11-Day Private Package Journey

Epic Spain

Barcelona, Madrid, Córdoba, Seville & Granada

Available as Private Semi-Private Self-Guided

From €3,690 per person 11 days / 10 nights

Tour Overview

11 days across Spain.

From the daring geometry of Gaudi's Barcelona to the Moorish splendour of Granada's Alhambra, this eleven-day private journey unfolds Spain's full spectrum — art, architecture, flamenco, and a culinary tradition that turns every meal into an event. You'll ride high-speed trains between world-class cities, wander the lantern-lit lanes of Andalusia, and discover a country where history isn't preserved behind glass but lived in every tapas bar, plaza, and cathedral. Every detail is arranged around you — your pace, your curiosities, your appetite — with hand-picked hotels, expert local guides, and the kind of insider access that transforms a trip into a story.

Detailed Itinerary

Your journey, day by day.

Every day is designed with breathing room. Sleep in, take a detour, linger at lunch — the itinerary flexes around you, not the other way around.

Day 1

Arrival in Barcelona

The Mediterranean opens its arms.

Your private driver meets you at Barcelona–El Prat Airport and whisks you through the plane-tree-lined avenues to your hotel in the heart of the city — the kind of arrival that sets the tone for everything ahead. After check-in, the afternoon is entirely yours: stroll down La Rambla as the flower sellers arrange their stalls, wander to the Port Vell waterfront where fishing boats bob alongside superyachts, or simply sit at a terrace café on Plaça Reial with a glass of cava and let the rhythm of Barcelona wash over you. We'll share our curated list of favourite neighbourhood restaurants — the kind of places where the chef's tasting menu is a love letter to Catalan cuisine.

Private airport transfer through Barcelona's grand avenues
Curated restaurant recommendations for your first evening

4–5★ centrally located hotel, Eixample

Day 2

Barcelona & Gaudí Highlights

Where architecture becomes a fever dream.

Morning begins with the masterpiece that defines Barcelona: a private, skip-the-line visit to the Sagrada Família with an architectural historian who unpacks Gaudí's obsessive genius in a way that makes the forest of columns and kaleidoscopic light feel even more extraordinary. From there, your guide leads you through the mosaic wonderland of Park Güell, perched above the city with views that stretch to the sea. After lunch on your own — we'll have a curated list of neighbourhood favourites ready — the afternoon continues along the elegant Passeig de Gràcia, where Casa Batlló's skeletal facade and the undulating roofline of Casa Milà reveal a man who refused to draw a straight line. The evening is free to explore at your own pace.

Skip-the-line Sagrada Família with architectural historian
Park Güell panoramic visit
Passeig de Gràcia: Casa Batlló & Casa Milà exteriors

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Barcelona

Day 3

Barcelona: Gothic Quarter & Old Town

Two thousand years of secrets, written in stone.

This morning your guide takes you deep into the medieval labyrinth of the Gothic Quarter, where Roman walls lie beneath medieval churches and every narrow turning opens onto a hidden square with a fountain, a guitarist, and a café that's been pouring cortados since your grandparents were young. You'll visit Barcelona Cathedral with its cloister of thirteen white geese, trace the atmospheric lanes where Picasso once walked, and emerge into the fashionable Born district to stand before the soaring nave of Santa Maria del Mar — the people's cathedral, built by dockworkers and fishermen. The afternoon is yours: return to a favourite street, browse the boutiques of El Born, or simply sit on a bench along La Rambla and watch Barcelona perform its daily theatre.

Private walking tour of the Gothic Quarter
Barcelona Cathedral & its cloister of geese
Santa Maria del Mar in the Born district

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Barcelona

Day 4

Barcelona to Madrid

Trading the Mediterranean for the Meseta.

A final Barcelona morning — perhaps the Boqueria Market for one last paper cone of jamón ibérico, or a quiet coffee in a plaza you've claimed as your own. Late morning, you board the AVE high-speed train, and within three hours the Catalan coast gives way to the vast, sun-bleached plateau of central Spain. Your private driver meets you at Madrid Atocha station — itself a lush tropical garden under a soaring iron-and-glass vault — and transfers you to your hotel near the Puerta del Sol. The rest of the day is yours to find your footing in a city that stays up later than any in Europe: browse the bookshops on Cuesta de Moyano, catch the golden hour light in Retiro Park, or start as the Madrileños do with a vermouth and olives at a century-old bar.

