9-Day Private Package Journey

Best of Spain

Barcelona, Madrid & Seville

Available as Private Semi-Private Self-Guided

From €2,990 per person 9 days / 8 nights

Tour Overview

9 days across Spain.

From the sinuous curves of Gaudi's Barcelona to the regal grandeur of Madrid and the sun-drenched soul of Seville, this nine-day private journey unravels Spain at its most vivid. Every day bends to your rhythm — your curiosities, your appetite for long lunches and late nights — with hand-picked hotels, expert local guides, and the kind of insider moments that no amount of online research can replicate.

Detailed Itinerary

Your journey, day by day.

Every day is designed with breathing room. Sleep in, take a detour, linger at lunch — the itinerary flexes around you, not the other way around.

Day 1

Arrival in Barcelona

The Mediterranean hums its welcome.

Your private driver meets you at Barcelona–El Prat Airport and whisks you through the plane-tree boulevards to your hotel in the Gothic Quarter — the kind of arrival that sets the tone for everything to come. After check-in, the afternoon is yours: drift down La Rambla as the flower sellers arrange their stalls, duck into the labyrinthine streets of El Raval for a cortado, or simply watch the Mediterranean light soften over the rooftops from your terrace. We'll share our list of favourite neighbourhood restaurants — the kind of places where the patatas bravas are legendary and the vermouth is poured from the barrel.

Private airport transfer through Barcelona's boulevards
Curated restaurant recommendations for your first evening

4–5★ centrally located hotel, Gothic Quarter

Day 2

Barcelona & Gaudí Highlights

Where architecture becomes a fever dream.

Morning begins with a private guided visit to the Sagrada Família — skip-the-line, so you're inside while the light is still pouring through the stained glass in jewelled columns of colour. Your guide is an architectural historian who makes Gaudí's obsessive vision feel both monumental and deeply personal. From there, you climb to Park Güell, where the mosaic benches and gingerbread gatehouses look out over the entire city and the sea beyond. After lunch on your own (we'll have a curated list ready), the afternoon continues along the elegant Passeig de Gràcia: the undulating facade of Casa Batlló, the rooftop warriors of Casa Milà — La Pedrera — and the modernista details that reveal themselves only when you know where to look. The evening is yours to explore Barcelona's late-night tapas culture at your own pace.

Skip-the-line Sagrada Família with architectural historian
Park Güell panoramic visit
Passeig de Gràcia modernista walk: Casa Batlló & Casa Milà

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Barcelona

Day 3

Barcelona Old Town & the Gothic Quarter

Two thousand years of stone and story.

This morning peels back the medieval layers of Barcelona. A private walking tour leads you through the Gothic Quarter's narrow alleys where Roman walls still shoulder up against fourteenth-century palaces — Barcelona Cathedral with its cloister of white geese, the remnants of the ancient Jewish Quarter, and the half-hidden medieval squares where time slows to a murmur. From there, you cross into the Born district: the soaring nave of Santa Maria del Mar, the basilica the fishermen built, glowing with afternoon light. Lunch is at a market stall in the Mercat de Santa Caterina, where the produce is stacked like a Miró painting. The afternoon is entirely free — return to La Rambla, explore the Picasso Museum, or sit on the beach at Barceloneta with a cold caña and watch the kite surfers carve across the water.

Private Gothic Quarter walking tour with local historian
Barcelona Cathedral & medieval Jewish Quarter
Santa Maria del Mar in the Born district

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Barcelona

Day 4

Barcelona to Madrid

Trading the sea for the meseta.

A leisurely Barcelona morning — perhaps a final coffee in Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, or a last walk through the Boquería market with its rainbow of jamón and fruit. Late morning, your private driver transfers you to Barcelona Sants station for the high-speed AVE train to Madrid — two and a half hours through the Spanish countryside as the Catalan coast gives way to the wide, golden tablelands of Castile. Arrive in Madrid by early afternoon and check into your hotel near the Puerta del Sol, the beating heart of the capital. The rest of the day is yours: stroll through the Retiro Park, browse the bookshops along the Cuesta de Moyano, or find a terrace on the Plaza de Santa Ana and settle in with a glass of Tempranillo as the city shifts into its famously late evening rhythm.

