Gastronomy & Wine Tour

This is a VIP travel package was created to satisfy the gastronomy and wine enthusiasts among you. Here we place our focus on visits to different types of wineries (always with dégustation!), pairing these with select foods in the typical Spanish restaurants around the northern part of Spain - an area, very famous for its gastronomy.

The part of the tour will cover Barcelona, the Peñedes wine region, and Zaragoza. We will also visit La Rioja, - a world-famous wine production region with its capital Logroño; San Sebastian - a marvelous city by the Atlantic Ocean and the culinary capital of Spain. You will also visit Bilbao with its Guggenheim Museum; city of Santander - another Atlantic pearl, and later you will pass through Castilla-y-Leon and finish the tour in Madrid - the capital and largest city in Spain. 

On numerous ocasions will be you will be seeing the processes of elaboration of red, white and sparkling wines. You will also explore the production of cider - a low-alcohol drink which uses apples instead of grapes and is a much-loved beverage in Northern Spain.

During the tour you will tour five different ''bodegas'' (wineries) from large and world-famous ones to small, authentic and family-owned establishments.

The tour is on the Full Board base, where breakfast, lunch and dinner are included. Buffet breakfasts are always eaten in the hotel, while lunches and dinners are mostly served in authentic, traditional, high-quality restaurants. Some lunches will be held at the wineries. Drinks (water and wine) are always included for your pleasure and comfort. 

In this package, winery visits are combined with a proper tours of the cities you'll visit, so you have the opportunity to learn about the history, culture and heritage of Spain. 

The tour starts in Barcelona and ends in Madrid.

The wineies names included here are samples. 

Duration of a tour: 8 days, 7 nights.

Day 1. Barcelona

Arrival. Meet'n'Greet at Barcelona's airport by our representative.

Depending on plane's arrival time, you will go on a morning or afternoon half-day tour around Barcelona. 

• Sagrada Família: one of the most popular attractions in Spain, the Sagrada Família is a Catholic basilica designed by the Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí, who was famous for championing the architectural style known as Catalan modernism. It has been under construction for over 100 years and isn’t expected to be completed for at least another twenty. The originality and grandeur of its design, despite its unfinished state, attracts over 3 million visitors each year. 
• Plaza Catalunya: Plaza Catalunya is where the prime tourist spots of Barcelona intersect, namely the Gothic Quarter, Raval and Eixample districts. This 50,000 sqm public space is one of the largest in Spain, and is known for its intricately made and positioned neo-classic and avant-garde sculptures. Plaza Catalunya is considered the center of Barcelona.
• Passeig de Gracia: this broad elegant avenue was built by and for the wealthy residents of Barcelona, who never left. Here you will find luxury designer shops alongside  major banks and the stock exchange. Architectural details include modernist lamp posts, Gaudi’s tiles for the pavement and a myriad of grand buildings including two of Gaudi’s houses: Casa Batllo and Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera.
• Mirador de Colom: standing on the pier at the very end of La Rambla, the Mirador de Colom is a homage to the explorer, Christopher Columbus, who paid a visit to the Catalan capital before setting sail to America. The monument is also a viewing tower which can be accessed via an elevator and offers magnificent panoramic views of the city and sea.
• The Old Port (Port Vell): is separated from the Olympic port by long beaches and the old fisherman's quarter - Barceloneta. The Old Port has been remodeled to extend to the city center, down the Rambla and into the harbor. This is an attractive, popular area with restaurants, shops, nightclubs and frequent open-air entertainment.
• Montjuic Hill: a hill in Barcelona, with its spectacular views over the harbor, the port and the Mediterranean Sea. Enjoy stunning views from the panoramic viewpoint, located near the hill top.
• Olympic Rings: the Olympic rings from the 1992 games should not be missed. The complex includes the stadium, the St. Jordi sports pavilion and the Calatrava Communications Tower.
• Plaza Espana: is one of the most important squares of the city, and the second largest in Barcelona. It was built and decorated for the 1929 International Exhibition.

Lunch in the restaurant will be held during your tour. 

Hotel check-in (before or after the tour, again, depending on plane's arrival).

Some free time to refresh and recover after the long flight.

Later in the evening, you will enjoy a wonderful dinner in a typical Spanish restaurant nearby your hotel - a full course meal with an excellent local wine.

This will conclude your first night in Barcelona. 

Day 2. Barcelona - Montserrat - Peñedes wine region.

Breakfast. Check out from our hotel in Barcelona. 

This day we will travel to the Montserrat mountain to visit an old Benedictian abbey, where a symbol of Catalunya: the Virgin of Montserrat (Black Madonna) is located.

• The Mountain:  Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain, located just 40km outside of the city of Barcelona.''Montserrat'' literally means ''saw mountain'' (serrated, like the common handsaw) - in Catalan. It describes this peculiar aspect with its multitude of rock formations, visible from a great distance. The mountain is composed of strikingly pink conglomerate, a type of sedimentary rock. Montserrat is also Spain's first National Park.
• Benedictian Monastery: Santa Maria de Montserrat is a Benedictine abbey, located on the mountain of Montserrat, at a height of 1236 meters. The monastery was founded in the 10th century and still functions to this day, housing over 150 monks. The Escolania, or Montserrat’s Boys’ Choir, is one of the oldest in Europe, and performs during religious ceremonies and communal prayers in the basilica. Also Basilica houses a museum with works of art by many prominent painters and sculptors, including works by El Greco, Dalí, Picasso and others.
• Black Madonna: Our Lady of Montserrat, or the Virgin of Montserrat, is a statue of the  Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on the Montserrat Mountain. She is the Patron Saint of Catalonia, an honor she shares with Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan). La Moreneta, or the little dark one is due to the dark color of the statue's face. It is a common belief that if you touch her hand, your wishes will come true. 
• There is a small market near the Monserrat Abbey where you can buy local products produced by locals themselves. These include liquors, cheeses, and honey – many of which are produced by the monks that live nearby.

