Stay in historic lodgings as you journey from Lisbon to Barcelona, discovering breathtaking architecture and stunning scenery, fishing villages and cosmopolitan cities, and Basque and Catalan cultures.

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Starting at: $6,974 * Price includes special offer * Includes airfare, taxes & all fees Make a Reservation Ask Us A Question or Call 855-330-1542

Belem Tower, Lisbon

Sunset over the Douro River, Porto

<i>Rabelos</i>, boats on the Douro River in Porto

Rabelos, boats on the Douro River in Porto

Symbol of Santiago de Compostela, found throughout the city and along the Pilgrims Way

The cathedral at Santiago de Compostela

The cathedral in Santiago de Compostela

The city of Bilbao, with the Guggenheim Museum, set amid the Basque countryside

The Guggenheim Museum of Contemporary Art, Bilbao

The rolling hills and Pyrenees Mountains of the Basque countryside

Monument to the running of the bulls in Pamplona

Vista from Gaudi's Parc Guell in Barcelona

The Gothic Quarter of Barcelona

Older architectural style of Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Gaudi's masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia

Interior of Antoni Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia

Gaudi's Casa Mila apartment building

Traditional <i>tapas</i> bar in Spain. Credit: Peter Horree/Alamy

Traditional tapas bar in Spain. Credit: Peter Horree/Alamy

Spanish tapas

Across Northern Spain and Portugal: Lisbon to Barcelona

Featuring Historic Paradores and Pousadas

17 days from $6,974 | includes airfare, taxes and all fees

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Tour Details

TOUR BROCHURE

brochure

WHAT OUR TRAVELERS SAY

This trip was a trip through time. We learned about historical events and places all the way to current events. Our guides provided us with context to tie all our new knowledge together into a "big picture" of the Iberian Peninsula. it was SO enlightening

- Sherry B.

The tour itself was excellent and quite enlightening. The addition of the local guides, the personal touches of being in a private home, brought the experience to a much more complete level giving us a piece of Spanish culture we would not have had otherwise.

- Lois C.

JOURNEYS DISPATCHES

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Accommodations

* Click on hotel name to visit hotel web-site.

Corinthia Hotel Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal

Situated a short distance from the historic city center, the Corinthia Hotel Lisbon overlooks Monsanto National Park. The 518-room hotel features two restaurants and an indoor/outdoor lounge, indoor swimming pool, gym, spa with massage treatments, complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, solarium, jewelry shop, and laundry and dry cleaning services. Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, mini-bar, tea- and coffee-making facilities, in-room safe, TV, and phone.

Pousada de Porto

Porto, Portugal

The public areas of the Pousada de Porto were converted from a former palace built in 1742 on the banks of the Douro River, which exemplifies Portuguese Baroque architecture and has been classified as a National Monument. The 87-room hotel features pieces from various museums in Porto along with contemporary furnishings, and its amenities include a restaurant and bar; fitness center; outdoor and indoor pool; spa with sauna Turkish bath, and massage treatments; complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access; and laundry and dry cleaning service. Air-conditioned guest rooms include private bath with hair dryer, mini-bar, in-room safe, TV, and phone.

Parador de Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Considered one of the world's oldest hotels, the Hostal dos Reis Catolicós as it is also known was built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1499 as a hospital for pilgrims. The 137-room parador is situated in the historic Plaza do Obradoiro adjacent to the famed cathedral and its architectural flourishes include a carved entrance façade, vaulted ceilings, stone archways, a Renaissance chapel, and four courtyards. The hotel features two restaurants and a bar, coffee shop, complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, library, gift shop, and laundry and dry cleaning service. Air-conditioned guest rooms are furnished in historical style and offer private bath with hair dryer, mini-bar, in-room safe, TV, and phone.