High-speed AVE train through the Spanish countryside
Afternoon arrival in the heart of Madrid

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Madrid

Day 5

Madrid Highlights: Plazas, Palaces & Markets

The capital reveals itself, one plaza at a time.

Your private guide meets you after breakfast for a morning that unfolds through Madrid's grandest chapters. Begin in the arcaded Plaza Mayor, where Habsburg kings once watched jousting tournaments and the cafés now hum with the clink of espresso cups. Walk through the atmospheric streets of Madrid de los Austrias — the oldest quarter, all wrought-iron balconies and quiet convents — to the Puerta del Sol, the symbolic centre of all Spain. From there, the Royal Palace: over three thousand rooms of Bourbon opulence, Tiepolo ceilings, and Stradivarius violins displayed in gilded cases. Lunch is a self-guided wander through the Mercado de San Miguel, a glass-and-iron jewel box of Spanish gastronomy where you'll graze on Galician octopus, Manchego, and croquetas. The afternoon and evening are free — perfect for the Reina Sofía, a siesta, or an early-evening gin-tonic on a rooftop bar overlooking the Gran Vía.

Private walking tour: Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Madrid de los Austrias
Royal Palace visit with expert guide
Self-guided tasting at Mercado de San Miguel

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Madrid

Day 6

The Prado & Madrid's Golden Triangle of Art

Velázquez, Goya, and a city that breathes painting.

This is one of the great days of the trip. Your morning begins with a private guided tour of the Prado Museum — two hours with an art historian who knows exactly which rooms to linger in and which to walk past. Velázquez's Las Meninas, still startling after four centuries. Goya's Black Paintings, raw and unsettling in the basement galleries. El Greco's elongated saints, glowing with an otherworldly light. From the Prado, a panoramic driving tour traces Madrid's grand cultural axis: the Puerta de Alcalá framing the sky, the fountains of Plaza de Cibeles, the tree-lined Paseo del Prado connecting the three museums that form the Golden Triangle of Art. The afternoon is yours to return to the Reina Sofía for Picasso's Guernica, explore the Thyssen-Bornemisza, or simply sit in the Retiro and watch Madrileños row boats on the lake. Evening is free — we'll share our favourite neighbourhood spots in La Latina and Chueca.

Private Prado Museum tour with art historian
Panoramic tour: Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza de Cibeles, grand boulevards
Golden Triangle of Art district

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Madrid

Day 7

Madrid to Seville

From Castilian grandeur to Andalusian fire.

One last Madrid morning — use it well. The Sunday flea market at El Rastro if the timing is right, a final churros con chocolate at San Ginés, or a quiet walk through the Retiro before the city fully wakes. Late morning, your driver transfers you to Atocha station for the high-speed AVE to Seville — two and a half hours as the meseta slowly softens into the olive groves and whitewashed villages of Andalucía. Arrive in Seville by mid-afternoon and check into your hotel in the Santa Cruz quarter, a tangle of jasmine-draped lanes and hidden courtyards that was once the old Jewish quarter. The rest of the evening is yours to explore — we'll recommend the best spots for a copa de fino in the Alameda de Hércules, and if you're in the mood, we can arrange an optional evening flamenco show in the intimate setting of a Triana tablao, where the performers are close enough to see the sweat and the duende is real.

High-speed AVE train through Andalucía's olive groves
Afternoon arrival in Seville's Santa Cruz quarter
Optional evening flamenco in a Triana tablao

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Seville

Day 8

Seville: Cathedral, Alcázar & Flamenco

Moorish arches, Gothic towers, and the soul of the south.

