Depart From: International flight to Madrid, Spain.

In Transit:

Arrive To: Arrive in Madrid and transfer to the program hotel.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel restaurant; your room will be available this afternoon.

Afternoon: Enjoy a panoramic drive of Madrid, then return to the hotel for an orientation meeting with your Group Leader.

Dinner: Dinner at or near the hotel.

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Gran Vía

Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Lecture: "The Golden Age and Great Masters of Spanish Painting"

Lunch: Lunch at or near the hotel in Madrid

Afternoon: Enjoy an expert-led field trip to the Prado Museum. This world-famous collection was assembled by the Hapsburg and Bourbon Spanish monarchs from the 16th to early 19th centuries. It has since been enhanced by works received from churches and convents, and by nine new galleries since 1950, including the Casón del Buen Retiro exhibition of 19th century art.

Dinner: Dinner on your own to explore local cuisine

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Gran Vía

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Lecture: "The Lives, Works and Styles of Great 17th Century Spanish Masters: Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Zurbarán and Murillo"

Lunch: Lunch at or near your hotel in Madrid

Afternoon: This afternoon travel to the magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site of El Escorial, the historical residence and burial place of Spanish monarchs. The church has a Greek-cross base and the chapel holds the funeral monuments of Charles V of Spain and Philip II. The library deserves special mention, with around 45,000 books dating back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In the early evening you will gather at your Madrid hotel to meet with local residents and discuss modern life in Spain.

Dinner: Walk to a local restaurant for a "tapas" style dinner

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Gran Vía

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

San Fernando Royal Academy, Goya's Sistine Chapel and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Depart for the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, where a local expert will discuss the history of Spanish painting. This 17th century academy collection includes works by Ribera, Zurbarán and Velázquez, as well as 13 of Francisco Goya's masterpieces. Following this you will stop to marvel at Real Ermita de San Antonio de La Florida, Goya's final resting place. Often referred to as Madrid's Sistine Chapel, this church is covered in magnificent frescoes painted by Goya himself.

Lunch: A light lunch at one of the oldest and most popular restaurants in Madrid

Afternoon: Examine the priceless Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, which was donated to the Spanish government and is housed in the beautifully restored 18th century Villahermosa Palace in Madrid.

Dinner: Dinner at or near your hotel in Madrid

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Gran Vía

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Lecture: "Introduction to 20th Century Spanish Art"

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel or museum in Madrid

Afternoon: Join your local expert for a discovery of the Reina Sofia Museum. Madrid's response to the contemporary Art Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Reina Sofía is an amazing glass building with outside transparent lifts. Its most famous piece is “Guernica”, a large painting by Picasso which depicts widespread suffering during the Spanish Civil War. After visiting the museum the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure to explore Madrid on your own.

Dinner: Free time to plan dinner on your own.

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Gran Vía

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: After an early breakfast, check out of the Madrid hotel and depart for Toledo. As you approach this historic World Heritage city you will be treated to breathtaking panoramic views. On arrival a local expert will lead a walk through the old walled city and discuss the melding of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures in this former capital of the Spanish Empire. El Greco spent the latter half of his life in this city, and you will have the chance to view some of the artist's most well-known works at the cathedral, the Santo Tomé sacristy, El Greco's Museum, and the former "Sinagoga del Tránsito" now a Museum.

Lunch: Late lunch at a restaurant in Toledo

Afternoon: Following lunch you will board the coach and continue on to Cuenca; your Group Leader will introduce you to this walled city during a panoramic drive overlooking the spectacular river gorges of the Júcar and Huecar rivers and the famous 15th century "casas colgadas" or hanging houses. You will then check in at the hotel and take some time to settle in to your room before dinner.

Dinner: Dinner at or near your hotel in Cuenca

Lodging: Posada San Jose

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Lecture: "The Abstract Generation: Spanish Art in the 1950s and 1960s."

Lunch: Lunch at or near your hotel in Cuenca

Afternoon: Enjoy an expert-led walk around Cuenca's beautiful cobblestoned old town, ending with a guided visit to the Museo Antonio Pérez, located in the old Convent of the Carmelitas Descalzas (the Barefoot Carmelites). In addition to the paintings, prints, and sculptures that Antonio Pérez collected, today the museum also contains works by contemporary artists such as Millares, Gordillo, Torner, Antonio Saura, Equipo Crónica, Bonifacio, Andy Warhol, Chillida, Zóbel, Rueda and Canogar, to name but a few.

Dinner: Dinner at or near your hotel in Cuenca

Lodging: Posada San Jose

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: At the Museo de Arte Abstracto you will examine one of the most extensive collections of abstract art in Spain, housed in one of the city's "casas colgadas." Discuss the "Generación Abstracta" movement and study works by artists such as Millares, Tàpies, Sempere, Torner, Rueda, Zóbel and Saura.

