FANTASIA Mediterranean Dream: Italy - Spain 17 Days / 16 Nights Rome > Madrid

Day 1:

Welcome to Rome! Meet your driver at the airport and enjoy your included transfer to the hotel. Use your 1-day Hop-on Hop-off ticket for the I Love Rome City Tour. Ride the open-top panoramic bus to admire Rome’s landmarks with audio commentary in 12 languages. Hop on and off at your leisure across eight stops. It’s the perfect way to explore the Eternal City independently. Spend the rest of the evening at your own pace. Return to the hotel on your own. Overnight stay in Rome.

Day 2:

Begin your morning with an included “Skip the Line” tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Square. Discover the Galleries of Tapestries and Maps, Raphael’s Rooms, and Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel. The visit ends in St. Peter’s Square, where you can view the Basilica’s majestic exterior. Spend the rest of the day at your own pace or join an optional tour. Overnight stay in Rome.

Day 3:

Depart at 7:15 a.m. by deluxe coach to Assisi, a medieval town surrounded by ancient walls. Visit the Basilica of St. Francis, featuring frescoes by Giotto and Cimabue and enjoy a lunch in Assisi. Continue to Siena, UNESCO-listed and famous for its shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and Palio horse race. Later, travel through Tuscany’s countryside to reach Florence. Check in at your hotel. Overnight stay.

Day 4:

Explore Florence, cradle of the Renaissance. Visit the Duomo, Brunelleschi’s Dome, Giotto’s Bell Tower, and Baptistery. See Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, and Santa Croce Basilica. Enjoy lunch in a traditional Tuscan restaurant. In the afternoon, choose between free time in the city or an optional visit to Pisa, with its Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli. Dinner is at leisure. Overnight stay in Florence.

Day 5:

Travel to Bologna, a city rich in culture and culinary excellence. Walk from Piazza Malpighi to Piazza Maggiore, admiring San Petronio Basilica and the Palazzo del Podestà. Delight in a light local lunch, savoring regional specialties. Stroll the medieval streets, arcades, and markets. In the afternoon, continue to Venice.  Upon arrival, check in at the hotel and relax. Overnight stay.

Day 6:

Transfer to Piazza San Marco and discover Venice’s highlights with a guided tour. Visit Doge’s Palace (outside) and cross the Bridge of Sighs. Afterward, enjoy a glass of spritz or prosecco with cicchetti, traditional Venetian snacks. Relax and soak in the atmosphere. Spend the afternoon exploring the city’s canals, artisan shops, or quiet corners on your own. Return to your hotel. Overnight stay in Venice.

Day 7:

After breakfast, travel to Montepulciano, in the heart of Tuscany. Known for its medieval charm and panoramic views,  the town is a perfect mix of history and beauty. Enjoy a traditional Tuscan lunch in a local restaurant. Take some time to stroll  through the historic center before rejoining your group. In the late afternoon, head to Rome where the escorted tour ends. Overnight stay. Depart Venice and travel through Tuscany to Montepulciano, a hilltop town known for “Vino Nobile” and  stunning views. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, paired with a glass of fine Tuscan wine. After lunch, take some free time before heading  back to Rome, where the escorted tour ends. Check in at the hotel and overnight.

Day 8:

Breakfast at the hotel and morning at your disposal. Meet your driver at 7:30 pm for your transfer to Civitavecchia port (Terminal Grimaldi Lines) and board on the Cruise Ferry to Barcelona. Departure at 11:00 pm. Overnight on board.

Day 9:

Breakfast and lunch on board. Enjoy your time and discover the variety and quality of services that these kind of Cruise Ferries can offer; a wide open space with pool (for adults and kids), lounges, bars, disco, a cafeteria (open 24 hours); self service or a la carte restaurants, boutiques, internet lounges, health center and a gym with technogym equipment. Arrival in Barcelona at 07:00 pm approx., disembark from the ferry and transfer to Barcelona. Arrival and accommodation at the hotel.

