Madrid, San Sebastian & La Rioja

Your week in Spain begins with arrival into the capital city of Madrid. Upon arrival, our private driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel in the city centre. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure with time to explore the city.

A day trip to Toledo is on the itinerary today. The historic capital of Spain is less than an hour south of Madrid, filled with medieval streets lined with unique architectural styles. Teeming with history, the entire city has been declared a national monument, filled with incredibly well-preserved buildings and cultural attractions. Today it’s still the spiritual, artistic and historic hub of the country. You’ll explore it with your extra guide before enjoying free time on your own. On your return to Madrid, a stop will be made along the way at a countryside winery for a tasting and tour.

Traveling north to Madrid today, you’ll visit one of Spain’s most important wine regions, La Rioja. This area, bordered to the south and north by mountains, is famous for producing some of the world’s best reds. This is one of Spain’s premier wine producing regions. The warm Mediterranean with the cool Atlantic is what gives the tasty reds their special flavour. Along the way to your final destination, Haro, you’ll stop at one of the local wineries for lunch paired with local vintages.

You’ll have an entire day devoted to touring and tasting throughout Spain’s most popular wine region, La Rioja which produces 80 to 300 million liters of wine every year while comprising nearly 63,600 hectares of vineyards. Sample multiple vintages produced in the region at various wineries, including a special curated wine-tasting lunch which may include famously delicious Riojan tapas. Be sure to bring your camera along – in addition to the lush vineyards, La Rioja is made up of soaring, dramatic mountains, verdant rolling hills, lunar-like landscapes and meandering rivers that make it even more appealing while providing plenty of photo-ops as well.

Today you’ll travel north to San Sebastian in Basque Country, renowned for its thriving food scene. In fact, it was not only named one of the two cities of culture in Europe for 2016, but it’s considered to be one of the hottest spots for foodies, with one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars per capita. Upon your arrival, get settled into your room and enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure. You might want to ride the funicular up Mont Igualdo for a panoramic vista or wander the grounds of historic palaces before taking advantage of the legendary nightlife.

Enjoy a leisurely morning with free time to sleep in, relax and enjoy the beautiful beaches this oceanfront resort town is known for. Set in the bay of La Concha, Playa de la Concha has been crowned the very best beach in Europe according to TripAdvisor reviews. It’s surrounded by vibrant green hills and San Sebastian’s old town, a popular place to be in the summer with tourists and locals tossing down their beach towels and blankets to soak up the sun and splash in the shallow water.

Time to bid farewell to this premier Spanish food and wine region. Enjoy a private transfer to Bilbao for your flight home.