Lunch: Lunch at or near the hotel in Cuenca

Afternoon: Afternoon at leisure to explore the charming old town of Cuenca.

Dinner: Time at leisure to explore the local restaurants on your own

Lodging: Posada San Jose

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at the hotel

Morning: Board the coach for your transfer from Cuenca to Bilbao. Your base in Bilbao will be an ultra-modern hotel next to the Guggenheim, echoing the museum's architecture and offering incredible rooftop views from the restaurant.

Lunch: Lunch en route to Bilbao.

Afternoon: Enjoy a field trip to Bilbao's spectacular Guggenheim Museum, designed by world-famous architect Frank Gehry. After exploring the museum's collections you will join your local expert guide for a walk around Bilbao's historic old town. Enjoy your stay at one of the most emblematic hotels of Bilbao and Spain.

Dinner: Take this opportunity to dine on your own in Bilbao

Lodging: Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: With a local expert explore the Museum of Fine Art in Bilbao. The Museum of Fine Art's remarkable collection currently boasts more than six thousand works dating from the 12th century to the present day, and includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings and decorative objects. Later on enjoy a city walk with your expert and learn about the history of the capital of the Basque province.

Lunch: Lunch in Bilbao at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: After lunch, tranfer to the airport for your group flight to Barcelona in the mid afternoon.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel in Barcelona after evening arrival and check-in

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Berna

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: A local expert will present an overview of Barcelona's history and art during an orientation drive around the city. Following this is a walking exploration of the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter). You will end at the Cathedral square to watch or join the locals dancing the "sardana," a traditional dance performed every Sunday in Catalunya after the midday mass.

Lunch: Lunch on your own in Barcelona - your chance to explore local cuisine.

Afternoon: Afternoon at leisure to explore Barcelona on your own. In the early evening you will have the opportunity to meet with local residents and discuss Catalan life in modern Barcelona.

Dinner: Dinner at or near your hotel in Barcelona

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Berna

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Lecture at the Museum of the History of Catalonia: "The Modernist Movement and the Concept of Total Art"

Lunch: Lunch at or near the hotel in Barcelona

Afternoon: Your local expert will take you to Parc Güell, Antoni Gaudí's residential project based on the English Garden City Movement and completed in 1914. After exploring the gardens you will visit the small house, now a museum, where Gaudí lived while directing the construction of Parc Güell.

Dinner: Enjoy planning your own dinner and exploring local restaurants tonight

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Berna

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Lecture at the Museum of the History of Catalonia: "20th Century Catalonian Artists: Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí and Antoni Gaudí”

Lunch: Lunch at the museum cafeteria

Afternoon: Your local expert will lead a field trip to the Joan Miró Foundation, Centre for the Study of Contemporary Art, which displays over 14,000 works including a large collection of Miró's works.

Dinner: Dinner at or near the hotel in Barcelona

Evening: Following dinner you will transfer to a local community center for a private performance of Catalonian music and dancing. After the presentation take the opportunity to join the performers for a glass of sangria as they discuss their commitment to preserving Catalan traditions.

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Berna

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Salvador Dalí in Figueres and Púbol: Dalí Theatre-Museum and Gala's Castle

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Depart Barcelona for a full-day field trip to Figueres, the birthplace of Salvador Dalí. Upon arrival you will explore the Dalí Theatre-Museum, the world's largest surrealist art object. Built upon the remains of the former Figueres theatre, the museum collecction spans the artist's entire career, from his earliest art to the works of the last years of his life.

Lunch: Lunch at a restaurant in Púbol

Afternoon: Arrive at the Gala Dalí Castle Museum-House for a private guided exploration. Dalí dedicated himself to furnishing and decorating this medieval castle as a retreat for his wife and muse, Gala. The castle collection includes paintings and drawings that Dalí gave as presents to Gala, as well as the elephant sculptures that adorn the garden, a collection of Gala's haute-couture dresses, and the furniture and many objects with which they decorated the house. Return to Barcelona in the early evening.

Dinner: Dinner at or near the hotel in Barcelona

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Berna

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel

Morning: Lecture at the Museum of the History of Catalonia: "Pablo Picasso's Art and Influences." This is followed by a field trip to view the Picasso Museum collections, which testify to the artist's strong ties with the city where he spent his artistic formative years. Gain an understanding of the artist's development by examining some of the 3,500 works that make up the museum's permanent collection.

Lunch: Lunch at the Picasso Museum cafeteria

Afternoon: Enjoy a final free afternoon in Barcelona

Dinner: Farewell dinner at or near the hotel in Barcelona

Lodging: Hotel Catalonia Berna

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel (if your flight time allows)

Morning: Transfer to the airport for return flights to the U.S.

Meals Included: Breakfast