Christmas Eve Departure – 9 Day Spain and Portugal Ancient Sites Tour
27th November 2024
Here at Best Value Tours, we are delighted to recommend great new, multi-day European Tours with festive departure’s and today we feature; 9 Day Spain and Portugal Ancient Sites Tour | Best Value Tours
Full details below, but first some brief history of The Alhambra Palace, is a palace and castle complex in Granada, Spain. It is one of the best-preserved palaces of the old Islamic world and a famous Islamic monument. It also contains Spanish Renaissance architecture. The site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus got royal sanction for his expedition) and the palaces were largely altered after the Christian Reconquista in 1492. Charles V ordered a Renaissance-style palace to contrast with the Nasrid palaces in 1526, but it was unfinished in the early 17th century. Squatters occupied the site’s buildings for centuries while it deteriorated.
Napoleon’s forces destroyed parts in 1812. After this, British, American, and European Romantics visited the Alhambra. Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra (1832) popularised the site worldwide. The Alhambra was one of the first Islamic monuments studied scientifically and restored many times since the 19th century. One of Spain’s top tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Nasrids considered the Alhambra a city independent from Granada. It had a Friday mosque, hammams, roads, residences, artisan workshops, a tannery, and a complex water supply system. The royal city and fortress included at least six palaces, mostly placed on the northern side with views of the Albaicín neighbourhood. Visitors today are drawn to the Mexuar, Comares Palace, Palace of the Lions, and Partal Palace, which are the best-preserved. Modern excavations and historical sources describe the other palaces. Alcazaba is the Alhambra’s western fortress. The Alhambra’s walls have several smaller towers and reinforced gateways. A former Nasrid country house and summer palace, the Generalife, has historic orchards and modern landscaped gardens east of the Alhambra.
The Nasrid palaces follow centuries-old Moorish architecture. The courtyard was the core space and basic element around which other halls and rooms were organised. Courtyards usually had a fountain or reflected pool. The interior was decorated with tile mosaics on lower walls and carved stucco on high walls. Arabic inscriptions, geometric patterns, and vegetable themes were the predominant decorating motifs. Three-dimensional features like vaulted ceilings used muqarnas, “stalactite”-like sculpture.
Stunning Alhambra Palace in Granada
Prices/Book Tour – 9 Day Spain and Portugal Ancient Sites Tour | Best Value Tours
Description
This 9-day guided journey lets you experience old-world Spain and Portugal, from wandering the cobblestone alleyways of an ancient Roman city to eating a 200-year-old secret recipe ‘Pastel de Nata’ tart. A master artisan teaches Damascene while metal sizzles. Explore the Alhambra Palace’s aromatic gardens in Granada.
Seville specialists teach flamenco dance to the sound of an acoustic guitar in private lessons. Cross into Portugal to climb a 16th-century stronghold in Lisbon and visit Fátima, Portugal’s holiest place. Finally, toast these historic wonders with a glass at a Madrid celebratory feast. Toledo, above the Tagus, is intriguing. The Golden Age capital of Spain was home to Arab, Jewish, and Christian civilisations. Proceed south to learn about Damascene art from a Moorish artist in a workshop. Inside Toledo’s city walls, your Local Expert will lead you through small cobblestone pathways. Visit Santo Tomé Church to see El Greco’s “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.”
On Alhambra walls, ‘Give him alms, lady, for there is nothing worse in life than being blind in Granada’ The Alhambra Palace’s arabesque gardens, fountains, and lace-like stone glow in the dawn sun. Consult your Local Expert before visiting the Spanish royals’ summer home, the Generalife’s splendid water gardens. Before going to Seville, relax in the sun and see the town and its three green hills.
See Columbus’ tomb at Seville Cathedral. Explore the city with Insight Choice. Pass through the old Jewish quarter. You can drive with panoramic vistas.
Prices/Book Tour – 9 Day Spain and Portugal Ancient Sites Tour | Best Value Tours
You can rest or explore this gorgeous city today. Explore Córdoba’s Mezquita, an 8th-century mosque with a Christian cathedral, as an optional experience. Visit Cristina Heeren Foundation. The private dance school promotes flamenco conservation and encourages young enthusiasts worldwide, focussing on Andalusian talent. Visit a flamenco show after testing your rhythm in a dance class and feeling the choreography’s intensity.
Continue to Évora, a bustling university town with Roman architecture and one of Portugal’s best-preserved mediaeval cities. Capela dos Ossos, a chapel with 5000 bones, is worth visiting before Lisbon. Experience the Belém Quarter with your Local Expert and try the famous Pastéis de Belém, made with the same secret recipe for nearly 200 years. Check out the Discoveries Monument and Belém Tower. The stronghold is now dry on the riverside after being in the river. Visit the National Coach Museum. A trip to the Portuguese Riviera is optional in the afternoon.
Visit Portugal’s holiest pilgrimage site, Fátima, among the lush hills north of Lisbon. Visit the chapel commemorating Mary’s 1917 appearance to three children. Return to Spain and visit Salamanca, known for its golden stone buildings and Plaza Mayor arcades. See the Puente Romano across the River Tormes with 15 of its 26 Roman-era arches. Travel through the Castilian hills to reach Ávila. View the spectacular city surrounded in its 11th-century walls, a rare European feat. Explore Madrid with your Local Expert again. Enjoy a fun evening with your Travel Director and new acquaintances at a nearby restaurant.
Prices/Book Tour – 9 Day Spain and Portugal Ancient Sites Tour | Best Value Tours
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