Barcelona/Penedés, Spain - 6 nights
Available year round

What better place to indulge in a culinary vacation than Catalonia, Spain? This private tour exclusively designed for Active Gourmet Holidays, combines lovely 4 star accommodations, inside "foodie" visits including cheese tastings and vineyard visits, fun cooking classes with talented chefs and of course, incredible meals and superb wine, all the while enjoying the architecture of Barcelona and the countryside of the Penedés region. For those looking for a true gourmand experience this tour is for you!

ITINERARY

DAY ONE

Your vacation starts with airport pickup and chauffeured transfer in a luxury vehicle to your charming hotel 4-star traditional Spanish style hotel in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. Formerly, your hotel was the palace residence of a wealthy Duke in the city and is deep-seated in history.

This afternoon you will meet your expert guide who will discuss your personalized tour itinerary with you. Apart from having available an Online Personal Travel Webpage, you will also receive a personal travel journal with your day by day itinerary details, and plenty of suggestions for restaurants and free time activities. Our representative will also gladly introduce you to the Spanish history, traditions and cuisine. In addition, he/she will pass to you a free cell phone for the duration of your tour and you will be given a 24-hour telephone number available for any consultation or emergency that you may have. Then, together you will head to the spectacular and world renowned La Sagrada Familia, where you will enjoy a private guided visit, followed by a walking tour of the Passeig de Gracia where you will appreciate the fanciful works of Spanish architect Gaudi, such as his famous Casa Batllo, created in a mosaic with bright colors and unique shapes and will view, from the outside, the remarkable La Pedrera, Gaudi's renowned architectural accomplishment, which is in the most chic area of the city.

DAY TWO

Today you will experience Barcelona to the fullest! After breakfast your tour guide will meet you at nine
o´clock at your hotel and from there you will head to La Boqueria. La Boqueria is like a museum of the brightest, most curious and delectable foods Europe has to offer. In any season you can lose yourself in a more than 800 year-old wonderland of fruit, vegetables, meats, seafood, bread and desserts. But be warned: It may take a long time before deciding exactly where to concentrate your taste buds. Because of Barcelona’s accessible ports and proximity to fertile farmlands, a market like La Boqueria is able to offer gourmands a wide variety of olive oils, mushrooms, and seafood from its vendors to you, the customer! Our expert culinary guide will lead you around the best booths and you will taste some of the best local seasonal produce at one famous La Boqueria bar, frequented by celebrities. A glass of a fine brut nature cava will surely feel good with a tapa of Chanterelle mushrooms, or fresh cockles, squid or maybe even scrambled eggs with wild asparagus.

Your journey will pass by a few architectural feats as well, including the beautiful Gothic cathedral, the Santa Maria del Mar church, la Plaza del Rei etc. Your expert guide will show you the remnants of the city’s Roman and medieval past. You will wind through the narrow streets lined by beautiful Romanesque walls, while the guide explains to you the fascinating history of Barcelona and the region in general.

Afterwards you will visit a charming local cheese shop to enjoy some home made Spanish cheeses, which are manufactured with carefully selected ingredients. The shop owner personally makes sure that both cheeses and wines are a perfect match, so you are sure to enjoy her suggestions!

For lunch you will probably be ready to try one of Spain’s most popular dishes: Tapas! We are confident that you will enjoy tasting them in an authentic tapas restaurant, where you will be able to choose from a wide variety. Your expert guide will gladly share with you details of each tapa’s ingredients and their origins, which could range from stuffed piquillo peppers, cod omelet, Iberian ham pincho or even white anchovies. A delightful local wine will accompany your informal gourmand meal.

Your afternoon and evening are free to relax, enjoy Barcelona, do a little shopping. We have plenty of suggestions for you!

DAY THREE

This morning you will be free to venture out and discover the many amenities Barcelona offers or perhaps enjoy again the secret corners of La Rambla and the fashionable Born District shown to you previously by our guide. As always, we can provide many suggestions!

At around 4.00pm in the afternoon your Premium Rental car will be delivered to your hotel. The vehicle will have automatic transmission and be fitted with GPS for your assistance. 

You will then transfer to your hotel in the Penedes Region, which is an exceedingly pretty Masia which uses only produce from its "bio" garden to produce the freshest healthiest organic food. Once you are settled in, it will be nearly time for your cooking class to begin with the masia owner, who will show you how to prepare various delicious local dishes, with the organic ingredients from his garden and surrounding farms.

Afterwards you will enjoy the dishes you have prepared in the cozy dining room or maybe on the beautiful terrace, depending on the weather, sipping your wine and gazing at the surrounding vineyards.

