Spain Tours
Spain & Portugal gardens, art, food & architecture.
A Destination Management small group escorted tour

 

Toursgallery, Spain and Portugal Garden Tour

Small group escorted tour featuring gardens, art, food and architecture of Spain & Portugal.

Even though this is a small group tour, all your touring will be by a full size private luxury charter coach with spare seats for better viewing. Your high speed AVE train travel is included between Madrid and Cordoba.

Accommodation on this tour is a mixture of modern and traditional. You will enjoy a combination of modern hotels as well as heritage accommodation in Paradors and Pousadas – old mansions that have been charmingly restored and converted.

Breakfasts are included daily with special dinners included in selected restaurants which highlight local flavour and entertainment.

Sunday 29 June - Thursday 17 July

AUD $6998 (about US$6000) land only Madrid/Madrid





*Click on any photo to enlarge it

Cities in Spain & Portugal

This tour features Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Lisbon and Porto. Visit Alhambra Palace, Generalife Gardens, the Alcazar, castles, mosques, wildflowers, rural villages, Port wineries, private gardens and Paradores.

Specially arranged meetings with garden owners and art historians who can tell you all about their gardens and the great artists of Spain and Portugal. A private conducted tour of the Prado Museum of Fine Art in Madrid will be just one of the highlights of this tour. You will also attend an intimate performance of Flamenco dancing by an authentic family of Gypsy artisans.

You will be accompanied by our local professional guide who will help you learn about the history and culture of these countries . An Australian Tour Manager will also be with you each day to help you gain the most enjoyment and benefit from your journey.


Islamic influence on gardens

Horticulture around the Iberian Peninsula ( present day Portugal and Spain) shows a significant Islamic influence . Colourful accents by flowering plants and surrounding architecture , the natural sounds of splashing water jets , caged birds ,wind chimes , shade from trees and pavilions all contribute to a charming , summer style of garden .

The Canal Garden of the Generalife in Granada and the traditional Islamic patios of the Alhambra Palace are two excellent examples of this influence .

In Seville we visit the Royal Palace , the Reales Alcazares that has a host of beautifully landscaped gardens including Renaissance , English , Romantic ,as well as Moorish . Also , we see the Hispano - Arabic inspired 20th century gardens of spacious Maria Luisa Park , designed by Jean Nicholas Forestier . Left as a legacy from World Expo 92 we will also see the Gardens of the Guadalquivir which represent a summary of the history of gardening .

The Old Quarter and the Mosque in Cordoba , another of our visits in the heart of Andalusia , has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site .

Portugal

Renowned as a great seafaring nation , Portugal has produced such distinguished explorers and navigators as Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan who opened up lucrative trade routes to Brazil, Asia, Africa and India .

Today this nation of 11 million people , together with its islands of Madeira and the Azores offers a great variety of scenery , historical sites , grand palaces , heritage accommodation , fine food and wine of which the most famous is Port from the city of Oporto .

Lisbon , the nations capital, still offers a charming old world ambience and many picturesque sights including Alfama , the old moorish quarter and the whitewashed streets of the Bairro Alto . We also take a tour around the small surrounding towns of Sintra, Queluz, Estoril and Cascais to enjoy the uniquely Portuguese Manueline style of architecture .

Stay for a night in Bussaco Palace , a former Royal Hunting Palace in the Bussaco Mountains , have lunch at Seteais Palace now a luxury hotel with marvellous landscape gardens , visit the gardens at Parque de Monserrate , Parque Eduardo VII , Royal Palace of Queluz , Solar de Mateus, Quinta de Mateus and Quinta Berardo .



Spain

Spain , the land of wine and olives , needs little introduction as most people have read so much about what to see that we will just list a few of the highlights of our journey .

In Madrid , founded some 1000 years ago we find architectural remnants pointing to a great history and works of art from it`s illustrious artists Goya and Velazquez and the writer Cervantes from whose pen came Don Quixote . Visit Segovia , have lunch at the Portico Real Palace and stroll the Royal Palace Gardens of La Granja .

Take the high speed AVE train just one and a half hours to Cordoba for a walking tour through the narrow streets where you can peep into many private courtyards full of potted plants and flashes of colourful flowers cascading over rough stone walls .

Throughout this journey we will be stopping in small towns as well as the famous cities of Granada and Seville , visit wineries , look around village markets and try local culinary delights .

 

International Guests

Travellers from any country are welcome to join us . Though most of our guests are from Australia and New Zealand , we are often joined by people from USA , UK , France , Germany , Ireland , South Africa and New Guinea . All our tours are in English only and our Guides are all local in the country in which we are touring .

If you would like to join us, we can either include your air ticket from Australia or you can just ask for a Land Only Price so that you can arrange your own flights through your local travel agent .

For detailed itinerary and brochure CLICK HERE or send us an email - travel@toursgallery.com