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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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
Sep 6 - Sep 15, 2024
Starting at
3,349Sep 13 - Sep 22, 2024
Starting at
3,349Sep 27 - Oct 6, 2024
Starting at
3,349Oct 18 - Oct 27, 2024
Starting at
3,349DATES
& starting prices
PRICES
Sep 6 - Sep 15, 2024
Starting at
4,019Sep 13 - Sep 22, 2024
Starting at
4,019Sep 27 - Oct 6, 2024
Starting at
4,019Oct 18 - Oct 27, 2024
Starting at
4,019Nov 8 - Nov 17, 2024
Starting at
3,589Not seeing the date you're looking for?
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10 days
9 nights
16 meals
8B 1L 7D
1
In Transit to Program
In Flight
4
Monastery & Museum of Montserrat
Barcelona
5
The Picasso Museum, La Pedrera
Barcelona
9
Madrid, Reina Sofia Museum
Madrid
10
Program Concludes
In Flight
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
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
What You'll Learn
- 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 trip experts
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.
Gracia Gonzalez del Rio
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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.
Sonia Formoso
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Sonia Formoso is of Swiss-Spanish heritage and is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian. She has 14 years of experience leading education travel programs under her belt. Sonia studied at the Universities of Lausanne, Switzerland and Madrid Complutense, where she earned degrees in politics, social sciences and communication. She brings her signature energy, enthusiasm and in-depth knowledge to every Road Scholar program she leads.
Elena Lomban
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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.
Pilar Arizaga
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Pilar Arizaga was born in Chile, grew up in Canada and currently lives in Spain. She has been a Group Leader for the past ten years and has worked with high school and college students, alumni and other groups. She has experience working in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Morocco and England and she speaks English and Spanish, with knowledge of Portuguese, Italian, and French. Pilar is a well-organized, patient and passionate person about her work, always willing and seeking to take on new adventures.
Silvia Riera
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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.
Cecilia Ceriani
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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.
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.
Suggested Reading List
(20 books)
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.
The Best of Spain: Barcelona and Madrid
Program Number: 21336
Duende
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
Madrid, 1936. In a city blasted by civil war, six people meet and find their lives changed forever...
Homage to Catalonia
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
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
A vivid account of the architect and his work.
A life of Picasso
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
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
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.
Goya
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.
Cadogan Guide Barcelona & Catalonia
This savvy guide combines practical details and maps with illuminating background on history, culture and sightseeing.
An Englishman in Madrid
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.....
Antonio Gaudi, Master Architect
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.
Food and Wines of Spain
This classic collection of 400 recipes, interwoven with cultural commentary and culinary history, is a pleasure to read, but prepare to become hungry.
Love and Revolutionary Greetings: An Ohio Boy in the Spanish Civil War
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
John Hooper's fascinating study brings to life the new Spain of the 21st century
Cathedral of the Sea
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
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
This big, thoroughly enjoyable cultural history of the city touches on architecture, art, religion and literature from Roman outpost to the present.
Ghosts of Spain
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
A detailed city map, laminated and folded for easy reference.