A Couples' Break to Seville

Discovering the Legend of Alfonso XIII

A GLASS OF WINE

Andalucia has a thousand-year-old tradition of growing vines and the production of highly prestigious wines. The topography, with its large difference in altitude plus sunshine, a Mediterranean climate, and the Andalusian soils are all assets that come together to produce their excellent wines. Discovering their quality and diversity is part of a fun and friendly tasting at the Cultural Centre of Seville.

Optional - With a private guide

ANDALUSIAN HORSES

Unique and indisputably beautiful, with a thick mane and famous the world over. For centuries, Andalusian horses have been an integral part of the culture of this region. A visit to a stud with a passionate expert helps you to understand the development of this pure breed horse in its natural environment, its reproduction and its training. This visit is followed by lunch.

Optional

SECRET CONVENTS and PATISSERIES

Convents and monasteries are representative of Seville's great wealth. Santa Paula Convent was founded in the 15th century; Santa Ines, Santa Maria de Jesus, Santa Isabel, el Socorro and San Leandro in the 16th century. They are still places of peace and prayer in the city today. This walk is an opportunity to enter these secret buildings to meet the nuns and to discuss convent life around 'divine' pastries and treats, made and sold by the convent.

Option - With a private guide

GENTLE LIVING ON THE ALGARVE

Why not continue your Spanish road-trip on the roads of southern Portugal, with its gentle Algarve beaches and the charm of the interior. Make the most of the opportunity to enjoy a blast of fresh air at the Cape Saint Vincent promontory in Sagres; to read in a Mediterranean rock garden to the sound of waves and cicadas; to wander without keeping track of time through Faro's streets; to picnic 'at the end of the world' on the Ilha Deserta (accessible by boat from Faro); to shop at Loule's outdoor market, west of the old town (Saturday morning); to wander along the ramparts, churches and the old bridge of Tavira; to discover the wilderness of the Ria Formosa Nature Park with its dunes, colonies of rare birds and salt marshes; to venture onto the small mountain roads of the Serra de Monchique; and pedal at an easy pace on the beach, in the pine forest or through scrubland.

Optional - Six days, five nights

FOLKLORE AND SPIRITUALITY IN HOLY WEEK

Every year, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, Spain celebrates Semana Santa, one of the most important religious events in the country. In Andalucia, and in Seville in particular, the tradition of Holy Week is particularly intense and has an unusual spiritual and aesthetic dimension. For a week, a crowd of tens of thousands of Sevillians and visitors mingles with some fifty brotherhoods in a procession to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. You could be in the front row, sitting on your private balcony for a day, overlooking the processions. We then invite you to live Holy Week from the inside, in the Andalusian countryside behind the wheel of your own vehicle, to discover the white villages such as Ubrique and Zahara, as well as the traditional, popular processions which flood the alleys of the interior during this period.

Optional - Four days, three nights