Cordoba - A rich bouquet of history

This morning you have a guided tour of Córdoba. Your art historian guide will meet you at the lobby of your hotel to take you for an introductory walking tour of approx. 3 hours to discover the main sites of Cordoba, a Unesco listed city. The visit will, of course, include the famed Mosque/Cathedral (La Mezquita), a monumental site which encapsulates this city’s identity like few other buildings can, with the layers of its beautifully complex history visibly integrated in its walls and bearing the marks of the various and diverse cultures and civilisations that helped shape this fascinating city. You will also discover the Jewish quarter (la judería), a quaint and charming network of pretty narrow lanes that will lead you to the Synagogue a unique building in Andalusia and one of the three best-preserved Medieval synagogues in the whole of Spain. This wonderful tour will end at the Royal Alcázar/Palace, once the residence of Roman governors and Moorish caliphs, and finally, in 1328 the Cordovan home of the Spanish kings. Lunch at Bodegas Campos, a beautiful maze of rooms and patios, this restaurant is Córdoba classic and popular with both cordobeses and visitors. Both the restaurant and more informal taberna (tavern) section serve up delicious dishes putting a creative twist on traditional Andalucian dishes without ever taking away from its authenticity whilst serving it’s very own wines!

Meals included: Breakfast & lunch

Accommodation

Cordoba Hotel

The essence of Andalusia's countryside

Today we have a day trip to Montilla olive oil & wine region. On this exciting tour, we will venture out into the countryside to explore the beautiful hills of Montilla (still a very unspoiled wine region south of Córdoba) part of the Montilla-Moriles D.O. This tour is designed for curious and adventurous wine-lovers, amateurs and experts alike! Olive oil, gastronomy, and wine are part of Andalusia’s popular wisdom and with this tour, you will delve into this fascinating world.

Your private driver/tour guide will pick you up from your hotel and will take you to Montilla (approx. 40 min ride) for your morning olive oil experience. Your first stop will be a family-run olive oil mill where you will discover the full process of olive oil making. You will enjoy a tour of the family groves and learn about the different characteristics, culinary uses and health benefits of olive oil. After a visit to the mill and the on-site museum, you will enjoy a very interesting short video about oil production followed by a tasting of two of their delicious varieties along with freshly baked bread made by the very same family!

The second experience of the day is a visit to Lagar Blanco for wine tasting and lunch. A local family-run boutique winery located right in the heart of the Sierra de Montilla, a stunning rural landscape with endless vineyards and rolling hills. Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by a truly passionate viticulturist who will take you to the family vineyards to tell you about the history of this ancestral winery. Next, you will be guided into the wine cellar, a remarkable sacred space where their oldest wines are kept. On this educational tour, you will learn about the unique grape variety that grows exclusively in Montilla, the popular and worldwide known “Pedro Ximenez”. You will also learn about the entire process and ageing system of these unique dry and sweet wines, a process that is probably the oldest in Spain. The visit will end with a delicious tasting of 5 different varieties (Tinaja, Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, PX) followed by a traditional tapas lunch home made by the winery owners. After lunch, private transfer to your hotel in Ronda (approx. 1h 50mins)

Upon arrival in Ronda, you will first check-in at your hotel where you could leave your luggage and straight after you will go on an introductory walking sunset tour of approx 2.5 hours which will cover the old town, the cliffs, the New bridge and the bullring. Ronda is a mountaintop city that sits in the heart of the Serrania de Ronda. Set dramatically above a deep gorge and surrounded by lush river valleys, it is a place that is absolutely breathtaking. The gorge, El Tajo, separates the city’s 15th-century new town from its Moorish old town. Puente Nuevo, a stone bridge spanning the gorge, has a lookout offering stunning views and the new town’s Plaza de Toros, a legendary 18th-century bullring, is one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks.

Meals included: Breakfast, olive oil tasting, wine tasting & tapas lunch

Accommodation

Ronda Hotel

Ronda's Vineyards

This morning you have a tour of Acinipo. Your private driver will pick you up from your hotel and will take you the Roman site of Acinipo, where you will learn about the region’s long wine history. Much of what is known about ancient winemaking in the Ronda region comes from archaeological findings out of the nearby Roman city of Acinipo. This relatively undisturbed Roman site located 20km northwest of Ronda is believed to have been founded by retired soldiers more than 2,000 years ago after Caesar’s civil war when parcels of land were given to veterans in his legions who in turn settled with their wives and children and became tradespeople, or grew grapes to make wine. In fact, the name Acinipo means “amongst the vineyards”. It was one of the few cities in the Roman Empire that produced wine which was then exported back to Rome.

Then, you will visit a boutique family-run winery close by where you will have a delicious wine tasting lunch. The visit begins with a tour through the vineyards to admire the spectacular views over the Roman settlements of Acinipo. Then you will continue visiting the different areas where wine is elaborated, bottled and finally aged at the cellar. You will learn directly from the family producers the whole wine-making process, ‘from gap to glass’. This will be followed by a tasting of their wines paired with a delicious tapas lunch homemade and cooked by Gema herself.

After lunch, you’ll head to your second winery of the day where you’ll enjoy a guided tour of this family-run boutique winery, which will include a visit to the cellar and gardens, a tasting of 3 wines paired with cured Iberian meats and cheese. The bodega features a very special building: a recently restored Trinitary Convent from the XVIc. You have been booked for a wine tasting & snacks tour of approx .1.5hrs to discover the magic of the place and the amazing wines that they produce. The barrel room boasts a restored fresco on the wall. It is indeed one of Ronda ́s most beautiful wineries in the area thanks to its spectacular location and stunning views over the Tajo gorge. Once you’ve visited the winery you will have the rest of the afternoon & evening in Ronda free to enjoy at your leisure.

