Self-Drive Tour in Spain: Deluxe "Hospes" Hotels - 8 Days

Madrid, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Valencia

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1: Full day to explore Madrid

You should start this day early in the morning to discover as much as possible about Spain’s beautiful capital, which is an important business centre, as well as the headquarters for the Public Administration, Government, Spanish Parliament and the home of the Spanish Royal Family.
Start your visit with the Royal Palace (Closed when official acts are held). This vast and elegant palace is no longer used as a residence since the 1930’s but keeps the original furniture and decoration as if kings still lived there. Next to the palace you can see the modern Almudena’s Cathedral, started in 1879 and finished a century later. From here start your walk from Calle Mayor (Main Street) till the majestic Plaza Mayor (Main Square) which used to be a marketplace and was the scene of popular events. Under the arcades, you can find different shops that sell fabrics, costume jewellery and souvenirs together with outdoor cafes, taverns and bakeries. Nearby you have the Puerta del Sol (Sun Gateway), once a 15th century gate from Madrid’s defensive walls. Now it’s one of the most popular meeting points for local people and the starting of the old city’s shopping area. Continuing along the Calle Alcala you’ll reach Plaza de Cibeles, an important symbol of Madrid, surrounded by some of the city's most important monuments. Now, the Prado Museum (Closed on Monday) shall not be missed. This museum is considered one of the most important art galleries in the world. It houses masterpieces by Velazquez, Goya, El Greco and many other artists. If you like gardens, Parque del Retiro (behind the Prado) is worth a short walk.
As an alternative, you can visit the National Museum Reina Sofia (Closed on Tuesday), a cultural centre containing a permanent collection of Spanish contemporary art. From Plaza Cibeles, continue along the famous shopping street Gran Via and Plaza del Callao, surrounded by cinemas, department stores and shops. At the end of Gran Via is the huge Plaza de España, noted for two skyscrapers from the 1950's: the Edificio España and the Torre de Madrid. In the center of this square is the statue of the famous Cervante’s character Don Quijote de La Mancha.

Accommodation in Madrid at the Hospes Madrid (please follow link for more details)

About the Hotel:
"This handsome building was designed in 1883 and provides a welcoming combination of elegance, architecture, fine dining and invigorating purity, along with easy access to the intense economic, cultural and artistic activity of the capital city. Hospes Madrid has 41 rooms, among them a grand suite, four grand suite duplexes and one junior suite. To hold meetings and savour the Senzone gastronomic offerings, Hospes Madrid is endowed with a variety of spaces, each with its own style and personality – ideal scenarios for discovering the area’s culinary specialties in a vanguard environment. Guests and visitors interested in a process of full revitalization are invited to enter the Bodyna Spa, located in a unique building accessed by the interior patio."

Day 2: Departure to Sevilla

In the morning you shall collect your vehicle at the rent a car office and proceed to Sevilla. This trip will take around 5 hours and we suggest you to stop for lunch in Merida.
Arriving to Sevilla, you can enjoy the rest of the day to relax at this lovely charming hotel that we’ve booked for you, conveniently located in the historical area of Sevilla, from where you can take a relaxing walk and start the discovery of this magical city. This city is one of the best places to taste the famous Spanish Tapas.

Accommodation in Seville at the Hospes Las Casas del Rey de Baeza (please follow link for more details)

About the Hotel:

"This beautiful enclave of typically Sevillian architecture was a neighborhood courtyard in 18th century. Today it is the perfect place for Hospes guests in Seville find the restorative calm that allows us to imagine and dream. The 42 rooms are decorated for the guests with columns, ceramics, earthenware pitchers and adornments of other times, together with colonial style furniture. In addition, the Senzone Restaurant, a culinary space devoted to the local flavours of Andalusia and the city of Seville, is decorated with fine materials, mainly of wood and leather. The swimming pool-solarium on the roof with its unique views of the historical city centre is well worth a visit, as is the recently inaugurated Bodyna Spa, offering a fusion of Eastern and Western cultures."

