DESTINATION:
Madrid
Madrid is a wonderfully diverse and visually striking city with a compact centre featuring numerous museums and galleries, and beautiful baroque and Rococo churches. Highlights range from the important artistic collections of the Prado, with seminal works by Velázquez, El Greco and Goya, to architectural masterpieces such as the Bourbon Palacio Real. Our tour will be led by Mauricio Macarrón Larumbe, a fluent English speaker who has contributed widely to publications on Velázquez, El Greco and Goya. He has completed a doctorate on historical manuscripts and shares his extensive knowledge of Madrid’s cultural heritage with enthusiasm and flair.
Recommended duration - 4 nights/5 days
KEY VISITS (Recommended)
- PRADO MUSEUM – one of the world’s most important art galleries. Its contents represent the royal collection of paintings put together by the Habsburg and Bourbon monarchs in Spain during the 16th, 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.
- THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA MUSEUM – houses works of art collected by the Thyssen-Bornemisza family over two generations which was acquired by Spain in 1993.
- ROYAL PALACE – built by Phillip V after the previous fortress was destroyed by fire in 1734. Construction spanned the reign of two Bourbon monarchs, and the décor reflects the tastes of Carlos III and Carlos IV. Today used only for State occasions.
- ERMITA DE SAN ANTONIO DE LA FLORIDA – a small church renowned for its Goya frescoes.
- EL ESCORIAL – a vast and impressive royal mausoleum, monastery and royal retreat.
ALTERNATIVE VISITS
- SOROLLA MUSEUM – the house where the painter, Joaquin Sorolla, worked and lived. Sorolla often selected subject matter based on a social or historical theme and is also renowned for his portraiture.
- CENTRO DE ARTE REINA SOFIA – houses the national collection of contemporary art. Its most famous exhibit is Picasso’s Guernica.
- MONASTERIA DE LAS DESCALZAS REALES – founded by Doña Juana, the youngest daughter of Emperor Charles V as a convent for the nuns and women of the royal household. It now displays a number of major paintings by Breughel the Elder, Titian, Murillo and Ribera.
FURTHER AFIELD
- TOLEDO – the old capital of Spain where the influence of the successive occupations by Arabs, Jews and Christians can be seen in the varied architecture of the city, once home to the painter El Greco.
- SEGOVIA – surrounded by the rivers Eresme and Clamores, and situated on a rocky ridge. Originally a Roman town, it is today renowned for its 12th century Alcázar (Segovia castle) and 16th century cathedral.
- ÁVILA – the only fortress town in Europe to retain its 11th century walls intact, enclosing a medieval scenario of cobbled streets and narrow passages, of cathedrals and churches. Visits will include the Cathedral and the Convent of the Incarnation where Saint Teresa of Ávila taught and lived for many years.