Monday, May 18

Overnight flight from Washington, D.C. (Dulles) on Air France to Barcelona, Spain, via Paris, France.

Tuesday, May 19

Arrival midday and transfer to the hotel in Barcelona. Orientation tour in afternoon. Overview of the trip’s itinerary with our tour director before dinner. Four nights at Hotel Les Balmes.

Wednesday, May 20

Barcelona’s historic center. Walking tour of the Barri Gòtic, including the Cathedral, the Plaça del Rei, the City History Museum, the Roman Temple and the underground town, and the old city walls. After lunch, tour La Ribera and El Born to see Santa Maria del Mar Church, Palau de la Musica, and the Picasso Museum. Overnight in Barcelona.

Thursday , May 21

Montjuic museums. Visit the National Museum of Catalonia Art for its collection of Romanesque and Gothic frescoes, paintings, and sculpture. Briefly visit the Archaeology Museum to see finds from Empuries and the Balearic Islands. Have lunch at the Foundation Joan Miro. After lunch, tour the Foundation to see Miro’s paintings and sculpture. Other options for the afternoon: return by the group bus either to the hotel or to the harbor to visit the Maritime Museum and the Aquarium. Overnight in Barcelona.

Friday, May 22

Art nouveau (modernisme) architecture. Visit four examples of Antoni Gaudi’s private and public architecture: La Pedrera (Casa Mila), Casa Batllo, the Cathedral of Sagrada Familia, and Parc Guell. Overnight in Barcelona.

Saturday, May 23

Visit the colorful Mercat de la Boqueria before leaving Barcelona. Drive northwest to the Monastery of Montserrat to visit and have lunch. Drive south in the mid-afternoon, to Tarragona. Visit the The arch of Bera was built during the period of Augustus and is located on the Via Augusta on the approach to Tarragona. Four nights at Hotel Placa de la Font in Tarragona.

Sunday, May 24

Roman Tarragona. The archaeological ensemble of Roman Tarragona is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The tour begins with the Archaeological Museum and continues with guided tours of the Roman Praetorium, Circus Maximus, Amfiteatre, Passeig Arqueologic, Forum Roma, colonial and provincial forums, Roman theatre, and town walls and towers. There will also be a visit the Cathedral de Santa Tecla with its cloisters and marble altar, and vestiges of the Roman temple. Overnight in Tarragona.

Monday, May 25

Drive to the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet for a guided tour. This royal monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The monastery was the spiritual home of the count-kings of Aragon and Catalonia and houses the pantheon of these rulers. Following our tour of Poblet, drive to the medieval town of Montblanc to have lunch and walk around the town. Overnight in Tarragona.

Tuesday, May 26

Complete the visit of Roman Tarragona. Drive to four sites just outside the city. The country villa of Els Munts at Altafulla was a luxurious suburban residence and agricultural complex, owned by the Roman governor of the province during the latter part of the Roman empire. Stop to see the Pedrera de Medol, the Roman quarry where most of the stone for building was mined. Visit the Aqueduct of Les Ferreres. The Roman villa and mausoleum of Centcelles was occupied from the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD, and contains PaleoChristian wall paintings and mosaics. The Tower of Els Escipions is a tower-shaped funeral monument built early in the first century AD. Overnight in Tarragona.

Wednesday, May 27

Leave Tarragona and drive north to the medieval city of Girona. Take a guided tour of the Cathedral, including the Museu Capitular to see the Creation tapestry and the Beatus manuscript and the cloisters. The tour continues with a visit to the Jewish call, the Banys Arabs, the Church of Sant Pere de Galligants to see the cloisters and the archaeological museum. Walk the Passeig Arqueologic. Drive to our hotel to check in and have dinner. Four nights in northern Costa Brava at Hotel Can Xiquet.

Thursday, May 28

Drive to the coast to explore both the Greek and Roman cities at Empuries and to visit the site museum. Following the tour of Empuries, drive either to Pals or Peratallada to have lunch and a walk around the village. Then drive to Ullastret, probably the most significant Celto-Iberian settlement in Spain, to see the site and visit the museum. Overnight in Costa Brava.

Friday, May 29

Drive west toward the Pyrenees. Tour the lovely medieval town of Besalú. Besalú was at its zenith from the 10th through the 12th centuries, evidence of which is in the only surviving medieval Jewish purification baths in Spain, two Romanesque churches, city walls and 12th century bridge. Have lunch in Besalú, then drive to the Monastery of Santa Maria at Ripoll to see its splendid portal, one of the great treasures of Catalan Romanesque art. Also visit the town of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, to see the life-sized wooden polychromed figures that make up the Calvary in its 9th-century monastery. Overnight in Costa Brava.

Saturday, May 30

In the morning, visit the Salvador Dali Theatre – Museum in Figueres. Drive to the village of Cadaques to have lunch and walk around the town. Return to hotel in midafternoon. Overnight in Costa Brava.

Sunday, May 31

Transfer to the airport at Barcelona for the midday Air France flights to Washington, D.C. via Paris, France.