beautiful Crystal Palace. This afternoon consider a visit to San Antonio de la Florida, the small chapel painted by Goya, where he is buried. Enjoy dinner on your own this evening and a "Bull Fight".  B


                                                  Day 4
Depart in the morning with your guide for a drive along the Guadarrama Mountains to the Castillian City of Segovia. Visit the Alcazar, the very pretty Plaza Cathedral and the Roman aqueduct built in the 1st century and still carrying water to parts of the city. Return to Madrid this evening and have dinner on your own.  B

                                                                                        Day 5
Your guide will pick you up at the hotel for a morning visit of the Royal Palace, an imposing building that was the home of Spain's royal family until 1931.Then your afternoon guide will pick you up at the hotel. Enjoy a guided visit of the Prado, with its large selection of paintings from the Spanish school: El Greco, Velasques and Goya; as well as Reubens, Botticelli and Rembrandt. Your escort will collect the group at the hotel for dinner at Casa Patas this evening before a Flamenco show. B/D

                                                Day 6
After breakfast board your bus in the morning for a guided tour of Toledo, with its Cathedral, the Santo Tome Church, and the home and museum of El Greco. Visit the Museum de Santa Cruz and the Transito Synagogue. On your return, stroll around Madrid before having dinner on your own.  B

                     Day 7
Depart for a guided tour of el Escorial, with its Royal Apartments and the Pantheon of Kings, where almost all the kings of Spain have been buried since Charles Quint. Continue on to the Valley of the Fallen, a monument to the victims of the Spanish Civil War. On your return to Madrid, you may choose to visit the Arena with its small museum which pays tribute to Spain's greatest bullfighters, or the Wax Museum, exhibiting historical and modern Spanish figures. Have dinner on your own in Madrid this evening.  B

                                               Day 8
Today you are on your own. This may be the time for some last minute shopping or strolling along the Grand Via and through the Plaza del Sol. Your escort will pick you up at the hotel for dinner.  B/D

                                               Day 9
Transfer to the airport by bus for your transatlantic departure.  B

TRIP INCLUDES:

  • Transatlantic airfare.
  • 7 Nights in superior or tourist class hotels, with breakfast.
  • Transfers with E.T.S. representative.
  • Private bus for tours.
  • 3 Dinners in restaurants with local character.
  • Guided tours: Segovia, Toledo Cathedral and Synagogue, el Escorial and Valley of the Fallen.
  • Entrance to the Prado and Royal Palace.
  • Flamenco show.