DAY 1: MALNIU AND MERANGES LAKE – ANDORRA

Visit Meranges Lake

We will departure from Barcelona early in the morning towards Piugcerdá on the way to Estany de Malniu at 2,250 meters; this is a lake that is located in Merangues, Cerdanya region. We will make an ideal excursion to enjoy with the family since it has an easy access. The lake is located in the Duran River Valley, in a mountain setting at the foot of the Puigpedrós. We will take a short tour of the town passing by the church of San Saturnino, a well-preserved 11th century Romanesque temple and other iconic monuments and streets. Here we will have time for lunch.

Visit Andorra

We follow the route to Andorra, which it is a small country located in the Pyrenees, between the countries of Spain and France. Here we must necessarily know its churches. We will go through 2 of the most important and beautiful ones; The Church of Sant Climent and The Church of Sant Romà.

Andorra is also known for being the country of shopping. Jewellers, perfumeries and electronic stores full up the country. We will have time for it if we wish. Here we will have our accommodation for the night.

DAY 2: ANDORRA – SORT –AIGUESTORTES NACIONAL PARK– VIELLA

Visit Sort

We will departure early in the morning from Andorra to Sort, where dozens of Jews were accommodated in some hotel establishments. We will visit The Freedom Path Museum, which is dedicated to the vicissitudes that all those who had to face and escaped from the Nazis, between 60 and 80 thousand. They escaped from the enemy through the Pyrenees during World War II. Our guide will tell us carefully about the marks of time and horror experienced in those years that marked a migratory era. Also he will let us know how these poor people with such a harsh weather conditions and rugged routes between the mountains, (always controlled by the border guards of France and Spain) they managed to escape.

After this historical visit we will have time for lunch.

Visit Aiguestortes National Park

We continue our journey with an excursion through the Aiguestortes National Park. This is an impressive paradise for those who love nature. Its landscape is the one of high mountains with an incredible relief and an enormous wealth of fauna and vegetation. It has almost 200 lakes and countless streams.

In the National Park, glacial phenomena such as U-shaped valleys and lakes can be seen. The landscape includes alpine meadows and fields, and the lower walls of the area are covered by fir and pine forests. Some of the park’s peaks have altitudes close to 3,000 meters.

To end on the day, we will go to Viella, where we will have our accommodation.

DAY 3: VIELLA – VALL DE BOI – CONGOST DE MONTREBEI – ARBECA (YACIMIENTO IBERO) – CATA DE ACEITES EN BORGES BLANQUES – MONTBLANC

Visit Viella

Early morning we will start the day in this municipality (capital of the province of Lleida) by visiting the Aran Museum in Viella; located in the old fortified house of General Martinhon (17th century). There we can discover the history, culture and traditions that have given rise to the current Aran Valley.

Visit Vall de Boi

Later on, we will go through 9 buildings spread over 7 small villages, all very close to each other and each with its own charm. These buildings are the Romanesque churches of “The Vall de Boi Taull”. All of them declare Unesco World Heritage; these contain antiquity, centuries of history and heritage value.

Visit Montrebei Canyon

Then, we pass the “Montrebei’s Gorge” (Montrebei Canyon). This is a horseshoe path carved into the walls of a river cliff. This is the only large gorge in Catalonia that has not suffered the effects of current infrastructure, and it remains without any road or power line.

We continue our journey to the municipality of Arbeca. Located around a hill; on its top are the remains of the ancient and powerful castle of the Dukes of Cardona, which has its origin in an Arab fortress conquered in the mid-twelfth century, there in Arbeca we will know the Iberian Site, which is declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest and it is an exceptional historical and monumental complex.

Visit Visitor Center Oil

We carry on our trip towards “Les Borges Blanques”, city known mainly for its olive oil production; there we will have a great visit to the Oil Theme Park, where we will check the characteristics of the best oil in the world, knowing the procedure of its elaboration.

Visit Montblanc

We finish the day direction to Montblanc, there we will visit the Convent of San Francisco; this is a 1230 year building, in Gothic style. We continue along the wall and towers of Montblanc, which was built between 1366 -1397; during the well-known “Pedro’s War”. The wall currently has 25 defensive towers. This fortification and its towers began to be recovered during the last century, and now it is a wall in excellent condition. Several of its Towers are enabled to climb to the top of them, from where there are stunning panoramic views of the Montblanc town and its surroundings.

Steeped in history and culture we will end our Tour, going back to Barcelona.

DAY 4: POBLET MONASTERY- TARRAGONA – BARCELONA

Visit Poblet Monastery

We will start the day going to Poblet Monastery; this is a Cistercian abbey that it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. It is a great architectural complex with almost 1000 years of history, among the 3 largest and most complete in the world. We can still see a community of 140 monks living in the monastery. We will have time for lunch before continuing on our way to Tarragona (Unesco World Heritage). This city is known for its richness and variety of landscapes.