Roadbook - Approximate distances and times:

Madrid - Seville --- 535 Km (5 hours)

Day 3: All day in Sevilla

It was once a very important trading port with America, and after Seville hosted the Expo ’92 it was turned into a navigable river again. Next to the river, the Torre del Oro (Gold Tower) owes its name to the stone’s golden colour and was built in the 13th century to protect the port.
Seville is heir of rich monuments, some of them declared as World Heritage by UNESCO. The Alcazar stands out, for it looks as a Moorish palace. It was already built by Catholic Kings, using the infrastructures of the ancient Moorish governors’ residence. The nearby Cathedral occupies the site of a great mosque build in the late 12th century by the moors. Later, Christian architects added the extra dimension of height that transformed it into one of the largest in Europe and one of the biggest of Christianity. Colombo’s mortal remains are supposed to rest in a tomb here.
After leaving the Cathedral, take a walk in the streets of Barrio of Santa Cruz, which is the most picturesque and delightful part of the city. Its narrow winding cobbled streets are peppered with souvenir shops, tapas bars and restaurants in pretty whitewashed houses.

Accommodation in Seville at the Hospes Las Casas del Rey de Baeza (please follow link for more details)

Day 4: Departure to Cordoba & Granada

Early in the morning you shall take the road to Cordoba. Once you arrive at this city you’ll feel the ambience of different cultures in the air. This ancient city, which has been classified as a World Heritage Site, was once the capital of one of the Roman provinces in the Iberian Peninsula and later of the Arab Caliphate. You’ll first see the Guadalquivir River, crossed by a Roman bridge. A stroll through its narrow and winding streets, with whitewashed courtyards decorated with flowers of all colours will allow you to see that little has changed since the 10th century. The Cathedral-Mosque is nowadays a single architectural space, but was originally built in the 8th century as an Arab temple. It is for sure one of the main attractions in Cordoba. In the 16th century a Gothic Christian Cathedral was built inside the Mosque. Thus, the building is now a mixture of different styles. The old Jewish Quarter, running from the Mosque, is the heart of the city. Enter the synagogue from the 14th century, which is one of the few Jewish temples still standing in Spain.
In the afternoon you’ll drive to another jewel of Southern Spain: Granada. We advise you to make a booking to visit the Allambra Palace the next day, as soon as you get to the hotel, unless you’ve made a previous booking already.

Accommodation in Granada at Hotel Hospes Palácio de Los Patos (please follow link for more details)

About the Hotel:

"Hospes Palacio de los Patos represents a suggestive combination of two buildings looking at each other in complicity: it is the careful restoration and conversion of a classic 19th century palace of industrial architecture, catalogued as a Cultural Heritage site; and a new building, a mixture of depths and transparencies behind a majestic and subtle alabaster lattice window. The hotel offers 42 exquisitely decorated rooms and the select cuisine of the Senzone restaurant, based on the natural quality of local produce and game. In addition, there is also the Bodyna Spa, a space devoted to sensation and the deepest well-being."

Roadbook - Approximate distances and times:

Sevilla – Cordoba ---- 145km (1 hour 45 minutes)
Cordoba – Granada ---- 239km (2 hours 25 minutes)

Day 5: All Day in Granada

If your visit to the Allambra Palace is booked to the morning, you shall head to the hill where the palace is settled (count with about 4 to 6 hours for the entire visit). The architects made an enchanting use of space, light and water that can still be admired in the many rooms linked by courtyards, gardens and fountains. This complex, built between the 13th and the 15th centuries, includes the Royal Houses, the Alcazaba from the 13th century, the Palace of Charles V and the Generalife.
In the afternoon, take a look at the city’s Cathedral, located in the centre of the Muslim area and dating back to 1523. It’s time to explore the narrow and steep streets of the Albaicin quarter, on a hill facing the Allambra, where you still can feel the Arab atmosphere of the past. When the Arabs lived here, there used to be over 30 mosques! By the end of the day, you should walk up to San Nicolas’ belvedere, where the views over the Allambra roofs with the Sierra Nevada backdrop are unforgettable.If you still have time there’s a curious tradition in Granada, which is a modern version of Arab Baths, trying to reproduce this ancient Moorish habit that you can try yourself (ask at your hotel’s reception information about one of these places).