Parador de Leon

Leon, Spain

Originally a 16th-century monastery and an impressive example of Renaissance architecture, this parador once housed the knights of the Order of St. James charged with protecting the pilgrims on the Way of St. James. The 226-room lodging features fine architectural details including carvings, a cloistered courtyard, and a vaulted ceiling; amenities include a restaurant and bar, spa with massage treatments and hair salon, complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, library, gift shop, and laundry service. Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, mini-bar, in-room safe, TV, and phone.

Melia Bilbao

Bilbao, Spain

The contemporary Melia Bilbao is located in the city center close to the Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, and other cultural attractions, shops, and restaurants. Housing a collection of contemporary art, the 211-room hotel has two restaurants featuring Basque specialties and a bar; wellness center with gym, heated outdoor pool, sauna, and massage and beauty treatments; complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access; and laundry and dry cleaning service. Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, in-room safe, mini-bar, TV, and phone.

Radisson Collection Hotel, Gran Via Bilbao (May 10 Departure)

Bilbao, Spain

The Radisson Collection Hotel, Gran Via Bilbao sits in the center of Bilbao, close to many dining and shopping options and just a short walk from the Guggenheim Museum. The hotel boasts a restaurant serving both Basque and Japanese specialties, rooftop bar with vertical gardens and fire pits, fitness center, spa with available treatments (for a fee), complimentary Wi-Fi internet access, and laundry and dry-cleaning service (for a fee). All 137 air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, in-room safe, espresso machine, minibar, TV, and phone.

Parador de Bielsa

Bielsa, Spain

Perched on the mountain slopes of the Pyrenees in Monte Perdido National Park, the Parador de Bielsa offers sweeping views of this mountainous region of Northern Spain from its terrace. The 39-room parador features traditional regional architecture with local stone and offers a restaurant and bar, terrace, garden, complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, laundry service, and gift shop. Air-conditioned guest rooms have private bath with hair dryer, mini-bar, in-room safe, TV, and phone. A Note about Air Conditioning Hotels in Spain generally adhere to guidelines issued by the government regarding the availability of air conditioning. Many lodgings provide air conditioning in guest rooms only from late April or May until late September/early October.

Hotel Avenida Palace

Barcelona, Spain

Built in 1952, Hotel Avenida Palace stands in the heart of Barcelona and offers a good location from which to explore. The 151-room hotel is just minutes from La Ramblas, the Picasso Museum, and the museum housing the works of modern architect Antoni Gaudi. The hotel features a restaurant and bar and laundry and dry cleaning services. Air-conditioned guest rooms offer private bath with hair dryer, complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, in-room safe, mini-bar, TV, and phone. A Note about Air Conditioning Hotels in Spain generally adhere to guidelines issued by the government regarding the availability of air conditioning. Many lodgings provide air conditioning in guest rooms only from late April or May until late September/early October.

Activity Level

Expectations: This Classic Land Journey features visits to historic cities, small towns and villages, and wilderness areas in many different regions across Portugal and northern Spain. Although comprehensive, it's not rushed, but well paced and finely tuned. Expectations include longer touring days with many full-day motorcoach excursions and seven different hotels. Many hotels are paradors or pousadas: historic buildings that have been transformed into hotels. Although modern with most amenities, they can sometimes require additional walking to get to guest rooms (and several do not have an elevator). Mostly full-day excursions are from four to six hours, and seven afternoons are at leisure. Expect standing and walking for long periods of time during city tours, museum visits, and outdoor activities; daily walks of up to three miles, sometimes over difficult terrain that includes cobblestones and city hills (especially in hilltowns), uneven pavement, stairs without handrails, and absence of elevators; longer walks to get to city centers where coaches are prohibited. There are four longer coach rides of approximately three to four hours duration.

Please note that dinners in Spain are typically later in the evening than we are accustomed to here in the United States. The majority of the dinners on this tour are scheduled at approximately 8:30 pm.

Appropriate for: Travelers who are physically fit and comfortable with longer days of touring (both walking tours and coach time).