Visit Tarragona

We will take a walking tour of the most emblematic places of this incredible city and its historic center, which unmistakably blends past and present.

We end by visiting The National Archaeological Museum. And Arrival at the Cathedral of Tarragona, located in the ruins of a huge Roman temple. This construction started in the twelfth century; it was not consecrated until two centuries later, and it reveals an interesting transition of styles between Roman and Gothic.

Here we will finish our tour returning to Barcelona.

DAY 1: BARCELONA – GIRONA – EMPURIES RUINS – SANT PERE DE RODES – CADAQUES – WINE TASTINGS AT ALT EMPORDA

We will departure from Barcelona early in the morning to the north of Catalonia, almost at the border, to reach the city of Girona, a romantic city, with countless places to meet.

In Girona we will have the opportunity to know some places of interest such as:

• The Eiffel bridge, built in the encounter of 4 rivers
• The Cathedral of Santa María de Girona, with the largest altar of all European Gothic art
• Sant Pere de Galligants Monastery
• The Arab Baths of Girona, 12th century
• The Jewish Quarter, of the Middle Ages, one of the best preserved in Europe

We will continue on our way to Empuries, a privileged place located in the municipality of La Escala, on the south side of a bay that was declared one of the most beautiful in the world by UNESCO, the bay of Rosas. These ruins can be visited in summer every day from 10 to 20 hours, in winter from 10 to 17 hours, and the rest of the year from 10 to 18 hours.

• Admission is € 4.50 and children under 8 do not cancel admission

In the Greek part you will be able to see remains of the urban wall of the 5th century BC, the market square and other buildings, but in the Roman part you will see mosaics of ancient domus very well preserved, also remains of an amphitheater and the forum, next to several statues.

We will continue in the direction of Port de la Selva to reach Sant Pere de Rodes, a monumental complex, formed by the monastery of Sant Pere, the town of Santa Creu and the castle of Verdera,

In the afternoon we will take the route to the coastal town of Cadaques, with its labyrinthine streets and a promenade.

Lunch time at one of the restaurants in Cadaques.

The afternoon ends arriving in Figueres, capital of the Alt Empord region, recognized for its rich wine and wine cellars, with an oenological tradition of Roman times. There will be the wines with  “D.O”(designation of origin).

Accommodation in Figueres.

DAY 2: DALI (Fiqueres) – BESALU – GARROTXA – RIPOLL MONASTERY – RUPIT – TAVARTET CANYON – VIC

Early in the morning we will visit  the Theater-Museum of Salvador Dalí, here is a collection of works donated by Salvador Dalí, the famous Spanish artista. This place has more than 1 M visitors a year.

We will leave Figueres towards Besalu, where we will have a walk along the Old Bridge of Besalú, it is said that its construction was in the eleventh century on a Roman bridge, but it was actually rebuilt in the fourteenth century. Because of  the destruction he suffered in the civil war it was rebuilt again. It has two angled sections and in the center area, the tower with a small arch. We will visit the city center, with streets and facades as part of its medieval heritage. On this tour we will visit the ecclesiastical monuments of the town, such as the churches of Sant Pere, Santa María and Sant Vicenç that are composed of both Romanesque elements like gothic. In the Jewish quarter we can visit some medieval baths, dedicated to the Hebrew ritual ablutions.

We will continue in the direction of Garrotxa to know the Natural Park of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone, a place with a landscape value with thick beech, oak and holm oak forests. We will make a walk through the area. In the Garrotxa you can see two totally different types of landscape: in a part of the southern half there are more than 40 volcanoes and varied lava flows, these form a smooth landscape without unevenness.

We will continue to reach the Monastery of Ripoll, this was the main religious center of Catalonia until the fourteenth century and is one of the most important historical monasteries in the country. For example, its portico is the most outstanding sculpture of peninsular Romanesque art, not only for its artistic quality, but also for its importance as a metaphorical element that turns in the direction of the founding of Catalonia.

Lunch in Rupit

Rupit is believed to be the medieval charm of Catalonia because of, for example, its stone houses, built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which are very well preserved despite being 400 years old.

We will departure from the village towards Tavertet Canyon, a natural space that rises above the Sau Valley and the flat d’Osona. In it is we can find forests of great landscape interest that have been inhabited by birds of prey. Tavertet is located on a Cliff  that offers views of the Sau swamp and the Montseny mountains.