AVE high-speed train Barcelona to Madrid
Private transfer from Atocha station
Free afternoon to explore Madrid at your own pace

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Centro

Day 5

Madrid Highlights

The capital reveals its Habsburg heart.

Your private guide meets you after breakfast for a morning that peels back Madrid's grand, theatrical layers. You'll walk the colonnaded Plaza Mayor where bullfights and coronations once drew thousands, slip through the arches into the maze of Madrid de los Austrias — the Habsburg quarter, where the streets are narrow and the architecture is severe and beautiful. At the Royal Palace, one of Europe's largest, your guide brings the ceremonial rooms to life with stories of the Bourbon dynasty and the artists who decorated their ceilings. The morning ends at the Mercado de San Miguel, a soaring iron-and-glass market where you'll graze on croquetas, manchego, and a glass of Ribera del Duero among the Madrileños doing exactly the same thing. The afternoon is free for the Reina Sofía, the rooftop bars of Gran Vía, or a siesta — you're in Spain, after all.

Private guided tour of Plaza Mayor & Habsburg Madrid
Royal Palace interior visit
Mercado de San Miguel tasting

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Madrid

Day 6

Prado Museum & Cultural Madrid

Velázquez, Goya, and a city built on brushstrokes.

This is one of the great museum mornings in the world. Your private guide — an art historian specialising in the Spanish masters — leads you through the Museo del Prado with the kind of insight that makes you see paintings you've known for years as if for the first time. Velázquez's Las Meninas, Goya's dark and luminous canvases, El Greco's elongated saints — each room is a masterclass in Spanish genius. After the Prado, a panoramic drive through Madrid's most elegant avenues: the Puerta de Alcalá framing the sky, the wedding-cake fountain of Plaza de Cibeles, and the grand boulevards that give Madrid its unexpectedly Parisian air. Lunch is on your own — we'll point you toward the literary quarter of Barrio de las Letras, where Cervantes once lived and the tapas bars are exceptional. The evening is free.

Private Prado Museum tour with art historian
Panoramic drive: Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza de Cibeles, grand boulevards
Free evening in Madrid's literary quarter

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Madrid

Day 7

Madrid to Córdoba

Where Europe and the Orient once met.

Morning brings another high-speed train south, and within two hours the Castilian plateau drops away and the olive groves of Andalusia appear — silver-green and endless, stretching to a horizon that shimmers in the heat. Arrive in Córdoba by late morning and check into your hotel in the Judería, the old Jewish quarter, where whitewashed walls are hung with cascading geraniums and every courtyard hides a fountain. After settling in, wander at your own pace: cross the ancient Roman Bridge with its sixteen arches spanning the Guadalquivir, lose yourself in the tangle of narrow streets where three faiths once coexisted, and find a quiet patio restaurant for a late Andalusian lunch. The evening is yours — Córdoba is at its most magical after dark, when the lanes empty and the only sound is your footsteps on the cobblestones.

AVE high-speed train Madrid to Córdoba
Roman Bridge and Guadalquivir riverside
Evening stroll through the Judería

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Judería

Day 8

Córdoba's Mezquita & Transfer to Seville

A forest of arches, and the road to Seville.

The morning belongs to the Mezquita — Córdoba's Mosque-Cathedral, and one of the most astonishing buildings on earth. Your private guide walks you through the hypostyle hall where 856 columns of jasper, onyx, and marble create an infinite forest of red-and-white horseshoe arches, a space so unexpected that even seasoned travellers stop and stare. At its centre, a Renaissance cathedral rises from the mosque's heart — a collision of faiths and centuries that somehow coheres into something transcendent. After the visit, there's time for a final coffee in the flower-filled patios of the old quarter before your private driver takes you south through the rolling Andalusian countryside to Seville. Arrive by mid-afternoon, check into your hotel near the Cathedral, and let the city's warmth — thermal and cultural — settle around you.

Private guided tour of the Mezquita
Córdoba's flower-filled patios
Scenic private transfer to Seville

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Santa Cruz

Day 9

Seville City Tour & Flamenco

Passion, palaces, and the soul of Andalusia.