Accommodation in Granada at Hotel Hospes Palácio de Los Patos (please follow link for more details)

Day 6: Departure to Alicante & Valencia

We advise you to leave the hotel early morning, so that you can have some time to visit Alicante, between Granada and Valencia. This city, with over three thousand years of history, is one of the most important of the so-called Costa Blanca, as it is a holiday resort near a natural bay.
Here, Greek and Roman colonies have once established. Interesting to be visited are the Castillo de Santa Barbara, from the 16th century, from where we can afford a Great view over the city; the Explanada de Espanha, a public promenade along the coast. Also the churches of San Nicolás (15th century); the Basilica of Santa Maria (14th century), the oldest in town; and the Monastery of Santa Faz. At the House of Asegurada you can appreciate paintings by Dalí, Miró, Picasso and others.
Afterwards, please continue on the direction to Valencia, where you may arrive by the end of the day for a deserved rest.

Accommodation in Valencia at Hotel Hospes Palau de La Mar (please follow link for more details)

About the Hotel:

“Open to the world, sensibly, yet with character. In addition to the architecture of its two singular buildings, which were part of an old palace from the late 19th century. Having 66 rooms decorated in a modern style, Hospes Palau de la Mar enchants because it mirrors the values of its city, its people, its history. Its select Senzone cuisine offers guests a sublime flavor tour of the produce of Valencia’s gardens, farms and fisheries. The Bodyna Fitness & Spa offers deep revitalization of body and mind. In the newly inaugurated salon, light and the colors of white and silver merge to create intimate and exclusive spaces.“

Roadbook - Approximate times and distances:

Granada – Alicante ---- 364km (3 hours 30 minutes)
Alicante – Valência ---- 179km (2 hours)

Day 7: All day in Valencia

You shall take this day to explore the enchantments of Valencia, the third largest city in Spain, well known for its warm weather, modernity, nightlife, as well as the fertile orange groves outside the city. On a first approach, the city may look a good example of a Spanish town, with its smoked hams hanging on the cafes and restaurants, the passion for bullfights and the way that women of all ages try to drive away the heat with their pretty fans. Valencia is one of the Spanish cities that Modernism reached its greatest expressions, chiefly due to the existence of a wealthy and idle bourgeoisie which tried to display their power by building beautiful houses and following the trend of their time.
From the modern complex, planned by the architect Santiago Calatrava, which placed Valencia at the route of the avant-garde cities, we shall point out the City of Arts and Sciences, inaugurated in 1998. As the name itself portrays, it dedicates to promotion and knowledge of sciences, nature and arts.
Amongst ancient buildings, the most significant and beautiful, built at the economical and cultural height of the 14th and 15th centuries are the Serranos Towers (a door which survived the demolition of the medieval walls), La Lonja (building in Gothic style that was used as customs house) and the Cathedral (built in 1262 and enlarged through the centuries).

Accommodation in Valencia at Hotel Hospes Palau de La Mar (please follow link for more details)

Day 8: Hotel Check-out and Delivery of Rented Car

Today you shall deliver your car early in the morning in Valencia or in Madrid and return back home or continue your trip through Europe (If you can extend your holidays, please ask us to include extra nights to this pack).

End of Self-Drive Tour

PRICES (per person)

Total Adult Passengers / Car Group	2010
Total Adult Passengers / Car Group	Hospes Hotels
2 Pax (1 Double Room) Group C vehicle	1.552 €
3 Pax (1 Double & 1 Single Room) Group C vehicle	1.659 €
4 Pax (2 Double Rooms) Group F vehicle	1.498 €
5 Pax (2 Double & 1 Single Rooms) Group F vehicle	1.552 €
6 Pax (3 Double Rooms) Group K vehicle	1.498 €
Single Room Supplement (where double is stated)	460 €
Car Upgrade Group C to E	128 €
Car Upgrade Group F to I	375 €
Car Upgrade Group F to K	610 €

For Children rates, please contact us

Prices not valid for special dates like Fairs and Easter Season. Please ask us for a quote for these special dates.

Our price includes:

- 7 Nights accommodation on selected HOSPES hotels

- 7 Full Breakfasts

- 7 days rent-a-car (air-conditioned vehicle) with CDW and TP insurance & unlimited kms.

Please check Car Groups here: Rent-a-Car Section

Optionals (payable at rent-a-car desk):

- Car collection at Airport

- Car delivery at your hotel

- Aditional driver

- GPS

Please ask us for a printable version of this itinerary if you need one.