Tour Extension

Barcelona Post-Program Option — 3 Days, 2 Nights

Discover more of this lively, spirited city at your leisure. Your tour extension price includes:

Accommodations at Hotel Avenida Palace (Superior First Class)
Two meals: two (2) breakfasts
Transfer to airport

Testimonials

WHAT OUR TRAVELERS SAY

This trip was a trip through time. We learned about historical events and places all the way to current events. Our guides provided us with context to tie all our new knowledge together into a "big picture" of the Iberian Peninsula. it was SO enlightening

- Sherry B.

The tour itself was excellent and quite enlightening. The addition of the local guides, the personal touches of being in a private home, brought the experience to a much more complete level giving us a piece of Spanish culture we would not have had otherwise.

- Lois C.

Reading List

Highly Recommended

Small Memories

By: José Saramago

“Small Memories is a . . . nourishing last gift from a great writer.”—Washington PostShifting back and forth between childhood and his teenage years, between Azinhaga and Lisbon, this is a mosaic of memories, a simply told, affecting look into the author’s boyhood: the tragic death of his older brother at the age of four; his mother pawning the family’s blankets every spring and buying them back in time for winter; his beloved grandparents bringing the weaker piglets into their bed on cold nights; and Saramago’s early encounters with literature, from teaching himself to read by deciphering articles in the daily newspaper, to poring over an entertaining dialogue in a Portuguese-French conversation guide, not realizing that he was in fact reading a play by Molière.Written with Saramago’s characteristic wit and honesty, Small Memories traces the formation of an artist fascinated by words and stories from an early age who emerged, against all odds, as one of the world’s most respected writers.“Like a nostalgic progenitor bestowing his wealth of life experience upon a younger generation, Saramago digs deep into his peasant roots to sketch a rough outline of the little boy who would become one of the greatest Portuguese-language writers”—Portland Oregonian

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Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past

By: Giles Tremlett

"An invaluable book . . . A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present."-Sarah Wildman, New York Times Book Review The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco's death squads finally broke what Spaniards call "the pact of forgetting"-the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe's most voluble people have kept silent so long. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europe's most exciting countries.

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DK Eyewitness Portugal (Travel Guide)

By: DK Eyewitness

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DK Eyewitness Northern Spain (Travel Guide)

By: DK Eyewitness

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Also Recommended

Lonely Planet Spanish Phrasebook & Dictionary 9

By: Lonely Planet

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The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela

By: Brand: Italica Press

"The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela" presents the first complete English translation of Book Five of the Liber Sancti Jacobi or Codex Calixtinus. This twelfth-century guidebook traces the route from southern France to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. The medieval Christian world knew three major pilgrimage sites - Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela. Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries Santiago de Compostela was by far the most popular. Pilgrimage to Compostela was a once-in-a-lifetime human adventure. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came year after year through France and across the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela near the Atlantic shores of Galicia. In his study of the road to Santiago, Professor William Melczer discusses Relics and Pilgrimage The Origin of the Cult of St. James Myth and Historical Reality The Iter Sancti Jacobi The Liber Sancti Jacobi Pilgrimage without Ideology The Iconography of St. James. This book also includes extensive commentaries and notes that highlight historical, geographical, art-historical, hagiographic, and general cultural matters along the route traced by the Guide. Illustrated, introduction, gazetteer, hagiographical register, bibliography, index.

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Spain: The Root and the Flower: An Interpretation of Spain and the Spanish People

By: John A. Crow

This is the late John A. Crow's classic study of the cultural history of Spain and its people, which he last updated in 1985 but which seems as fresh and pertinent as when he first wrote it. Crow devoted a lifetime to Hispanic studies and here provides a historical interpretation of Spanish civilization from its earliest beginnings to the present. The scope of this study is remarkable and includes chapters on Roman Spain, the Jews in Spain, the Moors, life in medieval towns, and the Golden Age of Spain, plus a view of Franco's legacy.

