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Spain

The Best of Spain: Barcelona and Madrid

Program No. 21336RJ
Find out what makes Barcelona and Madrid two of Europe’s most unique cities as you discover bold architecture, world-renowned museums, ancient monuments and celebrated cuisine. Olé!

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Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone? 800-454-5768
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Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 8 - Mar 17, 2024
Starting at
3,099
Mar 15 - Mar 24, 2024
Starting at
3,099
Filling Fast!
Apr 5 - Apr 14, 2024
Starting at
3,099
Apr 12 - Apr 21, 2024
Starting at
3,099
Apr 19 - Apr 28, 2024
Starting at
3,099
May 3 - May 12, 2024
Starting at
3,099
Filling Fast!
May 10 - May 19, 2024
Starting at
3,099
May 17 - May 26, 2024
Starting at
3,099
May 24 - Jun 2, 2024
Starting at
3,099
Jun 7 - Jun 16, 2024
Starting at
3,299
Sep 6 - Sep 15, 2024
Starting at
3,349
Sep 13 - Sep 22, 2024
Starting at
3,349
Sep 27 - Oct 6, 2024
Starting at
3,349
Oct 11 - Oct 20, 2024
Starting at
3,349
Oct 18 - Oct 27, 2024
Starting at
3,349
Oct 25 - Nov 3, 2024
Starting at
3,249
Nov 1 - Nov 10, 2024
Starting at
2,999
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Mar 8 - Mar 17, 2024
Starting at
3,769
Mar 15 - Mar 24, 2024
Starting at
3,769
Apr 5 - Apr 14, 2024
Starting at
3,769
Apr 12 - Apr 21, 2024
Starting at
3,769
Apr 19 - Apr 28, 2024
Starting at
3,769
May 3 - May 12, 2024
Starting at
3,769
May 10 - May 19, 2024
Starting at
3,769
May 17 - May 26, 2024
Starting at
3,769
May 24 - Jun 2, 2024
Starting at
3,769
Filling Fast!
Jun 7 - Jun 16, 2024
Starting at
3,799
Filling Fast!
Sep 6 - Sep 15, 2024
Starting at
4,019
Sep 13 - Sep 22, 2024
Starting at
4,019
Filling Fast!
Sep 27 - Oct 6, 2024
Starting at
4,019
Oct 11 - Oct 20, 2024
Starting at
4,019
Oct 18 - Oct 27, 2024
Starting at
4,019
Filling Fast!
Oct 25 - Nov 3, 2024
Starting at
3,919
Nov 1 - Nov 10, 2024
Starting at
3,589

At a Glance

Gaudí and Picasso. Paella and Tapas. Mediterranean chic and capital-city grandeur. There are no other cities in the world like Barcelona and Madrid. Join us to learn about what’s new in these two dynamic cities and reflect on what’s been around since antiquity, from fanciful architecture to wind-swept Roman ruins. With special insight from our local experts and plenty of time to discover on your own, you’ll get the most of these two bold European cities.
Activity Level
Let's Go!
Walking around 3-4 miles per day; cobblestones and many unavoidable stairs. Public transportation and subway with no elevators used throughout the program. Looking for the same great program but at a slightly more leisurely pace? Check out "Spain at a Slower Pace: The Best of Barcelona and Madrid" (#22311).
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Learn about the incredible fairytale-like curved roofs and bright colors of one of the world's most intriguing parks and heritage sites: Parc Guëll.
  • Attend expert-led lectures and gain insight into Spain's fascinating historical and artistic roots.
  • Explore two of Europe’s most renowned art museums in Madrid with top-notch instructors.

