Catholic Highlights in Spain

  • 10 Days
  • Classic Trip

We're always ready to personalize
a tour to your unique needs

Catholic Highlights in Spain Get Started

Map & Route

Depart

Overnight Flight

1 1 Night

Toledo

2 2 Nights

Granada

1 1 Night

Seville

2 2 Nights

Madrid

3 3 Nights
Return
map Catholic Highlights in Spain

What's Included

Our itineraries reflect 40 years of experience in crafting exceptional educational tours. That means we know exactly how to make the best of your time abroad—incredible destinations, immersive activities, centrally located hotels, and smart, well-traveled tour managers who ensure your educational goals are met. Here are some of the exceptional features of this tour.

ACIS Guarantees

We have high standards, which is why we take care to include these features in every tour.

Round-Trip Flights

Leave the airlines to us.

3- or 4-Star Hotels

After a busy day, comfort is key.

Centrally Located Hotels

Save the commuting time, beat the morning crowds and keep right on exploring after dark when your hotel is in the heart of the city.

Daily Breakfast and Dinner (unless otherwise noted)

Delicious, authentic, multi-course dinners at local restaurants with meal times tailored to maximize your experience.

24-Hour Tour Manager

Part guide, part educator, part engineer, part mind-reader, part magician—ACIS Tour Managers are your travel partner.

Start Exploring

Never wait hours at the airport to share a transfer with other later groups.

Service Guarantee

We're so sure you're going to love your tour, we guarantee it!

Global Network

24/7 on the ground support whenever and wherever you need it.

All Local Transportation

Urban transportation is on us, allowing you to explore each destination with ease.

Personal Headsets Included Throughout Tour

Participants will have unlimited access to personal headsets so that local guides and ACIS Tour Managers can more easily communicate with the group along the way.

Exceptional Experiences

Our tours are designed to help you and your students be in the moment and experience everything the world has to offer.

Flamenco Lesson, Dinner and Show in Granada

Flamenco Lesson, Dinner and Show in Granada

Flex your twinkle toes and prepare for a night of dancing and dinner, flamenco style. Consider the origins of this festive and colorful Spanish art form as you arrive at Granada's famed Plaza de Toros, before learning the traditional steps yourself during a lesson. Delicious authentic cuisine follows during dinner at the bullring restaurant, then watch your instructor perform alongside others in a professional flamenco show that will inspire you to keep moving with the music all night long. Olé!

Learn More

Flex your twinkle toes and prepare for a night of dancing and dinner, flamenco style. Consider the origins of this festive and colorful Spanish art form as you arrive at Granada's famed Plaza de Toros, before learning the traditional steps yourself during a lesson. Delicious authentic cuisine follows during dinner at the bullring restaurant, then watch your instructor perform alongside others in a professional flamenco show that will inspire you to keep moving with the music all night long. Olé!

Spanish Fan Painting Workshop

Spanish Fan Painting Workshop

The elegantly decorated folding hand fan has a long history in the society of Spain. Whether a fashion accessory, means of communication, concealer of emotion, status indicator or purely an object of art, it remains a symbol of the nation's culture. Join an expert from the Escuela de Bellas Artes who will teach you about the history of the fan, different styles and the types of ornamentation before you design and paint your own Spanish fan.

Learn More

The elegantly decorated folding hand fan has a long history in the society of Spain. Whether a fashion accessory, means of communication, concealer of emotion, status indicator or purely an object of art, it remains a symbol of the nation's culture. Join an expert from the Escuela de Bellas Artes who will teach you about the history of the fan, different styles and the types of ornamentation before you design and paint your own Spanish fan.

Toledo Tour with Guide

Toledo Tour with Guide

Toledo Gothic Cathedral, Synagogue, Church of Santo Tomé

Toledo Gothic Cathedral, Synagogue, Church of Santo Tomé

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

Granada Tour with Guide

Granada Tour with Guide

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral

Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Tour with Guide

Alhambra and Generalife Gardens Tour with Guide

Seville Tour with Guide

Seville Tour with Guide

Seville Cathedral and Giralda Tower

Seville Cathedral and Giralda Tower

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe

Madrid Tour with Guide

Madrid Tour with Guide

Prado Museum with Guide and Reservation

Prado Museum with Guide and Reservation

Ávila Cathedral

Ávila Cathedral

Convent of Santa Teresa de Jesus

Convent of Santa Teresa de Jesus

El Escorial

El Escorial

Video

Spain

Featured in this video

Itinerary

This itinerary is the starting point for your tour, but it’s not set in stone. If there are days you would like to change, or specific places you’d like to go, we can work with you to create a personalized program that fits the needs of you and your students.

Day 1: Overnight Flight

Depart from the USA.

Day 2: Toledo

Bienvenidos a España! Upon arrival in Madrid, meet your ACIS Tour Manager and drive a short distance to Toledo. The home of renowned painter El Greco, the city's history and culture reflects a fascinating blend of Christian, Islamic and Jewish influences.