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Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

By: José Saramago

When José Saramago decided to write a book about Portugal, his only desire was that it be unlike all other books on the subject, and in this he has certainly succeeded. Recording the events and observations of a journey across the length and breadth of the country he loves dearly, Saramago brings Portugal to life as only a writer of his brilliance can. Forfeiting the usual sources such as tourist guides and road maps, he scours the country with the eyes and ears of an observer fascinated by the ancient myths and history of his people. Whether it be an inaccessible medieval fortress set on a cliff, a wayside chapel thick with cobwebs, or a grand mansion in the city, the extraordinary places of this land come alive. Always meticulously attentive to those elements of ancient Portugal that persist today, he examines the country in its current period of rapid transition and growth. Journey to Portugal is an ode to a country and its rich traditions.

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The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation

By: Mark Kurlansky

From Mark Kurlansky, the bestselling author of Cod, Salt, Birdseye, and Paper—the illuminating story of an ancient and enigmatic peopleStraddling a small corner of Spain and France in a land that is marked on no maps except their own, the Basques are a puzzling contradiction—they are Europe's oldest nation without ever having been a country. No one has ever been able to determine their origins, and even the Basques' language, Euskera—the most ancient in Europe—is related to none other on earth. For centuries, their influence has been felt in nearly every realm, from religion to sports to commerce. Even today, the Basques are enjoying what may be the most important cultural renaissance in their long existence, as displayed by new cookbooks like chefs Alexandra Raij and Eder Montero's The Basque Book and restaurateur Jose Pizarro’s Basque.Mark Kurlansky's passion for the Basque people and his exuberant eye for detail shine throughout this fascinating book. Like Cod, The Basque History of the World, blends human stories with economic, political, literary, and culinary history into a rich and heroic tale.Among the Basques' greatest accomplishments: • Exploration—the first man to circumnavigate the globe, Juan Sebastian de Elcano, was a Basque and the Basques were the second Europeans, after the Vikings, in North America • Gastronomy and agriculture—they were the first Europeans to eat corn and chili peppers and cultivate tobacco, and were among the first to use chocolate • Religion—Ignatius Loyola, a Basque, founded the Jesuit religious order • Business and politics—they introduced capitalism and modern commercial banking to southern Europe • Recreation—they invented beach resorts, jai alai, and racing regattas, and were the first Europeans to play sports with balls “A delectable portrait of an uncanny, indomitable nation.” –Newsday“Exciting, Illuminating, and thought provoking.” –The Boston GlobeEntertaining and instructive… [Kurlansky’s] approach is unorthodox, mixing history with anecdotes, poems with recipes.” –The New York Times Book Review

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Portugal - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

By: Pinto Basto, Sandy, Culture Smart!

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Spain - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

By: Aguado Viguer, Bélen, Meaney, Marian

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Conquerors: How Portugal Forged The First Global Empire

By: Roger Crowley

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Road to Santiago (Directions)

By: Kathryn Harrison

Displaying her "real talent for conjuring far-flung times and places," Kathryn Harrison tells the mesmerizing story of her 200-mile pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. In the spring of 1999, Kathryn Harrison set out to walk the centuries-old pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. "Not a vacation, " she calls it, "but a time out of time." With a heavy pack, no hotel reservations, and little Spanish, she wanted an experience that would be both physically and psychically demanding. No pain, no gain, she thought, and she had some important things to contemplate. But the pilgrim road was spattered with violets and punctuated by medieval churches and alpine views, and, despite the exhaustion, aching knees, and brutal sun, she was unexpectedly flooded with joy and gratitude for life's gifts. "Why do I like this road?" she writes. "Why do I love it? What can be the comfort of understanding my footprint as just one among the millions? ... While I'm walking I feel myself alive, feel my small life burning brightly." Throughout this deeply personal and revealing memoir of her journey, first made alone and later in the company of her daughter, Harrison blends striking images of the route and her fellow pilgrims with reflections on the redemptive power of pilgrimages, mortality, family, the nature of endurance, the past and future, the mystery of friendship. The Road to Santiago is an exquisitely written, courageous, and irresistible portrait of a personal pilgrimage in search of a broader understanding of life and self.

