11 Day Tour: March 12-22, 2027
Pricing for Northern Spain
- Base Pricing is always calculated for double occupancy.
- $1474 supplemental for Solo Travelers.
Tour Highlights
3 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES
1 of the Most Unique Festivals in the WORLD
The Completed Sagrada Familia
- Madrid
- Pamplona
- Bilbao
- Guggenheim Museum
- Palace of Santa Cruz
- Salamanca
- Valencia
- Falla Festival
- Barcelona
- Gaudi Park
- Sagrada Familia
- & So Much MORE!!
- LIMIT 14
Tour Includes
- Round trip airfare from Chicago
- First Class Hotel Accommodations
- All Breakfasts and 5 Dinners
- Deluxe Motorcoach Transportation
- Admissions to all listed Attractions
- Round trip airport transfers in the Chicagoland area
- Guided by Bill Ball
- Baggage Handling
- All Gratuities
Tour Itinerary
Day One There are few places in Europe—yes, even the world—as scenic and historic as Northern Spain. We take an overnight flight to this very special part of Spain.
Day Two We land in Madrid today and tour this iconic capital. From the massive memorial to Columbus to the whimsical salute to Don Quixote to the architecturally beautiful royal square. This is a city to cherish.
Day Three If you have been to festivals that are exciting and adventurous, then our next city has one on steroids—Pamplona. Here the Running with the Bulls have become a world phenomenon after Hemingway wrote about it. No, we are not running with the bulls, but we will see the City Hall where the race starts, part of the route, the stadium where it ends and monument to the brave runners. The city has so much more to offer and that is no bull. The cathedral, town square and patrician houses has made this one of the most beautiful in all of Europe.
Day Four It’s off to see one of only two bridges in the world that is a UNESCO site in its own right. The Vizcaya Bridge is a sky-high bridge that an elevator ride up that will give us an amazing view of the mountains. We then head into one of the autonomous regions of Spain–the Basque state and its principal city Bilbao. The architecture, food and even the language is unique. The Guggenheim Museum is as much an art piece as the items inside of it. If you go to only one art museum in your life, this should be it.
Day Five We get our American connection in Valladolid. Christopher Columbus died here and was initially buried here until he made his last trip to the New World. Here the National Sculpture Museum covers all eras, the Plaza Mayor looks like Disney built it and Palace of Santa Cruz is the perfect example of the Renaissance.
Day Six Salamanca is a UNESCO World Heritage city with its Romanesque and Gothic churches, a building adorned with hundreds of scallop shells and its convents and cloisters. Its central plaza is considered the most beautiful in Spain. The city is known for its golden hued sandstone buildings, university atmosphere and tasty food.
Day Seven We now enter the most exciting city in Europe in March. We tour Valencia with its iconic sites including the Valencia cathedral a perfect example of Spanish Renaissance, its Gothic defense towers—largest in Europe and the modern Gulliver’s Park. The city is a fascinating living class in architecture.
Day Eight We start the day visiting the futuristic city of science with its many incredible buildings and museums. We will also visit the aquarium—the largest in Europe—housing over 500 species—many seen nowhere else. The afternoon and evening are reserved for the Fallas Festival where hundreds of floats that outshine the Rose Parade are seen moving around the town with a final giant bonfire that burns these massive, beautiful floats. There is nothing like it on earth.
Day Nine We leave the fire behind but to a no-less awesome experience we head to Tarragona, one of the greatest Roman towns in the world. This city has it all—ancient aqueduct, a great amphitheater and its original walls. Spain was ancient Gaul where Caesar declared “Veni, Vidi, Vici.” We continue on to the other autonomous region of Spain—Catalonia and its iconic city Barcelona. Host of the 1992 Olympics, this city is a model for the rest of Europe.
Day Ten We tour Barcelona, the city of the architect Gaudi. Here is the most important modern church in Europe—the newly completed Sagrada Familia. Most people don’t know, but Gaudi designed a whole park, and you will be let in on that crazy secret. This city has so many incredible architectural masterpieces beyond Gaudi—the Gothic Quarter, the Eixample District of modern architecture and the Old Town with the narrow alleys.
Day Eleven We head home today with beautiful cathedrals, majestic mountains, amazing architecture, wild fire festival events and incredible museums in our minds. This trip truly has something for everyone.
