POUSADAS AND PALACES IN PORTUGAL & SPAIN
10 DAYS / 8 NIGHTS
Travel through the Iberian peninsula. Get to know its medieval history and stay in some of their best palaces.
VIEW THE PHOTOS
YOUR ITINERARY
Day 1: USA - Portugal
- Fly through the night to Lisbon, Portugal.
Day 2: Lisbon
- Welcome to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal! Your Image Tour Director will greet you at the airport and will remain with you throughout your stay.
- As you transfer to the hotel, see Parque das Nações Square and drive along the river until the city center.
- Drop the luggage at the hotel, “Pousada do Lisboa”. House of kings and box of ministries, this small luxury hotel is located in the noblest area of the city and will be the stage for an urban luxury experience.
- Your adventure in Lisbon on foot; from the city centre head to the “Portas do Sol” Belvedere to appreciate the view of the Tejo River, passing by the Rua Augusta, the Santo Antonio Church and the Cathedral.
- Visit the Castelo de São Jorge, and appreciate another magnificent view of Old Lisbon, then walk through the Alfama Quarter to Praça do Comercio.
- Get ready for your first authentic Portuguese meal.
- Overnight accommodation in Lisbon.
Day 3: Lisbon - Sintra
- After breakfast, meet your Imagine Tour Manager to visit the Museu Nacional dos Coches to see the world’s largest collection of Royal Coaches, then the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower, both good examples of the 16th century’s Manueline style (gothic) and finally the Monument to the Discoveries.
- Enjoy the taste of the world famous Pastéis de Nata de Belém.
- Board you motor coach to Sintra declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO (35 minutes aprox.) to discover the magnificent Palácio da Pena, former Royal summer residence and chosen to inspire writers and poets, such as Lord Byron who named it “The Garden of Eden”.
- Visit the Castle os Moors, taken by the Christian forces against the Moors after the fall of Lisbon and an important strategic point during the Reconquista.
- Enjoy Queijada de Sintra, a local treat similar to cheesecake.
- Return to Old Lisbon and its quaint cobblestoned narrow streets.
- Enjoy dinner in a local restaurant and get ready for a Fado experience (recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage) where Portuguese guitar and the voices of Fado will capture your full attention! “And silence, Fado shall now be sung…”.
- Overnight accommodation in Lisbon.
Day 4: Lisbon - Azeitão - Evora - Seville
- After breakfast , board your private motor coach and head south to Azeitão (45 minutes aprox.) where we will have a culinary experience, in making one of the most known products of the regions – Azeitão Cheese. Of course you will taste your hard work!
- Continue to the “Museum-Town” of Évora (1:15 h aprox.) another UNESCO world heritage site and a member of Europe’s network of most ancient town.
- Enjoy walking tour through its history, see how it is still partially enclosed by medieval walls, and discover monuments dating from various historical periods, including a Roman Temple.
- Board your motor coach and continue east to Seville, the capital of Andalusian, Spain (3:30 h aprox.).
- Check-in at the Hotel Alfonso XIII. This magnificent palace hotel was built to be the residence of the Spanish kings during 1929 Universal Exhibition. It’s is today one of the most prestigious hotels worldwide. It is ideally located in the centre of Seville, next to the Reales Alcázares and the Cathedral, in the historic neighbourhood of Santa Cruz.
- Dinner at your hotel followed by overnight accommodation in Seville.
Day 5: Seville
- After breakfast, meet your local guide and head on a horse carriage ride to visit El Parque de Maria Luisa, Plaza de España and La Puerta de Jerez.
- Later, visit Los Reales Alcáceres, a palace with a fascinating beauty that was the residence of Moors and Christian Kings.
- Lunch with your group at a local restaurant in the Barrio de Santa Cruz. This site is very much in character with Seville’s romantic image, its narrow and torturous streets to keep out the sun, with houses brilliantly whitewashed and barricaded with iron grille.
- Visit the Cathedral and climb to the top of the Giralda Tower, by a series of 35 gently inclining ramps reach the top for a remarkable view of the city.
- Return to your hotel to take a nap and recharge.
- Dinner and have the best Flamenco Show experience at El Patio Andaluz.
- Overnight accommodation in Sevilla.
Day 6: Seville - Madrid
- After breakfast, depart by private motor coach to the train station to catch the AVE high speed train to Madrid, the capital of Spain (2:20 h aprox.).
- Transfer to your hotel for check-in and freshen up.
- Head on a guided walking tour of Old Madrid: Puerta de Alcala, Gran Via, Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, where you will have a aperitiv and lunch with “tapas”.
- Afterwards, visit the Royal Palace, a magnificent building and former residence of the Kings of Spain.
- Free time for lunch and shooping in La Gran Vía.
- Dinner at El Barrio de las Letras and enjoy a real “cocido madrileño”. This stew can be an evolution of the Arab “cous cous” and it was subsequently used in cooked Sephardim age medieval.
- Overnight accommodation in Madrid.
Day 7: Madrid - Toledo
- After breakfast, board your private motor coach to travel to Toledo (2:00 h aprox.). Toledo is one of the most mediaval cities of Spain.
- Welcome to Toledo! The historic capital of Castilla La Mancha region is a World Heritage Site.
- Start with a guided walking tour of the historic quarter of the city, enter the Cathedral featuring the Baroque altar several floors high.
- At the Santo Tomé Church admire El Greco’s masterpiece Burial of the Count of Orgaz.
- Stop at the Pasteleria Santo Tomé to taste the locally made marzipan pastries.
- Visit a traditional sword workshop, Toledo is famous for its swords and silverware, learn how the metal is forged into elaborate weaponry.
- Relax with your group and free time for lunch and shopping before boarding your coach and transfer back to Madrid.
- Enjoy an evening meal at a local restaurant with your group.
- Overnight accommodation in Madrid.
Day 8: Madrid - Lerma
- After breakfast, board your private motor coach to travel to Lerma in the Provence of Burgos (2:30 h aprox.).
- Check-in at El Parador Nacional de Lerma. The impressive Ducal Palace of Lerma, become hotel, is located in the upper part of the villa. The hotel has a central courtyard surrounded by beautiful colonnaded galleries. The elegance and majesty of this era palace of the Hapsburgs, and its delightful interiors of lighting and decoration, will make your stay in it becomes a special experience.
- Time for lunch and relax in the fascinating atmosphere of this palace.
- In the evening, have a walk in Lerma. Crossroads in southern Burgos, this stately villa was Royal Court in the early seventeenth century thanks to his benefactor, the Duke of Lerma. Its historic center is a beautiful historical and artistic riddled with convents and in which stands the majestic Ducal Palace and the huge porticoed Plaza.
- Dinner wood-fired lamb accompanied by wines from Ribera del Duero, one of the famous wine regions of Spain.
- Overnight accommodation in Lerma.
Day 9: Lerma - Burgos
- After breakfast, board your private motor coach to travel to Burgos capital (30 minutes aprox.).
- Follow your local guide to visit the Cathedral of Burgos, one of the most beautiful monuments of Gothic art in Spain and the Santa Maria la Real Monastery which was founded in 1189 by King Alfonso VIII of Castile.
- Lunch at a local restaurant in the center of Burgos and free time for relax and shopping.
- Return to Lerma and enjoy a farewell dinner at El Parador with the Mario Sandoval’s “route of flavors”, the kitchen one of the best Spanish chefs.
- Overnight accommodation in Lerma.
Day 10: Lerma - Madrid - USA
- After breakfast, transfer with your private motor cooach to Madrid international airport.
- Check-in for your flight back home.
