Tour begins: 6:00 PM, InterContinental Porto. A transfer is included from Porto Airport to your hotel, InterContinental Porto - Palacio das Cardosas, set within a recently renovated 18th-century palace in the heart of the city. Meet your traveling companions this evening at a welcome reception and dinner at your hotel.

An excursion from Porto today takes you to Sintra - once a favored summer retreat for Portugal's monarchs and a UNESCO World Heritage Site - for a visit to the National Palace of Sintra, and time to explore on your own before returning to Lisbon. Check into your Four Seasons hotel for a two-night stay; dine at the hotel this evening.

Today you'll travel from Lisbon to Seville through the Alentejo region of Portugal, known for its rolling plains, bucolic villages and local cork trade. The region produces more than half of the world's cork supply! Your travels continue into the border region between Spain and Portugal - an area where fortifications dotting the landscape have witnessed centuries of struggle between the Spanish, Portuguese and Moors - then through the Spanish Extremadura, a unique region that was once part of the Roman Empire and today is famous among epicures worldwide for its prized delicacy, jamon iberico. Spend the next two nights in the heart of Seville at one of Europe's most luxurious hotels, commissioned by the king of Spain for the famous Exposition of 1929. You may have dinner at your hotel this evening, or choose to enjoy an included lunch or dinner at the hotel tomorrow.

Depart Seville for famous Gibraltar, where you'll tour the fabled Rock by mini-coach (weather permitting), and spend some time exploring on your own with lunch as you please. Your final destination today is the glamorous coastal resort town of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, for a two-night stay.

As your tour continues, journey from the Spanish coast into the mountains to visit scenic Ronda, perched on a cliff overlooking the spectacular El Tajo gorge. Ronda is synonymous with the evolution of the art of bullfighting; along with revealing the town's Moorish heritage and remains, a guided walking tour includes a visit to one of Spain's oldest bullrings, the Plaza de Toros. Continue on to Granada, situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. The city boasts extraordinary architecture from over 250 years as the capital of a Moorish kingdom; your hotel is steps away from Granada's celebrated Moorish palace, the Alhambra. Dine at a local restaurant this evening.

Continue from Granada to Cordoba today for a visit that begins with a guided walking tour through the cobblestone streets of the Juderia, Cordoba's former Jewish Quarter; from its alleyways, you can see the walls and decorative details of the candy-striped La Mezquita (Spanish for mosque.) Your visit to this masterpiece of architecture and art reveals its nearly 1,200-year history as an early Christian church, a Moorish mosque, and, since the 16th century, a Roman Catholic cathedral. Late this afternoon, board the AVE train in Preferente class for a rail journey to Spain's amazing capital city. Arrive in Madrid for three nights at The Westin Palace, Madrid - a Belle Epoque landmark in the heart of the city, a short walk from the tapas bars that American novelist Ernest Hemingway made famous. A light dinner will be served at your hotel this evening.

Join a local guide for a morning orientation tour of Madrid's landmark sights that includes a walking tour of the vast Plaza Mayor and the Mercado San Miguel. Then view the art treasures of Madrid's celebrated Museo del Prado - one of the most famous art museums on Earth, just a block away from your hotel - on a guided visit with a local expert. The remainder of the afternoon and evening are yours to spend as you wish in Spain's storied capital city.