Finally we  will arrive to Vic, a historic and monumental city, capital of a fertile pre-Pyrenean plain. Tour of the medieval center of the city, from Placa Major, the most attractive urban enclave in the medieval center. In this area you can see Gothic buildings such as Casa Beuló or more modern styles such as Casa Tolosa.

DAY 3: VIC – MUNTANYA DE SAL CARDONA – CASTELL – MONTSTERAT MONASTERY –WINE TASTING – MONTBLANC

In the morning in Vic, we will visit to know the remains of the Palau dels Montcada, some ruins of an ancient Roman temple from the 2nd century A.D. prehistoric of Sant Bartolomeu Sesgorgues.

We will continue on our way to Cardona, we will have a stop in the salt mountain of Cardona, with an area of ​​more than 100 hectares, this potassium salt mine is one of the most important in the world, we will observe the stalactites and stalagmites of millenary salt that it houses in its interior and we will know about the history of the industrial exploitation of the valley.

Continuing we will discover the Monserrat Monastery, here we will enjoy stunning panoramic views of the entire mountain during the bus tour, we will follow the Montserrat viewpoint to see the beauty that the mountain offers with its stunning views, we will go to the Royal Basilica to contemplate la Moreneta, called black virgin of the Catalans.

Time for lunch in the Penedes region, a wine area that has a designation of origin where we will visit a Wine Cellar

Once we have finished the tour of the day in the direction of Montblanc, we will visit the Convent of San Francisco; a 1230 building, in Gothic style, but without cruise ships, with arches and wooden deck, which in its time was polychrome, and a facade very austere It has one of the best views of the wall. We continue along the Wall and towers of Montblanc, which was built between 1366 and 1397, during the well-known War of the Pedros, the wall currently has 25 defensive towers.

This fortification and its towers began to be recovered during the last century, and now it is a wall in excellent condition, and several towers enabled to climb to the top of them, from where you have stunning panoramic views of the town of Montblanc and from its surroundings. We finished our passage through Montblanc in The Church of Santa María de Montblanc, a first Romanesque church located in a high area of ​​the town was built in 1163, but it was in 1310 when it was decided to lift the building from what was to be a great cathedral Gothic Several Peruvians led to it not being completed, so that in the fifteenth century the works were completed without the construction of the main facade and the bell tower. Therefore, now when we go to visit it we will go up some stairs to the square where a Renaissance-style side door opens, and by its current interior configuration we will verify that it was unfinished.

Day 4: POBLET MONASTERY – TARRAGONA – BARCELONA

The day will start on our way to the Monastery of Poblet, this is a Cistercian abbey that was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. It is a great architectural ensemble with almost 1000 years of history, among the 3 largest and most complete in the world, which surrounds the church built in the 12th century and linked to a fortified royal residence. We can see, still a community of 140 monks living in the monastery. The architectural complex offers us an unparalleled visit, in which we can see the dining room and the library, which conserve the original 13th century cruiser ceiling; the chapter room; the old kitchen or the old living room bedroom among many other spaces.

Time for lunch before continuing our day, next stop: Tarragona (Unesco World Heritage), is known for its richness and variety of landscapes, we will discover its delicious food and incredible landscapes, also  enjoy a swim experience with Mediterranean bluefin tuna.

In Tarragona we will make a walking tour of the most emblematic places of this incredible city that unmistakably mixes the past and the present. There will be a tour of the city, so that we can ascend through the old town until it ends at Plaça del Rei.

The starting point for the visit to Tarragona is through the final part of the Rambla Nova avenue. There is the Balcony of the Mediterranean, a viewpoint with an impressive view of the Tarragona Amphitheater and the Miracle platform.

We will have the possibility to go to the Amphitheater, this is a Romanesque construction of the second century, it was built by digging the rock. We will know all its historical center of Tarragona. We will also cross the Via Augusta, to reach the Roman Circus of Tarragona, built in the first century. At this point we will find that the views are fascinating. We will also visit La Plaça de la Font, a long square that was previously the arena of the Circus.

Reaching the end of the tour, a stop will be made to visit the National Archaeological Museum. We will arrive at the Cathedral of Tarragona, besieged in the ruins of a huge Roman temple. This construction started in the twelfth century though it was consecrated until two centuries later, and reveals an interesting transition of styles between Roman and Gothic.

At the end of this day we will go back to Barcelona.

All year except Christmas, New Year and St. Stephen.

It includes:

• Guide throughout the tour

• Transfer by private vehicle or Minibus

• Visit to all the places named in the daily tickets

• 4 nights accommodation in a tourist hotel

• All the activities named in the text

• Maximum capacity: 15 people.
• Meeting point: Pick up at the Hotel of Hospedaje.
• It is essentialto have received the reservation confirmation.