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Like a great collector, Madrid has gathered Spain’s brilliant literary, artistic, and epicurean gems since the Golden Age of Spain. Fortunately, the city shares its riches generously with visitors. Old Madrid still has its traditional tapas bars, Palace gardens, and that unfathomable wealth of paintings at the Prado. New things to love include small museums, smart design studios, up-and-coming wines and award-winning young chefs.
The trip includes:
- 3 nights in a 4* hotel in the elegant neighborhood near the Prado (double occupancy);
- Advance tickets to the Prado, the Reina Sophia, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection;
- Two museum orientation tours – an art historian provides you with an introduction to the Spanish masterpieces of El Prado and two other great museums, chosen according to your interests;
- A food-lover’s stroll through the heart of Madrid’s hip Chueca and elegant Salamanca districts, sampling some of Spain’s best culinary delights along the way;
- A wine tasting with one of the city’s top wine educators;
- Hands-on cooking class with a private chef in her beautiful home kitchen and teaching studio;
- A tapeo featuring some of Madrid’s best old-fashioned neighborhood tapas bars;
- The fab tasting menu at a restaurant known for the creative cooking of its young, Michelin-one-star-honored chef;
- Three breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners (including wines selected to complement your lunches and dinners);
- Gratuities at included restaurant meals;
- Personalized insider history, culture, and restaurant tips, so you can make the most of your free time.
Tour dates:
Available year-round upon request for parties of two or more.
Price:
$2475 per person, double occupancy.
Hemingway called Madrid “the most Spanish of all cities,” and we think you’ll share his fascination with the way this city can seem at once reserved and expansive. The vast cobblestone Plaza Mayor harbors inviting bars, the formal Parque del Buen Retiro inspires relaxed strolls, and behind its austere neoclassical façade, the Prado is bursting with masterpieces.
Castilian cuisine, too, can be simple and grand at the same time: think roast suckling pig at a special occasion feast or traditional tapas – single bites, full of flavor, artfully arrayed, or late night (or is it early morning?) chocolate con churros whose intensity far surpasses even the best American coffee-and-donut breakfast. Meanwhile, Madrid’s creative chefs riff deliciously on flavors from all over Spain.
It’s a good thing this is such a high-energy city, you’ll want to take-in everything you can here. We think you’ll love strolling Old Madrid, savoring classic tapas along the way as much as will sampling the sublime cooking of one of the city’s young star chefs. And you’ll have the opportunity to learn with some of the city’s great teachers with a wine tasting, a cooking class, and while seeing Spain’s great paintings with an art historian as your guide.
The perfect three-night, four-day plan for experiencing the best of Madrid’s culture and cuisine, including lodging in a 4-star luxury hotel, tickets to the Prado and other great museums with guidance from an art historian, a classic tapeo, a wine workshop, and a cooking class in a private chef’s gorgeous home kitchen. Plus a bit of free time armed with insider tips for more good eating or fabulous art or for jazzy shopping, basking on a bench in the Retiro, or joining Madrid’s café society.
The trip price covers double occupancy accommodations, all the meals, touring, and transport as outlined.
(You will not need or want car in Madrid, so if this program is part of a larger driving trip, we’ll recommend garages to park in for the duration.)
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