Meals included: Breakfast, wine tastings & wine pairing tapas lunch

Accommodation

A glass of Jerez, Xeres and Sherry...

Your private driver will pick you up from your hotel and will take you to Jerez (approx. 1hr 40mins). You’ll have some time to check in and leave your luggage before going for an introductory orientation walk of this fascinating city. Jerez is the capital of Andalusian horse culture, being the home of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and its famous dancing horses. It is equally famous for its Sherry as well as its Flamenco style. Jerez is also a vibrant, chic modern Andalusian city, where fashion brands live in old palaces and stylishly outfitted business people sit down to distinctly contemporary cuisine. Founded in 1998 by a descendant of one of Jerez’s oldest sherry dynasties, Bodegas Tradición produces sherries and wines in their purest state, oren rama (without any filtering or tampering). It also houses one of Spain’s most important private art collections, which contains works by Goya and Velázquez, amongst others.

After your orientation walk, it’s time to visit Bodegas Tradición, a winery dedicated to combining two art forms: the elaboration and ageing of Sherry wines and Spanish paintings. On this exceptional and unique tour, your expert guide will help you discover the winery and its private art gallery. Not only will you learn about Sherry and how it is produced and aged, but you’ll also get to know the bodega’s history followed by a tour of the bodega’s art gallery. The art collection here includes some of Spain’s finest works from master such as Goya, Zurbaran, Velazquez, Murillo and El Greco, among others. This exciting experience will end with a tasting of 3 of this bodegas best wines: VORS, VOS Tradición and Fino Tradición.

From the winery, you will head to La Carboná a fabulous restaurant located an old sherry bodega, now renovated. Here, you’ll enjoy a wonderful wine pairing lunch. La Carboná is a restaurant located in an old wine cellar, built in 1898. This cellar has been declared a historical building and is part of the city’s cultural heritage. Serving dishes based on local fresh products: fish from the Atlantic, Cantabrian golden meats and aromatic herbs and vegetables from local gardens. Javier Muñoz, the Sherry-Chef, gets his inspiration from this wine, which is a very important component in his cuisine. He has a passion for international ingredients and, of course, Sherry wine. In fact, fourteen of the twenty-seven specialities on the menu are based on Jerez wines. In addition, they also serve two tasting menus which include Jerez wines, since the restaurant is also part of the Wine and Brandy route contest which takes place every year.

The rest of the afternoon & evening will be free for you to enjoy at your leisure.

Meals included: Breakfast, wine tastings & wine-pairing lunch

Accommodation

Hotel in Jerez

Wine, nature and flamenco

This morning you have a tour of Bodegas Hidalgo la Gitana in Salùcar, where you will visit the vineyards, patios and winery. Then, it’s time for a tasting which will feature 5 of the bodega’s wines: Pagollano Blanco, Las 30 del Cuadrado, Manzanilla La Gitana en Rama, Amontillado Napoleón and Oloroso Pharaoh accompanied by some snacks of course!

After the morning winery visit, you’ll head to Mirador de Doñana restaurant for a lovely lunch.

After lunch, you’ll be taken to the beach of Bajo de Guia in Sanlucar where you will meet your guide for a lovely afternoon in the Doñana National Park; a remarkable corner of the country known for its wetlands, migratory birds, pine forests and shifting coastal dunes. The visit starts with a transfer to Doñana in one of the traditional barges that cross the Guadalquivir River. There, you’ll get into a four-wheel drive vehicle with which you will visit Doñana’s various ecosystems including its vast beach, the famous moving dunes of white sands, the lush pine forests, and the “vera”, which marks the border between the forest and the marsh, a place that plays host to thousands of migrating water birds from Central and Northern Europe in the winter. The jeep tour ends in “La Plancha”, a village of huts where the Doñana’s inhabitants used to live. You’ll board a boat which will take you to the last landscape of the day and one of great importance-the Guadalquivir River-Doñana’s life source. During the boat trip, of approx. 30 minutes, you’ll learn about the importance of the river as well as all there is to know about its banks, its origins, and its fauna. The tour ends back at the departure point, the beach of Bajo de Guia, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Tonight, you’ll live an experience truly unique to Jerez, an evening at a Tabasco; an old sherry store where great wine tasting is enjoyed directly from the barrel while listening to authentic Flamenco rhythms. On this last evening, we invite you to sit back and enjoy this truly singular & unforgettable night.

Accommodation

Hotel in Jerez

Jerez & departure

Today you’ll discover Jerez’s third passion: horses. After a leisurely morning in Jerez, you will enjoy the Royal Equestrian School’s well-known horse show “How the Andalusian horse dances”, an equestrian ballet with Spanish music and 18th-century style costumes. The performance showcases everything from Doma Vaquera (Spanish farmhand reining) to low rein work (where the horseman or woman controls the horse from the ground) and Quadrilles, where horses and riders dance in synchronised movements. When it comes to Andalusian horses and dressage, the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art is one of the most important sites in Spain. The school is located in the Recreo de Las Cadenas, designed by French architect Charles Garnier who also designed the Paris Opera and the Monte Carlo Casino.

After the show, you will be transferred to Seville (airport or train station – approx. 1hr 15mins).