Later we'll proceed to the local rural restaurant - Vinyanova, where you will try a traditional Spanish lunch. 

After we'll head to one of the world-famous wineries, the Codorniu or Freixenet. Both are world known and specialize in producing Cava - Spain's very famous sparkling wine, similar to French champagne. A full private tour and degustation is upon arrival.

In the early evening, you will travel to one of the rural hotels in Peñedes.

Check in, enjoy dinner and your 2^nd night, in Peñedes.

Day 3. Peñedes - Zaragoza

Breakfast in the hotel.

We will start our day with a visit to one of the typical small wineries of Peñedes, an authentic and family-owned winery called Mas Comtal, that specializes in red, white, rose and sparkling wines.

Degustation with lunch is included at the end of the tour through the winery.

Later we'll travel on to Zaragoza, the capital of the community in Aragon.

Arrival, check in and dinner in Zaragoza.

Day 4. Zaragoza - La Rioja - Logroño

Breakfast. Enjoy a tour thru Spain’s fifth largest city - Zaragoza is the capital of the Aragón region. Located south of the Pyrenees, it sits almost in the middle between Madrid and San Sebastian, and is home to a range of fascinating sights, from Roman ruins to magnificent Islamic architecture and a striking Baroque cathedral. We will stop in the city center so you can have a free time to explore the most notorious sights of Zaragoza: Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar and Puente de Piedra (the Stone Bridge).

• A striking Baroque Basilica, it is here that many believe that Santiago - one of Jesus’ disciples and referred to as James in the Bible - saw the Virgin Mary ascend a marble pillar. A chapel was built around that pillar and later added to and renovated, until it became the stunning cathedral it is today. If you want, you can head inside to look around at its magnificent interior, then take the elevator to the top to enjoy some of the most spectacular views of the city.
• Bridge Puente de Piedra (the Stone Bridge) is the oldest of all the bridges across the Ebro River. It was built in 1401 following a Gothic style. Measuring about 225 meters in length, the entire stone structure is held by seven arches, with cutwaters that help to break the water flow. It is very close to the Plaza del Pilar, so its silhouette with the Basilica del Pilar in the background has become one of the iconic images of the city.

After the tour lunch in one of the Zaragoza's central restaurants. 

We continue onward to the world-famous region of La Rioja, with its concentration of wineries in the hundreds. This is Spain's most famous wine region where most of the quality wines are produced.

This day in La Rioja, we'll pay a visit the one the largest and world-known wineries: Marques de Riscal or Marques de Murietta.

After the tour and degustation, we'll continue on to capital of La Rioja province - Logroño.

Check in to the hotel and a following dinner will conclude your 4^th night in Spain. 

Day 5. Logroño – San Sebastian

Breakfast as usual. After short tour to see a historic center of Logrono, we'll head to another winery in La Rioja area, this time the smaller and more exclusive, that produce a producers of top-notch wines. Samples include: Marques de Terran, Amezola or Don Jacobo. Enjoy a proper tour, dégustation and lunch.

In the afternoon, we'll proceed to the gastronomy ''capital'' of Spain - San Sebastian.

Arrival, in the late afternoon, check-in and dinner in one of the local restaurants.

The 5^th night, with a stay in San Sebastian.

Day 6. San Sebastian - Bilbao

Breakfast in the hotel, then a 2-hour city tour around the city of San Sebastian to see its most important highlights: the Cathedral and ''Oyster'' beach (Playa de la Concha).

After, we'll pay a visit to the cidery - Petritegi, located some 20 min outside of San Sebastian. Petritegi is one of the most famous and largest cider production establishments in Spain. During the private tour, our group will be taken through the process of cider-making and sample some of Petritegi's fine beverages.  

Later we'll continue to Bilbao, where we'll proceed with typical ''pintxos'' - style tapas lunch (''pintxos'' is snack, that are usually 'spiked' with a skewer or toothpick - that's how people eat their tapas in Northern Spain).

The Basque city of Bilbao is particularly well known for its avant-garde contemporary designs and fascinating architecture, especially as it is home to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, where after the lunch we will make a stop to walk around and make pictures of this gorgeous and wicked structure.

• Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum is the most emblematic building in the city, towering above the river like an undulating titanium ship. The celebrated modern art museum, designed by the architect Frank Gehry, resembles a huge metal ship, covered in shiny wavy patterns and quirky structures, and is just as impressive from the outside as it is from the inside. Surrounding the museum, you’ll find Bilbao’s Art District, home to world-famous artworks such as Louise Bourgeois’ Mamen spider sculpture, Jeff Koons’ Puppy and Anish Kapoor’s Tall Tree and the Eye. 

Dinner and 6^th night of the tour.

Day 7. Bilbao - Madrid.

Breakfast in the hotel, as usual. On our last full day in Spain, we'll head towards Madrid.

On our way we will visit ono of the goat-cheeses farms, to see how the delicious Spanish goat cheese is produced and of course to taste it. 

After, we will enjoy lunch at the local restaurant and, completing the circle in the Northern Spain, head to Madrid.

Arrival, checkin and farewell dinner. 

7th night, in Madrid.

Day 8.

Breakfast. Free time if any left till flight home. Transfer to the airport.

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Note: If you want to extend this travel package for one more day, we'll be happy to show you the best highlights in Madrid: the gorgeous Royal Palace, Plaza de España with the monument of Don Quijote, Puerta del Alcala, Plaza de Cibeles, Puerta de Toledo, Stadium Santiago Bernabeu, Debod Temple, Paseo de la Castellana and Gran Via promenade.