DAY FOUR

You will start your day with an unforgettable visit to an exceptional vineyard, owned by one family since 1790 and situated in the heart of the Penedés wine region. A bilingual in-house expert will take you on a private tour of the vineyards, which have been ecologically cultivated for more than 300 years. It is no wonder their wines have been officially certified as "ecological-organic" since 2004. You will be amazed at how the "intervention" of bees, sheep, and lunar phases can help create outstanding wines. The grapes in this vineyard are all hand picked to ensure harvest at the ideal time for each vine. Back at the cellar, the in-house oenologist will show you the entire wine making process and finally guide you through your complete tasting of an array of ecological and organic varieties of wines and cavas. Additionally, the vineyard owners make their own olive oil, and they will gladly explain to you the process and properties of this "liquid gold" and will invite you for a tasting, accompanied by local sausages, bread and cheese.

For lunch you will be treated to delicious, local, home-made cooking at a cozy restaurant located in a typical Penedes village. This small, family run place has a wine menu which is exceptionally wide, but no wonder for a restaurant frequented by the best local wine connoisseurs.

Your afternoon will be free to investigate Penedes or perhaps even to visit Montserrat. In the evening you may wish to avail yourself of a further cooking lesson, followed by dinner at your hotel.

DAY FIVE

Today you will transfer to your old authentic stone Masia hotel on the outskirts of Girona, surrounded by countryside. Your Official Licensed Guide will await you at your hotel and together you will head to the picturesque city of Girona where the influence of Arab, Christian and Jewish cultures is apparent. From the remains of the Arab baths, to the magnificent Catholic cathedral, to the curiosities of the Jewish Quarter, you will explore all three cultures and see where they resided within the walls of the city centuries ago.

After working up an appetite in the city, you will be treated to a true Catalan dining experience at Celler de Can Roca, a famed restaurant owned by three Catalan brothers, which is Michelin 3 starred and considered the 5th best restaurant in the world. Local recipes are the inspiration for the exquisite dishes served here, from delectable parfaits to the most appreciated wild mushroom soufflé.

From the aperitif to the dessert, you will remember this dining experience in years to come!

DAY SIX

Today you will head to the Peralada Winery in Emporda region. There you will make a complete visit to this famous cellar with a long tradition of wine making, initiated in the 14th century by Carmelite monks. You will stroll along the beautiful vineyards, where our expert will show you the local vine and soil types. Then you will visit the cellar and learn about the wine making techniques; afterwards you will cross the lane to a 13th century Romanesque Castle, which is home to an ancient wine press and current wine making facilities. You will finish your visit with a taste of a variety of cavas, whites and reds in the cellar, then learn to note the balanced coupage of xarelo, macabeu and Parellada grapes in the finest cavas. The Gran Claustre cava or Grand Cloister cava, which is the finest cava available at this vineyard, is still fermented with the same process and in the same location as that of the Carmelite Monks in the 14th century. This cava was selected in a blind tasting between the world’s finest champagnes to be served at the wedding in 2004 of the Spanish Prince Felipe.

At this point your guide will meet with you to take you to your cooking class, where you will be the special guest of a local Catalan chef at his modern, but still cozy cooking school, just a 15-minute drive from Perelada. You and your guide will join him for an afternoon of modern tapas, inspired by Dali, paella and wine in Catalan style and certainly your delicious Spanish meal will be completed with a local dessert. You will have the opportunity to participate in the chef’s preparations or, if you prefer, you can sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy his cooking from aperitif to dessert. Our chef appears frequently on local TV and has a charming personality, so feel free to ask him everything you would like to know about the Spanish cuisine!

In the afternoon you and your guide will visit the Dali Museum which is only ten minutes away. The great artist purchased the museum building and personally oversaw its reconstruction and renovation. Now restored in a style appealing to Dali, it is home to some of his greatest works of surrealism. Our guide is a great expert on Dali's work, so during your private visit you can ask him all the unofficial and unconfessed secrets about the artist!

Surely after a day of cultural and culinary experiences you will welcome retreating to your beautiful hotel in Girona, or maybe visiting some picturesque Mediterranean villages nearby.

DAY SEVEN

Your tour concludes with a lovely breakfast at your hotel where you will be able to return the cell phone at reception, followed by your last drive through the enchanting Catalan countryside to Barcelona airport for your departure, where you will be able to return your car. If you prefer, we can also arrange for you a chauffeured transfer.

We hope you have enjoyed this unforgettable experience!

GROUP SIZE

A minimum of 2 participants is required to run this tour and the tour is limited to a maximum of 6 participants. (Please inquire about larger groups)

(The number of participants refers to how many persons are required to run the tour, not to how many persons you must have in your party. Please inquire.)

HOW TO ARRIVE

Closest Airport: Barcelona Airport, which is half an hour from the hotel and about 9 miles. The nearest main railway station is Barcelona Sants, which is 10 minutes from the hotel and 2 miles.

*These details are provided as additional information. Please check below to see if transfers are included in this tour.

BOOKING INFORMATION

For further inquiries or to register, click here.

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CANCELLATION POLICY

Please contact us for cancellation policy information. Travel insurance is compulsory for this tour.  

CLIENT REMARKS

Furnished upon request.

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MAP*

This exciting region is depicted below. You can also access Google MapsTM by clicking HERE. 

*In some cases mapping may give clients a general sense of location due to changes in venue. Please inquire about specific location.

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