Day 3: Toledo

Today's activities will center on a guided tour of this old Visigothic capital. With an expert local guide, explore some of the city's most sacred landmarks, including the Medieval Synagogue; the Church of Santo Tomé, home of El Greco's masterpiece, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz; and a complete tour of the treasures of the Toledo Cathedral. The structure is considered one of Europe's finest examples of medieval Spanish Gothic architecture and the sacristy showcases paintings by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. In the afternoon, you'll visit the imposing Franciscan Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, built in the 1400s by King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I, known as the Catholic Monarchs.

Day 4: Granada

Journey to beautiful Granada, situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and home to Europe's greatest Moorish legacy. Upon arrival, visit the Granada Cathedral. Built by Queen Isabella in the early 1500s, it's an awe-inspiring example of Spanish Renaissance architecture. Tonight you'll learn one of Spain's most enduring traditions, flamenco dancing, at a unique venue where Andalusian culture comes alive—Granada's Plaza de Toros. An expert teaches you the moves for this intense and impassioned dance that's based on Andalusian folkloric traditions during your flamenco lesson before you enjoy a special dinner. Then get swept up by the passion and skill of your professional instructors during a flamenco show. After, take a winding evening stroll with your tour manager through the old Medieval Moorish streets of the Albaicín neighborhood, and cap off your day with stunning views from Mirador de San Nicolás.

Day 5: Seville

The morning starts with a sightseeing tour of the world-famous Alhambra, including the fragrant Generalife Gardens, led by a local guide. You'll marvel at this sprawling palace and fortress, considered one of the greatest feats of Moorish art and architecture. It was here that Christopher Columbus received Queen Isabella's endorsement for his world-changing expedition. Later, you'll head for Seville, the capital of Spain's Andalucía region.

Day 6: Seville

Begin the day with a guided tour of Seville, led by a local expert. You'll visit the city's immense Gothic Cathedral, which houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus. It also features the grand 342-foot-tall Giralda Tower, which offers panoramic views of the city. The Moors built the tower as a minaret for a mosque, but Christian rulers later converted it into a Renaissance-style bell tower—an example of the city's role as a religious crossroads and battleground through the centuries. In the afternoon channel your inner artisan during a Spanish fan painting workshop, led by an expert instructor from the Escuela de Bellas Artes. In the evening, you'll stroll through the old section of the city, walking past the unusual Torre de Oro, a dodecagonal military watchtower built in the 1200s, and into the Parque María Luisa, a gorgeous park that stretches along the serene Guadalquivir River.

Day 7: Madrid

Drive north to Guadalupe this morning, where you'll visit the magnificent Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important religious destinations in Spain. According to legend this spiritual center stands on the spot where a shepherd found a buried statue of the Virgin Mary, apparently hidden by residents from Moorish invasion hundreds of years earlier. The Monastery symbolizes two significant events that occurred in 1492—the end of Muslim influence on the Iberian Peninsula and the discovery of the American continent by Christopher Columbus—and its famous statue became a powerful symbol of the Christianization of the New World. Then you'll travel to Madrid, Spain's elegant central capital.

Day 8: Madrid

Madrid's rich heritage comes alive on your guided sightseeing tour of classic Spanish boulevards, grand plazas, and the diverse architecture of modern-day Madrid. Highlights include the Plaza de España, where a monument to author Miguel de Cervantes is flanked by statues of his immortal creations Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the majestic Alcalá Gate and the famous Las Ventas bullring. Then you'll visit the magnificent Prado Museum, where your timed reservation enables you to skip the long lines to enter this crown jewel of the art world. Here an expert guide will provide illuminating commentary about the works of Velázquez, Goya, Raphael, Rubens, Bosch and other giants of European art. Even the 18th-century Neo-Classical building that houses the collection is stunning. In the afternoon you'll have free time to explore more of the city at your own pace. Perhaps immerse yourself in sites that reflect the city's rich religious heritage, such as the stunning Almudena Cathedral.

Day 9: Madrid

A full-day excursion begins with a morning trip to Ávila, a walled city with centuries-old cobblestone streets. Here you'll visit the revered and fortress-like Ávila Cathedral, one of Spain's first Gothic cathedrals, and the Convent of Santa Teresa de Jesus, which honors Saint Teresa, who worked with St. John of the Cross to reform the Carmelite orders. Then you'll travel to El Escorial to visit the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Also a World Heritage Site, King Philip II had the great building complex constructed to serve a place for his father, Holy Roman emperor Charles V, and future Spanish monarchs to be interred, as well as a Hieronymite monastery and a palace. Return to Madrid in time for dinner and your final evening in Spain.

Day 10: Departure

Depart for the USA.

Optional Extras

Ultimate-Plus Protection Plan

Most Enhanced health coverage, program interruption, baggage delay/loss and travel delay protection while on tour. Plus, enhanced medical/job loss cancellation refund policy

Rate $500

Add to Tour

Ultimate Protection Plan

Enhanced health coverage, program interruption, baggage delay/loss and travel delay protection while on tour. Plus, enhanced medical/job loss cancellation refund policy

Rate $350

Add to Tour

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