WESTERN EUROPE BY COACH
SOUTHERN EUROPE BY COACH
EASTERN EUROPE BY COACH
BY AIR
A-ROSA CRUISING
The Pilgrims’ Road to Santiago
42
From
£1,299
10 Days
DEPARTS
6 SEP
DEPARTS
11 OCT
Gothic Cathedral and Episcopal Palace, Astorga
This unforgettable journey across northern Spain takes in part of the ancient pilgrimage route to the city of Santiago de Compostela, where the tomb of St James was discovered in the 9th century. Every year, thousands of pilgrims set out on foot, by bike, or even on horseback to experience this route, sometimes just for recreational reasons. Our coach itinerary gives us the opportunity to explore many of the beautiful and historic cities, towns and villages on this famous route in comfort, with the option to enjoy leisurely walks along parts of the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James). With scenic landscapes and fascinating heritage to discover, this will be the experience of a lifetime.
ITINERARY Day 1 We fly to Bilbao and transfer to our hotel in the city.
Afterwards we travel to our hotel in Burgos, our base for the next two nights. Tonight we enjoy dinner together at the hotel.
Day 2 Bilbao & Guggenheim Museum We start the day with a guided city tour of Bilbao. Situated on the banks of the River Nervion, this Basque port city is a wonderful mix of old and new with a quaint Old Town and striking 21st-century architectural buildings.
Day 4 Burgos This morning we enjoy a guided tour of Burgos. The city is on the main pilgrimage route and is steeped in history. The attractive centre has narrow streets lined with painted buildings and open squares while the main attraction is the extraordinary Gothic cathedral – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The major landmark of the city is the Guggenheim Museum. Opened in 1997, architect Frank Gehry’s spectacular twisting titanium-clad art museum has an outstanding collection of modern art with both permanent and temporary exhibitions which we have time to discover. Tonight we enjoy dinner together in a local restaurant. Day 3 La Rioja, Santo Domingo de la Calzada & Burgos We check out of our hotel in Bilbao and head to La Rioja, a region renowned for its wine. The rolling hillsides are perfect for growing the grapes for this eponymous wine and we enjoy a visit to a local wine cellar for a tasting of this famous red wine. We continue to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, one of the Rioja towns along the Santiago bound pilgrimage route. The town boasts a partially walled old quarter, a labyrinth of medieval streets and beautiful Romanesque cathedral. There’s also the option to join a leisurely three-mile walk along the Camino de Santiago.
Just outside the city stands the monastery of Miraflores and we have the option to take a leisurely walk along the River Arlanzón to this 15th-century Carthusian monastery (approximately two miles). Day 5 León Leaving Burgos, we travel to León, originally settled by the Romans and another important staging post along the Camino de Santiago. Some of the city’s most prominent historical buildings are the Gothic cathedral with its beautiful stained glass, the Basilica of San Isidoro built into the old city walls, the Monastery of San Marcos, and the Casa Botines – a Modernist creation of the architect Antoni Gaudí. We enjoy a guided tour of the city followed by time at leisure or the option to join a two mile walk along part of the pilgrimage route. Later we check in to our hotel in León where we stay overnight with dinner included.
Day 6 Astorga, Bishop’s Palace, Castrillo de los Polvazares, Cruz de Fierro, Molinaseca & Ponferrada We check out of our hotel and head first to the historic city of Astorga, another key point of the Camino de Santiago. Here we visit the fairytale Bishop’s Palace, a modernist building designed by Antoni Gaudí which houses a museum of the pilgrimage to Santiago. After free time for lunch, we continue to the charming village of Castrillo de los Polvazares, with its houses and cobbled streets built with the same russet-coloured stone. From here our coach climbs up to the Cruz de Fierro, the highest point on the Camino de Santiago and a symbolic place where pilgrims traditionally leave a rock. From here there is the option to walk along the pilgrimage route for approximately two miles. We travel on to the village of Molinaseca where we enjoy dinner together in a local restaurant before continuing on to the town of Ponferrada, one of the major staging posts on the pilgrimage route, and our overnight hotel. Day 7 O Cebreiro, Portomarín, Monte de Gozo & Santiago de Compostela Our first stop today is beautiful O Cebreiro. This rustic mountain village is home to a series of pallozas, traditional round stone houses with thatched roofs, and a pre-Romanesque church, the oldest remaining fully intact church on the pilgrimage route.
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