Day 10:

Breakfast at the hotel. Presentation at our Estación del Nord office for the Highlights city tour of Barcelona. Half-day sightseeing tour around Barcelona that will allow you to discover the history of the city while visiting some of the most important places in a comfortable and easy way.  The first part of the visit consists in a guided walking tour through the small and narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter, the oldest part of the city. During this early visit we will see the Cathedral Square, The Cathedral, the Old Jewish Quarter, among other interesting places. Later we will take our bus to start with a panoramic tour around the rest of the city. We will head towards the Mountain of Montjuic, the main scenery of the Olympic Games in the 1992. We will see the Olympic stadium from the bus and later we will have the opportunity to enjoy the panoramic views of the city riding the aerial tramway (subject to the weather conditions). At the end, back to the bus, we will leave Montjuic and come back to the city centre passing through España square, the twin Venetian towers, the MNAC and the Shopping centre Las Arenas, build in an old bullring. We will pass through the elegant Passeig de Gràcia Street, where there are located two of the most important Gaudi’s buildings (Casa Batlló and Casa Milà “la Pedrera”). We will arrive to Estació del Nord, and we will end up the tour.  Afternoon is at leisure to enjoy this wonderful city and surroundings. Accommodation at the hotel. (B) 

(*) If the visit to Barcelona could not be carried out for technical reasons, it would be replaced by the Barcelona City Tour 1-day Tourist Bus.

Day 11:

Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast at the hotel departure southwest along an industrial and agricultural area with certain relevance within Europe. Arrive to Zaragoza, capital city of Aragón, within the banks of Ebro River the most copious within the Iberian Peninsula. Zaragoza, known as Cesar Augusta during the Roman period, had an important role in Spanish history. Some free time to see the impressive Baroque architecture of the Basilic-Temple of Our Lady Pilar. Continue to Madrid. (B) 

(*) Transportation between Barcelona and Madrid could be done by High-Speed train in Tourist Class without tour escort.

Day 12:

Breakfast at the hotel. Depart to Seville via Cordoba. Drive along La Mancha, Don Quixote’s land, passing by a typical site in Puerto Lapice. Cross through the natural border of “Despeñaperros” and get into Andalusia, a region for itself that shows an enormous heritage from a splendorous past. Reach Cordoba. Impressive tour of its Mosque and other sites that will ease our mind and spirit strolling through its narrow winding streets of the Jewish Quarter. In the afternoon, after a short two hours ride reach Seville. Accommodation at the hotel.

Day 13:

Breakfast at the hotel. Morning panoramic city tour visiting the Cathedral (the second largest in the Catholic world after St. Peters in Rome), Santa Cruz quarter (a natural scenario of “Carmen” as well as a precisely where the myth of “Don Juan” developed), Maria Luisa Park and Plaza de España. Afternoon at leisure for you to discover exclusive views, specific flavors of this active full of light city. Accommodation at the hotel. Optional Flamenco show.

Day 14:

After breakfast at the hotel drive east through the Caliphate road to the heart of Andalusia observing an endless number of olive trees on the way to Granada and its incredible and amazing monumental environment, last stronghold of the Moorish Kingdoms up to 1492. Visit the world famous Alhambra complex and Generalife Gardens that have inspired several authors with its sound and sights, such as the “Tales of the Alhambra” by W. Irving. Accommodation at the hotel. At night, optionally, Zambra Flamenca.

Day 15:

Breakfast at the hotel and free day to enjoy the Nasrid capital. Granada is more than the Alhambra; the Muslim heritage runs through every corner of the city and mixes with the Christian tradition, giving rise to a unique city. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 16:

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive northward where it emerges, toward the sky of Castilla and surrounded by the Tagus River, the impressive Imperial city of Toledo –World Heritage City- where the three cultures Christians, Moorish and Jewish, have lived together. Resume of the Spanish art, history and spirituality, the whole town is a National Monument. Short guided tour of this historical old town through its narrow streets. Continue to Madrid.  Accommodation at the hotel.

Day 17:

After breakfast at the hotel transfer to the airport. END OF OUR SERVICE

(*) On the ferry and during your stay in Rome, in Barcelona and Madrid, tour escort service will not be available