With Spain’s glorious artistic heritage, much of it remains unknown and unexplored. It has so much to offer, especially if you know where to find it. With the right mix of international experience and local insight, Arts Exclusive offers you special cultural programmes which, until now, have not been available to the discerning traveller – if you are interested in cultural Spain, we can offer you something really special. You only need a weekend – feel pampered as you let us take care of you with our exclusive plans. Don’t feel rushed, there is plenty of time. Enjoy a unique experience.

Your Weekend in Madrid: Just an Example of What We Can Offer You

The Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía, all within walking distance of one another, have a collection which, we believe, is nearly unrivalled. Madrid’s historic city centre, its elegant facades, magnificent squares and colourful side streets will fascinate you. After immersing yourself in its way of life and artistic heritage, you will fly home knowing that you have made the most of your time. But don’t feel rushed: we also appreciate that you need sufficient time for relaxation and soaking up the atmosphere at your own pace, so there is plenty of time for personal exploring and discoveries. Here goes an overview of the programme which we have prepared for you:

FRIDAY

You will be staying a whole weekend – three nights, from Friday to Monday – at the ***** Hotel Ritz, one of the emblems of the city, perfectly located to reach all the major museums on foot. On Friday at 16.00 we would like to invite you to a welcome cocktail, where you will meet our guides – only the best have been hand-picked for you. You will also meet your travel companions – although the total group size is small (typically around 16 people, with a minimum of 14 and a maximum of 24 participants), we will divide you in smaller mini-groups of seven people per guide. You will be part of that same mini-group for each of your guided visits to museums and walking tours.

After your welcome cocktail you will visit the Prado with your mini-group accompanied by one of our international, interesting and well-prepared guides – enjoy a two hour tour and discover El Greco, Velázquez and Goya. If you have a particular interest in any other paintings as well, please let us know in advance – we will do our best to accommodate your wishes.

In the evening we would like to invite you for dinner in a traditional, private, members-only club in Madrid, where we have booked a private room for you. Founded in 1869, the club moved to its current location in 1917, in a splendid renovated building and at walking-distance from your hotel. We thought that you might like the idea of dining with some interesting, international Spanish locals, perhaps one or two university professors, internationally acclaimed artists or other well-known members of the Spanish cultural scene. Please let us know if you would like us to arrange this for you.

SATURDAY

In the morning we thought we show you our works by Picasso, Dalí and other well-known works by Spanish contemporary artists (Tapies, Miró, Chillida). We will guide your mini-group on a two hour tour through Reina Sofía, which houses Spain’s most important contemporary art collection.

After the tour you will have some free time to explore the city at your leisure, have some tapas, maybe visit some other historical places or museums (Palacio Real, Museo Sorolla, San Antonio de la Florida, Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, etc.). We would particularly recommend el Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales – nuns with royal blood, queens and empresses have lived in this monastery, and it now houses a museum featuring paintings by Murillo, Zurbarán, Bruegel the Elder, Ribera and Tizian. But maybe you prefer to do some shopping at El Corte Inglés or on Serrano? Of course, our tourleader can answer any questions you may have, give you some recommendations, book a table for your dinner or help out with any other logistical issues. Also, if you would like our guides or tourleader to accompany you for lunch or to other museums in the afternoon, or if you want a personal shopping assistant, we are here to help you. Please do not hesitate to ask us.

Late afternoon we would like to offer you a three-hour guided walking tour through Madrid de los Austrias – again in your mini-group, we would like to show you some special, hidden corners, some of which not even the locals are aware of. We will walk at a leisurely pace, including some coffee breaks to relax – we recommend you try some churros y porras con chocolate.

SUNDAY

Sunday morning you may want to immerse yourself in La Latina, a fun, traditional area of Madrid, where you can find the famous Rastro on Sundays. We would like you to accompany us in one of the old Madrid traditions: drinking some Vermouth before lunch, a typical Spanish aperitif. This is just one more excuse to discover some hidden parts of this wonderful city.

For lunch we thought we would prepare a somewhat original plan for you, so we have booked an art gallery, where a buffet lunch will be served. While enjoying some simple but tasty Spanish food in fantastic surrounding, we would like you to listen to the introduction of work by one of our contemporary artists. You can also see some of the work of these artists in renowned museums and institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art (NY), Metropolitan Museum of American Art (NY), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Bogotá, Colombia), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Sofía lmber (Caracas) or at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid). Their work has been presented at ARCO, Chicago Art Fair, Art Miami, Art Cologne, Art Basel, Los Angeles International Art Fair, Art Frankfort, etc.

You cannot leave Madrid without a guided visit to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. After lunch, again in your mini-group, we suggest a two-hour “journey through art” tour – starting with paintings from the XIV century and ending with paintings from the XX century. Housed in the XVIII century Palacio de Villahermosa, it is one of the world’s largest and most wide-ranging private assemblies of European art.

In the evening we will be offering you a dinner in a small historical “palacete” booked exclusively for you. While enjoying a delicious, well-deserved dinner, we will hear extracts from some famous operas and zarzuelas – Zarzuela is the Spanish popular version of opera, fun and entertaining. Sung by young artists from Grupo Operístico de Madrid, their quality will surprise you. You still have one last night to enjoy a beautiful place to stay in this infinitely seductive city. We trust you will have had an unforgettable weekend with us.

Our prices

Included in quoted programmes: The adult price shown in EUR is per person, based on double occupancy, and does not include international flights. Tour prices include:

  • arrival and departure transfers from and to Madrid-Barajas airport
  • accommodation as specified (three nights at the Ritz)
  • breakfast daily
  • sightseeing as specified (all programme as shown except optional flamenco and tapas evening), including two dinners and a lunch, gratuities
  • top-class local English-speaking guides (or other languages, as requested)
  • entrance fees
  • services of your tour leader throughout

Total price per person and weekend, sharing a double room: starting from EUR1,799 + 16% VAT

If you want to make a booking or need further information please send us an email to Arts@ArtsExclusiveSpain.com. Or you can call us on +34 91 416 6838.