Seville has a way of overwhelming you — gently, beautifully, completely. Your private guide begins the morning at the Cathedral of Seville, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, where Columbus's tomb rests beneath a canopy of gold. Climb the Giralda Tower — a former minaret — for views across the terracotta rooftops to the river and the hills beyond. From there, step through the gates of the Real Alcázar, a palace complex of such intricate tilework, carved stucco, and lush gardens that it served as the Water Gardens of Dorne in a certain television series. After the palace, lose yourself in the labyrinthine streets of the Santa Cruz district, where orange trees line every alley and jasmine scents the air. A long tapas lunch is in order — this is Seville, where meals are taken seriously and slowly. In the evening, we recommend a flamenco performance in one of the traditional tablaos of Triana — raw, close-up, and electrifying, the kind of experience that gets under your skin.

Seville Cathedral & Giralda Tower climb
Real Alcázar palace and gardens
Santa Cruz district walking tour
Optional flamenco evening in a traditional tablao

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Seville

Day 10

Seville to Granada

Through olive groves and into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

A free morning in Seville to revisit a favourite corner — the Triana district across the river where the ceramic workshops glow with painted azulejos, the Maria Luisa Park with its tiled benches and horse-drawn carriages, or a final plate of salmorejo at the bar you discovered last night. Late morning, your private driver takes you east through the Andalusian heartland — a landscape of olive groves, whitewashed villages, and distant sierras that has barely changed in centuries. Arrive in Granada by mid-afternoon, where the air is thinner, the mountains are closer, and the Moorish past feels not like history but like something that happened yesterday. The evening is yours to explore: the Albaicín quarter, a hillside maze of carmens and miradores with views of the Alhambra lit golden against the dusk, or the cave bars of Sacromonte where spontaneous flamenco still erupts without warning.

Free morning in Seville
Scenic private drive through the Andalusian countryside
Optional evening in the Albaicín or Sacromonte

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Centro

Day 11

The Alhambra & Departure

A palace of water, light, and farewell.

The final morning is the one many travellers remember most vividly. Your private guide — a specialist in Moorish art and architecture — leads you through the Alhambra, the last great palace of Islamic Spain, where every surface is carved with geometric patterns so complex they seem to vibrate, and every courtyard frames a reflection pool that doubles the beauty above it. The Nasrid Palaces are the heart of the visit: the Court of the Lions, the Hall of the Ambassadors, rooms designed to make earthly power feel like a glimpse of paradise. From the palaces, step into the Generalife gardens — terraced, fragrant, with water channels that have been running since the fourteenth century and views across Granada to the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. After the visit, your private driver transfers you to Málaga or Granada airport in time for your departure. Your travel specialist remains on call until you're home — and we'll follow up a few days later to hear about the highlights.

Private guided Alhambra & Nasrid Palaces tour
Generalife gardens visit
Private airport transfer to Málaga or Granada

Meals: Breakfast

Where You'll Stay

Hand-picked hotels, every night.

We choose properties for character, location, and the kind of service that makes you feel looked after — not just checked in. Every hotel can be swapped for an alternative if you prefer.

Barcelona

3 nights

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Eixample

Walking distance to Gaudí landmarks and the Gothic Quarter

Madrid

3 nights

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Centro

Steps from Puerta del Sol, the Prado, and Retiro Park

Córdoba

1 night

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Judería

In the old Jewish quarter, steps from the Mezquita

Seville

2 nights

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Santa Cruz

Heart of the old town, walking distance to the Cathedral and Alcázar

Granada

1 night

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Centro

Near the Alhambra access and the Albaicín quarter

Hotels shown are indicative of the standard we book. Upon request, we will provide a detailed itinerary with specific hotel options tailored to your preferences and budget.

What's in the Price

Included

10 nights in 4–5★ centrally located hotels (double occupancy)
Daily breakfast at each hotel
Airport meet & greet on arrival
All high-speed AVE train tickets (Barcelona–Madrid, Madrid–Córdoba)
Private airport transfers at arrival and departure
All inter-city transfers in air-conditioned private vehicles
Private expert guides in every city (art historians, architectural specialists)
Skip-the-line access at all major sites
Private guided Sagrada Família, Prado Museum, Mezquita, Seville Cathedral & Alcázar, Alhambra
Alhambra & Nasrid Palaces reserved entry
Generalife gardens visit
24/7 travel specialist support throughout your trip
All entrance fees and museum tickets
Hamilton & Chase digital travel booklet with restaurant & tip recommendations

Not Included

International flights to Barcelona / from Granada or Málaga
Travel insurance (required — we partner with World Nomads and can arrange coverage)
Lunches and dinners
Personal expenses (shopping, additional drinks, spa treatments)
Gratuities for guides and drivers (optional but appreciated)
City tax (collected directly by hotels, typically €1–4 per person per night)

Good to Know

This itinerary is a starting point — every detail can be adjusted to suit your preferences, pace, and interests.
Hotels are confirmed at booking based on your travel dates. Upgrades and alternatives are always available.
All guides and experiences are arranged exclusively for your party — never shared with other groups.
Comfortable walking shoes are essential. Most days involve 3–5 hours on foot, often on cobblestones and palace grounds.
Flexible booking: adjust or postpone your dates up to 60 days before departure at no charge.