The final full day is one of the most memorable. Morning begins with a private guided tour of Seville's Cathedral — the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, a vast stone forest of columns and altarpieces that took a century to build, with Columbus's tomb resting inside. Climb the Giralda Tower, the old Moorish minaret converted to a bell tower, where the ramp spirals upward and the views from the top sweep across terracotta rooftops to the river and the hills beyond. From the cathedral, step directly into the Real Alcázar — the royal palace that outdoes the Alhambra for sheer decorative intricacy, with its mudejar tile work, its whispering courtyards, and its gardens where peacocks drift between orange trees. The afternoon is free to lose yourself in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood, cross the river to the ceramic workshops of Triana, or sit in the Plaza de España and marvel at the scale of it. In the evening, we recommend an authentic flamenco experience — we'll point you to the intimate tablaos in Triana where the cante jondo rises from somewhere deep and ancient.

Private guided Seville Cathedral & Giralda Tower climb
Real Alcázar palace and gardens
Optional flamenco evening in a traditional Triana tablao

Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ centrally located hotel, Seville

Day 9

Departure

Adiós — until we meet again.

A final Spanish breakfast on the courtyard terrace, a last coffee in your favourite Santa Cruz square, and a moment to breathe in the scent of orange blossoms one more time. Your private driver will collect you from the hotel and transfer you to Seville Airport in plenty of time for your flight. If your departure is later in the day, we can arrange a morning visit to the Archivo de Indias, a walk through the Parque de María Luisa, or simply a late checkout so you can savour the last unhurried hours of Andalucía. Your travel specialist remains on call until you're home — and we'll follow up a few days later to hear which moment you keep coming back to.

Private airport transfer
Optional Archivo de Indias or Parque de María Luisa morning visit

Meals: Breakfast

Where You'll Stay

Hand-picked hotels, every night.

We choose properties for character, location, and the kind of service that makes you feel looked after — not just checked in. Every hotel can be swapped for an alternative if you prefer.

Barcelona

3 nights

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Gothic Quarter

Steps from La Rambla and the cathedral, quiet cobblestone lanes

Madrid

3 nights

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Centro / Sol

Walking distance to the Prado, Retiro, and major plazas

Seville

2 nights

4–5★ centrally located hotel

Santa Cruz

Jasmine-draped lanes, steps from the Cathedral and Alcázar

Hotels shown are indicative of the standard we book. Upon request, we will provide a detailed itinerary with specific hotel options tailored to your preferences and budget.

What's in the Price

Included

8 nights in 4–5★ centrally located hotels (double occupancy)
Daily breakfast at each hotel
Airport meet & greet on arrival
Private airport transfers in Barcelona and Seville
High-speed AVE train tickets: Barcelona–Madrid and Madrid–Seville
Private station transfers in all three cities
Skip-the-line access at all major sites
Private expert guides in every city (art historians, architectural specialists)
Private Prado Museum tour with art historian
Private Sagrada Família & Gaudí highlights tour
Private Seville Cathedral, Giralda & Real Alcázar tour
Authentic flamenco experience in Seville
24/7 travel specialist support throughout your trip
All entrance fees and museum tickets
Hamilton & Chase digital travel booklet with restaurant & tip recommendations
Neighbourhood dining recommendations for free evenings

Not Included

International flights to Barcelona / from Seville
Travel insurance (required — we partner with World Nomads and can arrange coverage)
Lunches and dinners
Personal expenses (shopping, additional drinks, spa treatments)
Gratuities for guides and drivers (optional but appreciated)
City tax (collected directly by hotels, typically €1–4 per person per night)

Good to Know

This itinerary is a starting point — every detail can be adjusted to suit your preferences, pace, and interests.
Hotels are confirmed at booking based on your travel dates. Upgrades and alternatives are always available.
All guides and experiences are arranged exclusively for your party — never shared with other groups.
Comfortable walking shoes are essential. Most days involve 3–5 hours on foot, often on cobblestones and uneven medieval streets.
Flexible booking: adjust or postpone your dates up to 60 days before departure at no charge.