General Notes

Program includes independent time to explore the city and several meals on your own. Group Leaders will provide directions for self-directed excursions. Suggestions for free-time activities provided in preparatory materials. You may be interested in a more leisurely version of this program, "Spain at a Slower Pace: The Best of Barcelona and Madrid" (#22311).
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
Teresa de la Vega
Teresa de la Vega studied history and geography at Complutense University of Madrid and has received degrees in American anthropology, ancient history, and art history. She has taught courses in art history throughout her career.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Gracia Gonzalez del Rio
Gracia Gonzalez del Rio View biography
Gracia Gonzalez del Rio was born in Lima, Peru and moved to Spain in 2001 after earning her master’s degree in corporate communication. Three years later, she began working as an educational group leader, introducing Spanish groups around Central Europe and educating groups from North America around Spain and Portugal. She greatly enjoys interacting with travelers and introducing them to European and Iberian cultures. Gracia currently resides in Sitges, near Barcelona, with her husband and children.
Profile Image of Elena Lomban
Elena Lomban View biography
Elena Lombán was born on the Atlantic coast of Galicia, Spain. After living in the U.S. for several years, she began leading educational programs in 2006. She is an English teacher and licensed Galicia expert, passionate about education and travel while sharing her knowledge of linguistics, literature, history, and art. Fluent in Spanish, Galician, English, Italian, and French, Elena has traveled throughout Europe and North America. She loves the thrill of meeting Road Scholars for each new learning adventure and living life to the fullest.
Profile Image of Silvia Riera
Silvia Riera View biography
Silvia Riera was born and raised in Barcelona, where she developed her passion for arts and the Catalan culture. In addition to Spanish and her native tongue, Catalan, Silvia is fluent in French, Italian, English and Portuguese. Silvia has lectured about modernism and Gaudi since 1988. Beyond arts, Silvia is — like most Barcelonians — a big fan of FC Barcelona, the world-renowned soccer team.
Profile Image of Cecilia Ceriani
Cecilia Ceriani View biography
Cecilia Ceriani has been an art teacher and critic for nearly three decades. She holds degrees in art history and English philology from the Complutense University of Madrid. Cecilia spent four years in South America as an art critic and book reviewer for newspapers in Montevideo and Buenos Aires before returning to her native Spain in 1986. Since then she has been lecturing on Road Scholar programs and at the U.S. Cultural Center in Madrid and writing for respected Spanish publications.
Profile Image of Teresa de la Vega
Teresa de la Vega View biography
Teresa de la Vega studied history and geography at Complutense University of Madrid and has received degrees in American anthropology, ancient history, and art history. She has taught courses in art history throughout her career.
Profile Image of Mayra Noguerales
Mayra Noguerales View biography
Mayra Noguerales was born on the Canary Islands and moved to mainland Spain as a teenager. At 16, she moved to the US, and after four years in several states, headed to the UK to finish her university degree. Returning home, she moved to beautiful, historic El Escorial and became an educational Group Leader. Mayra enjoys time in her workshop creating all types of arts and crafts. Her passion and most rewarding experiences come from meeting people and sharing her knowledge of Spain and Portugal.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Duende
by Jason Webster
Duende is Webster’s captivating memoir of the years he spent in Spain pursuing his obsession. Studying flamenco guitar until his fingers bleed, he becomes involved in a passionate yet doomed affair with Lola, a flamenco dancer....
Hotel Florida
by Amanda Vaill
Madrid, 1936. In a city blasted by civil war, six people meet and find their lives changed forever...
Homage to Catalonia
by George Orwell
Orwell's portrait of the Barcelona uprising and the spirit of a city at war is a classic, an observant and heartfelt report from the streets.
Spain, A History
by Raymond Carr
An authoritative overview of Spain through the ages by one of the world's leading scholars on the history of Spain, Sir Raymond Carr.
Gaudi, A Biography
by Gijs van Hensbergen
A vivid account of the architect and his work.
A life of Picasso
by John Richardson
Richardson draws on his close friendship with Picasso, his own diaries, the collaboration of Picasso's widow Jacqueline, and unprecedented access to Picasso's studio and papers to arrive at a profound understanding of the artist and his work. (4 volumes)
The Arts in Spain, From Prehistory to Modernism
by John Moffit
From the cave painting at Altimira through the Golden Age, to the works of Picasso and Miro, this book documents the course of art in Spain, with 150 illustrations.
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Set in the brooding atmosphere of post-WW II Barcelona, this gripping story-within-a-story has it all: murder, doomed love and a mysterious book which draws the young hero, Daniel Sempere, into the city’s dangerous underworld.
Food and Wines of Spain
by Penelope Casas
This classic collection of 400 recipes, interwoven with cultural commentary and culinary history, is a pleasure to read, but prepare to become hungry.
Antonio Gaudi, Master Architect
by Juan Bassegoda Nonell
This lavish little collection of Gaudi's work captures the evolution, imagination and exuberance of one of the most influential architects of the 20th century.
Cadogan Guide Barcelona & Catalonia
by Dana Facaros
This savvy guide combines practical details and maps with illuminating background on history, culture and sightseeing.
An Englishman in Madrid
by Eduardo Mendoza
Anthony Whitelands, an English art historian, is invited to Madrid to value an aristocrat's collection. At a welcome lunch he encounters Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder and leader of the Falange, a nationalist party whose antics are bringing the country ever closer to civil war.....
Goya
by Robert Hughes
Hughes brings us the story of an artist whose life and work bridged the transition from the eighteenth-century reign of the old masters to the early days of the nineteenth-century moderns.
Ghosts of Spain
by Giles Tremlett
Tremlett captures the Spanish character, history and modern politics in this masterful portrait, interweaving the story of his love for the country (where he has lived for 20 years) with interview, anecdote and observation.
Barcelona Map
by Borch Maps
A detailed city map, laminated and folded for easy reference.
Love and Revolutionary Greetings: An Ohio Boy in the Spanish Civil War
by Laurie E. Levinger
Follow the story of a boy name Sam Levinger who travels to Spain in 1937 to join the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Based off of letters home to his mother, this story will captivate and educate it's readers of the American involvement during the Spanish Civil War.
The New Spaniards
by John Hooper
John Hooper's fascinating study brings to life the new Spain of the 21st century
Cathedral of the Sea
by Ildefonso Falcones
Set in fourteenth-century Barcelona, Cathedral of the Sea is a thrilling historical novel of friendship and revenge, plague and hope, love and war.
Winter in Madrid
by C.J. Sansom
A vivid and haunting depiction of wartime Spain, Winter in Madrid offers an intimate and riveting tale and a remarkable sense of history unfolding
Barcelona
by Robert Hughes
This big, thoroughly enjoyable cultural history of the city touches on architecture, art, religion and literature from Roman outpost to the present.





Important registration tip:
If you want to attend the live lecture, please do not wait until the last minute to enroll.
If you enroll after a lecture is complete, we’ll send you a recording of the event.