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Prince Henry the Navigator

By: Sir Peter Russell, Peter Russell

Henry the Navigator, fifteenth-century Portuguese prince and explorer, is a legendary, almost mythical figure in late medieval history. Considered along with Columbus to be one of the progenitors of modernity, Prince Henry challenged the scientific assumptions of his age and was responsible for liberating Europeans from geographical restraints that had bound them since the Roman Empire’s collapse. In this enthralling account of Henry’s life―the first biography of “The Navigator” in more than a century―Peter Russell reaps the harvest of a lifelong study of Prince Henry. Making full use of documentary evidence only recently available, Russell reevaluates Henry and his role in Portuguese and European history.Examining the full range of Prince Henry’s activities, Russell discusses the explorer’s image as an imperialist and as a maritime, mathematical, and navigational pioneer. He considers Henry’s voyages of discovery in the African Atlantic, their economic and cultural consequences, and the difficult questions they generated regarding international law and papal jurisdiction. Russell demonstrates the degree to which Henry was motivated by the predictions of his astrologer―an aspect of his career little known until now―and explains how this innovator, though firmly rooted in medieval ways of thinking and behaving, set in motion a current of change that altered European history.

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Alentejo Blue

By: Monica Ali

Following her National Book Critics Circle and Los Angeles Times Book Award-nominated, bestselling debut, Brick Lane, Monica Ali's splendid Alentejo Blue "rewards readers with characters who etch themselves into one's memory" (People). Set in a small Portuguese village, Alentejo Blue is a story of displacement and modernization told through the lives of the locals and of people who are just passing through. The residents of Mamarrosa whose ancestors occupy the graveyards are restless and struggle to make a living. They watch as tourists and expats move in. Monica Ali's characters are profoundly sympathetic. Her understanding of their dreams, desires, and disappointments is rare and moving. Alentejo Blue is evidence that Monica Ali is one of the most gifted voices of her generation.

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The Sun Also Rises: The Hemingway Library Edition

By: Hemingway, Ernest

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The High Mountains of Portugal: A Novel

By: Martel, Yann

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Baltasar and Blimunda

By: Jose Saramago

From the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, a “brilliant...enchanting novel” (New York Times Book Review) of romance, deceit, religion, and magic set in eighteenth-century Portugal at the height of the Inquisition. National bestseller. Translated by Giovanni Pontiero.

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History of the World Map by Map (DK History Map by Map)

By: DK

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Additional Recommended Reading for Barcelona Extension

DK Eyewitness Barcelona and Catalonia (Travel Guide)

By: DK Eyewitness

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Gaudí: The Complete Works

By: Zerbst, Rainer

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Barcelona

By: Hughes, Robert

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Victus: The Fall of Barcelona, a Novel

By: Pinol, Albert Sanchez, Hahn, Daniel, Bunstead, Thomas

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Travel Insurance

For the convenience of our travelers, Smithsonian Journeys includes a basic medical expense and evacuation plan through Trip Mate, a Generali Global Assistance & Insurance Services brand, at no additional charge. This plan provides post-departure Medical and Dental coverage of $250,000 per person and Emergency Assistance and Transportation coverage of $1,000,000 per person (U.S. Residents Only). Note: For full details regarding these coverages please review the following Plan Documents here.

In addition, we recommend that travelers purchase a travel protection plan to help protect their travel investment from unforeseen events such as cancellation due to illness, flight delays due to adverse weather, baggage loss, and more. For your convenience, Smithsonian Journeys offers an optional Travel Protection Plan administered by Trip Mate, a Generali Global Assistance & Insurance Services brand. For those interested, optional "Cancel for Any Reason" coverage is available for an additional charge. Note: Certain eligibility requirements apply and Cancel for Any Reason coverage is not available to New York residents. For full details regarding this coverage please review the following Plan Documents here.

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