Madrid to Marrakech: An Atlantic Adventure

Welcome to Spain. On arrival at Madrid airport make your way to the Arrivals Hall to meet our representative, followed by a transfer to our group hotel. At the hotel, visit our hospitality desk in the lobby to meet our team, who will provide you with useful information regarding pre-embarkation procedures and about your time in Madrid. You will also receive cabin tags for your luggage. Please clearly label the tags with your name and your cabin number on the ship. Your day is at leisure to explore independently, enjoy the hotel facilities or simply relax after your flight. 

Accommodation: Melia Madrid (or similar)

Spain’s colourful capital lives up to its reputation, with a vibrant atmosphere and more than just a workaday lifestyle. Cheerful and lively at all hours, Madrid pulses with a distinctive Latino spirit that adds to its dynamic character. This is a city where restaurant shutters don’t rise until most people’s bedtime, and artwork lines the streets. 

In addition to its renowned museums and galleries, and life-size statues of famed explorer Christopher Columbus, to a string of handsome kings astride their stallions, Madrid also boasts busy streets filled with all kinds of shops, restaurants offering world-class cuisine, and an unbeatable nightlife. Yet, it also surprises with tranquil historical spots that charm everyone passing by. You will find traditional, family-run, century-old bars where friends gather for a drink; diverse neighbourhoods; and cultural centres offering a traditional type of tourism. Madrid’s authenticity, infused with its unique Latino spirit, is hard to beat. 

Our ‘Your Choice’ Experiences showcase the two faces of Madrid, with time this afternoon to continue your exploration of Spain’s capital independently. This evening, we invite you to join us for a Spanish-style Welcome Event as we kick off our Atlantic Adventure. 

Personalise your exploration with our included ‘Your Choice’ experiences. 

Option 1 – Morning experience: A Royal Morning in Madrid 

Our guided tour provides a uniquely local perspective on Spain’s capital. As we explore, you will encounter statues and monuments throughout the city commemorating explorers and naval heroes. The tour uncovers some of the city’s impressive plazas, historical buildings and intriguing stories, culminating in a visit to one of its royal landmarks. 

One of the few official residences of heads of state open to the public, the Royal Palace of Madrid, or Patrimonio Nacional, is not only home to King Felipe VI, but it is also the largest palace in Western Europe, spanning more than 135,000 square metres (about half the area of the Vatican) and featuring an incredible 3,418 rooms. The palace, inaugurated in 1751, sits on the site of the old Alcázar of Madrid, a medieval fortress converted into a royal residence. The original Alcázar, decorated with Spanish Golden Age art, was destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve 1734, leading to the construction of the current palace, with its Italian design, opulent rococo and neoclassical interiors, including impressive frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo and Anton Raphael Mengs. The palace also boasts a Royal Armoury, one of Europe’s finest collections, and the Campo del Moro gardens, designed by Juan de Villanueva, making it the perfect place to conclude our visit of this grand city. Explore the grounds further or return to the hotel for an afternoon at leisure. 

Option 2 – Morning experience: A Portrait of Madrid 

Our guided tour paints a uniquely local perspective on Spain’s capital. As we explore, you will encounter statues and monuments throughout the city commemorating explorers and naval heroes. The tour introduces us to the city’s popular plazas and grand cultural icons, culminating in a visit to the inspiring Prado. 

Closely linked to the Spanish psyche, the Prado is a must-see for art enthusiasts visiting Madrid. Since its inauguration in 1819, the Museo Nacional del Prado has been dedicated to conserving, exhibiting and enriching its collection, which not only reflects Spain’s rich history, but also displays many of the world’s most renowned works of art. With over 1,000 paintings spanning four centuries, the museum can be overwhelming for first-time visitors. Our guide will take us to key works and share the captivating stories behind them, including masterpieces by Bosch, El Greco, Velázquez, Goya, and Rubens. Choose to linger longer at the Prado or return to our hotel, with your afternoon free to explore the city independently. 

Accommodation: Melia Madrid (or similar)