Make It Yours

Optional add-ons & upgrades.

Every trip is different. These extras can be woven into your itinerary — just let your travel specialist know what catches your eye.

Flamenco show in Triana

Intimate tablao performance in Seville's most authentic flamenco quarter

From €95 pp

Private tapas & wine tour in Madrid

Guided evening crawl through La Latina's best-kept taverns

From €120 pp

Day trip to Toledo

The 'City of Three Cultures' — cathedrals, synagogues, and El Greco's masterpiece

From €180 pp

Montserrat excursion from Barcelona

Mountain monastery, Black Madonna, and panoramic views over Catalonia

From €150 pp

Private sherry tasting in Seville

Guided tasting of fino, amontillado, and oloroso with a certified sommelier

From €85 pp

Cooking class: paella workshop

Learn to make authentic paella with a local chef, then eat what you've cooked

From €110 pp

Professional photo session

1-hour portrait session at iconic locations with a local photographer

From €350

Airport VIP lounge

Fast-track security and private lounge at Barcelona or Seville airport

From €55 pp

"Spain exceeded every expectation — the private Prado tour was a revelation, and that flamenco evening in Seville gave us chills. Hamilton & Chase thought of details we never would have, from the perfect tapas bar in Madrid to the quietest courtyard in the Alcázar."

Rebecca & David L.

Chicago, IL · Best of Spain, October 2025

Common Questions

Questions about this trip.

Can I change the hotels?

Absolutely. The hotels listed are our default selections for this route, chosen for location, character, and consistency. If you have a specific property in mind — a parador, a boutique design hotel, a historic palace conversion — we'll adjust the itinerary and pricing accordingly.

Is this trip suitable for children?

Yes. We regularly run this itinerary for families. For younger children, we'll adjust the pacing, swap in family-friendly guides, and add age-appropriate activities. Park Güell and the Alcázar gardens are particular favourites with kids.

What if I want to extend my trip?

Easy. Common extensions include Granada and the Alhambra (2–3 nights), San Sebastián and the Basque coast (2–3 nights), or the Costa Brava (2 nights). We'll build the extension seamlessly into your existing itinerary and pricing.

When is the best time to visit Spain?

April through June and September through October offer the best balance of weather, crowds, and pricing. July and August are peak season — hot in Madrid and Seville (often above 40°C), but still popular. Winter travel is possible and can be lovely, especially in Seville and Barcelona.

How far in advance should I book?

For peak season (April–October), we recommend booking 3–6 months ahead to secure first-choice hotels and guides. Off-season trips can often be arranged with shorter notice.

What affects the price?

The starting price is based on double occupancy in our default 4–5★ hotels during shoulder season. Prices vary with travel dates (peak summer and holidays cost more), hotel upgrades, group size, and optional add-ons. Single supplements are available. We'll provide an exact quote once we know your dates and preferences.

What is your cancellation policy?

A 20% deposit secures your booking. The balance is due 60 days before departure. Cancellations made more than 60 days out receive a full deposit refund. Between 30–60 days, 50% of the deposit is refunded. Within 30 days, the deposit is non-refundable. We strongly recommend travel insurance to cover unexpected changes.

Is the flamenco show worth adding?

We think so. The optional Triana tablao experience is a world apart from the tourist shows — small venue, serious performers, and the kind of raw, emotional performance that stays with you. If you prefer, the Day 8 flamenco dinner is already included and offers a similarly authentic experience.

What should I pack?

Comfortable walking shoes are the most important item — you'll be on cobblestones daily. Layers work best as temperatures vary between morning, afternoon, and evening, especially in Madrid where altitude makes nights cool. For cathedrals, shoulders and knees should be covered. We'll send a detailed packing guide with your travel booklet.

Private Package Journey

Best of Spain

9 days / 8 nights

From €2,990

per person

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