Madrid & Old Castille

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Fly to Madrid

  We fly to Madrid and transfer to the Hotel Villa Real (Hotel Emperador for the October departure), located on the city’s Gran Via, which runs through the centre of town.

• Day 2 - The Prado & Sorolla Museum

  This morning is spent in the Prado where see Flemish masterpieces as well as the world’s greatest collection of art by Spanish painters. In addition to works by Goya and Velazquez we will see important paintings by other artists from the 12th to the 19th centuries. After time for an independent lunch we will enjoy a complete change of mood at the Sorolla Museum where the artist Joaquin Sorolla (1863 – 1923) lived and worked. Sorolla’s bright and airy canvases depict an idealised and romanticised image of his native country.

• Day 3 - Toledo

  Today is spent in Toledo, once the country’s leading artistic, religious and intellectual centre. Toledo was made the capital of the Spanish Empire in 1085 and remained so until the end of the 16th century. El Greco lived in Toledo and we see his works in the eponymous museum as well as in the magnificent Cathedral and the famous altarpiece ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’ at the Church of Santo Tomé.

• Day 4 - Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection

  Back in Madrid we spend the morning enjoying the stunning Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection on display in the 18th century Palacio de Villahermosa. Masterpieces spanning more than eight centuries take us on a journey through the entire history of art up to the 20th century.

• Day 5 - Segovia

  Segovia is our destination today. Here we see the cathedral, Segovia is our destination today. Here we see the cathedral, the Alcázar and the 800 metre long Roman aqueduct, still inuse today. During the afternoon we visit La Granja, a pretty small town where we see the palace built by the French born Philip V in the image of Versailles. The surrounding 18th century garden and park by Robert de Cotte is one of the finest 18th century landscapes in Europe.

• Day 6 - Royal Academy of Fine Arts & The Reina Sofia

  Today, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts we see works by Today, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts we see works by Goya, Zurbarán, Ribera and Murillo. In the afternoon we go to the collection of 20th century works at the Reina Sofia. Here we see paintings by Tàpies, Miró and Dalí and, of course, Picasso, whose Guernica is a permanent reminder of the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War.

• Day 7 - El Escorial

  The morning is spent in the sprawling and once remote El Escorial in the Sierra de Guadarrama. This austere monastic complex was the residence of Philip II. The king died here inSeptember 1598. After our visit we drive direct to the airport for the flight to London.