Meals: Breakfast, Welcome Event dinner and show

Time in Bilbao (Bilbo, in Euskera) may be recorded as BG or AG (Before Guggenheim or After Guggenheim). Never has a single monument of art and architecture so radically changed a city. Frank Gehry’s stunning museum, Norman Foster’s sleek subway system, the Santiago Calatrava glass footbridge and airport, the leafy César Pelli Abandoibarra park and commercial complex next to the Guggenheim, and the Philippe Starck AlhóndigaBilbao cultural center have contributed to an unprecedented cultural revolution in what was once the industry capital of the Basque Country.Greater Bilbao contains almost 1 million inhabitants, nearly half the total population of the Basque Country. Founded in 1300 by Vizcayan noble Diego López de Haro, Bilbao became an industrial center in the mid-19th century, largely because of the abundance of minerals in the surrounding hills. An affluent industrial class grew up here, as did the working class in suburbs that line the Margen Izquierda (Left Bank) of the Nervión estuary.Bilbao’s new attractions get more press, but the city’s old treasures still quietly line the banks of the rust-color Nervión River. The Casco Viejo (Old Quarter)—also known as Siete Calles (Seven Streets)—is a charming jumble of shops, bars, and restaurants on the river’s Right Bank, near the Puente del Arenal bridge. This elegant proto-Bilbao nucleus was carefully restored after devastating floods in 1983. Throughout the Casco Viejo are ancient mansions emblazoned with family coats of arms, wooden doors, and fine ironwork balconies. The most interesting square is the 64-arch Plaza Nueva, where an outdoor market is pitched every Sunday morning.Walking the banks of the Nervión is a satisfying jaunt. After all, this was how—while out on a morning jog—Guggenheim director Thomas Krens first discovered the perfect spot for his project, nearly opposite the right bank’s Deusto University. From the Palacio de Euskalduna upstream to the colossal Mercado de la Ribera, parks and green zones line the river. César Pelli’s Abandoibarra project fills in the half mile between the Guggenheim and the Euskalduna bridge with a series of parks, the Deusto University library, the Meliá Bilbao Hotel, and a major shopping center.On the left bank, the wide, late-19th-century boulevards of the Ensanche neighborhood, such as Gran Vía (the main shopping artery) and Alameda de Mazarredo, are the city’s more formal face. Bilbao’s cultural institutions include, along with the Guggenheim, a major museum of fine arts (the Museo de Bellas Artes) and an opera society (Asociación Bilbaína de Amigos de la Ópera, or ABAO) with 7,000 members from Spain and southern France. In addition, epicureans have long ranked Bilbao’s culinary offerings among the best in Spain. Don’t miss a chance to ride the trolley line, the Euskotram, for a trip along the river from Atxuri Station to Basurto’s San Mamés soccer stadium, reverently dubbed “la Catedral del Fútbol” (the Cathedral of Football).

The Campo Valdés baths, dating back to the 1st century AD, and other reminders of Gijón’s time as an ancient Roman port remain visible downtown. Gijón was almost destroyed in a 14th-century struggle over the Castilian throne, but by the 19th century it was a thriving port and industrial city. The modern-day city is part fishing port, part summer resort, and part university town, packed with cafés, restaurants, and sidrerías.

La Coruña, the largest city in Spain’s Galicia region, is among the country’s busiest ports. The remote Galicia area is tucked into the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula, surprising visitors with its green and misty countryside that is so much unlike other parts of Spain. The name “Galicia” is Celtic in origin, for it was the Celts who occupied the region around the 6th-century BC and erected fortifications. La Coruña was already considered an important port under the Romans. They were followed by an invasion of Suevians, Visigoths and, much later in 730, the Moors. It was after Galicia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Asturias that the epic saga of the Pilgrimage to Santiago (St. James) began. From the 15th century, overseas trade developed rapidly; in 1720, La Coruña was granted the privilege of trading with America – a right previously only held by Cadiz and Seville. This was the great era when adventurous men voyaged to the colonies and returned with vast riches. Today, the city’s significant expansion is evident in three distinct quarters: the town centre located along the isthmus; the business and commercial centre with wide avenues and shopping streets; and the “Ensanche” to the south, occupied by warehouses and factories. Many of the buildings in the old section feature the characteristic glazed façades that have earned La Coruña the name “City of Crystal.” Plaza Maria Pita, the beautiful main square, is named after the local heroine who saved the town in 1589 when she seized the English standard from the beacon and gave the alarm, warning her fellow townsmen of the English attack.

Dating from Roman times, the Galician city of Vigo has a fine natural harbour and is renowned as the biggest fishing port in the world. It is also full of history – it was in this fjord-like quay that the English and Dutch defeated the French and Spanish fleets in 1702. Today, the attractive marinas stand in contrast to the industrialised areas of the city, while further exploration will reveal the characteristic 17th-century architecture and attractive countryside beyond. The charming Old Town is a delight, with its labyrinth of winding narrow streets and shaded squares. Nearby is the Cathedral city of Tui, and further to the north is the pilgrimage centre of Santiago de Compostela, which can be reached by car in approximately 1¼ hours.

Ever since the Romans constructed a fort here and began using it as a trading post, Oporto has been a prosperous commercial centre. In the 15th and 16th centuries the city benefited from the wealth generated by Portugal’s maritime discoveries, and later, the establishment of a lucrative wine trade with Britain compensated for the loss of the spice trade. Today, Portugal’s second-largest city is a thriving, cosmopolitan place and is famous for its production of the fortified, sweet ‘port’ wine. Its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the city was also awarded the status of European Capital of Culture in 2001. A large sandbar prevents ships from sailing into Oporto itself, so for over a century they have used nearby Leixões instead, a man-made seaport constructed nine miles from the city. Leixões is one of Portugal’s major sea ports and is also home to one of the country’s oldest football clubs, winners of the Taça de Portugal cup in 1961.