Make It Yours

Optional add-ons & upgrades.

Every trip is different. These extras can be woven into your itinerary — just let your travel specialist know what catches your eye.

Private paella cooking class in Barcelona

Learn to make authentic paella with a local chef in a historic Born Quarter kitchen

From €120 pp

Montserrat monastery half-day excursion

Mountain monastery with the Black Madonna, boys' choir, and panoramic views

From €150 pp

Toledo full-day excursion from Madrid

The 'City of Three Cultures' — medieval streets, El Greco, and sweeping river gorge views

From €195 pp

Sherry triangle tasting from Seville

Private visit to bodegas in Jerez de la Frontera with a certified sherry guide

From €175 pp

Hammam al Ándalus spa experience

Traditional Arab baths in Córdoba, Seville, or Granada — hot pools, cold pools, and silence

From €85 pp

Hot air balloon over Andalusia

Sunrise flight over the olive groves and whitewashed villages south of Córdoba

From €250 pp

Professional photo session

1-hour portrait session at iconic locations with a local photographer

From €350

Airport VIP lounge

Fast-track security and private lounge at Barcelona, Madrid, or Málaga airport

From €55 pp

"Spain exceeded every expectation. The Alhambra visit was life-changing, the flamenco evening in Seville was raw and unforgettable, and the little details — a hidden courtyard restaurant in Córdoba, a rooftop vermouth in Madrid — made it feel like our trip and no one else's."

David & Karen L.

Chicago, IL · Epic Spain, October 2025

Common Questions

Questions about this trip.

Can I change the hotels?

Absolutely. The hotels listed are our default selections for this route, chosen for location, character, and consistency. If you have a specific property in mind — a parador, a boutique riad-style hotel in Granada, or a five-star palace in Seville — we'll adjust the itinerary and pricing accordingly.

Is this trip suitable for children?

Yes. We regularly run this itinerary for families. For younger children, we'll adjust the pacing, swap in family-friendly guides, and add age-appropriate activities. The Park Güell visit and the Alhambra gardens are particular favourites with kids.

What if I want to extend my trip?

Easy. Common extensions include the Basque Country and San Sebastián (2–3 nights), the Costa Brava (2 nights), Portugal's Algarve (3 nights), or a beach stay in Málaga or Marbella (2–3 nights). We'll build the extension seamlessly into your existing itinerary and pricing.

When is the best time to visit Spain?

April through June and September through October offer the best balance of weather, crowds, and pricing. Andalusia can be intensely hot in July and August — still beautiful, but best paired with a coastal extension. Winter is mild in the south and atmospheric in the cities.

How far in advance should I book?

For peak season (April–October), we recommend booking 3–6 months ahead to secure first-choice hotels and, critically, Alhambra tickets — which sell out weeks in advance. Off-season trips can often be arranged with shorter notice.

What affects the price?

The starting price is based on double occupancy in our default 4–5★ hotels during shoulder season. Prices vary with travel dates (peak summer, Easter, and holidays cost more), hotel upgrades, group size, and optional add-ons. Single supplements are available. We'll provide an exact quote once we know your dates and preferences.

What is your cancellation policy?

A 20% deposit secures your booking. The balance is due 60 days before departure. Cancellations made more than 60 days out receive a full deposit refund. Between 30–60 days, 50% of the deposit is refunded. Within 30 days, the deposit is non-refundable. We strongly recommend travel insurance to cover unexpected changes.

Do I need to speak Spanish?

Not at all. All of our guides are fluent in English, and the hotels and restaurants on our itinerary are accustomed to international guests. That said, a few words of Spanish — 'gracias,' 'por favor,' 'una caña, por favor' — go a long way and are always appreciated.

What happens after I click 'Plan This Trip'?

You'll fill in a short form with your dates, group size, and any preferences. A dedicated travel specialist will reply within one business day with a personalised proposal and exact pricing. There's no obligation — it's a conversation, not a commitment.

Private Package Journey

Epic Spain

11 days / 10 nights

From €3,690

per person

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