Madrid and Barcelona

Spain's two great rival cities sit at opposite ends of a train line and opposite ends of a cultural argument — Madrid the imperial capital, Barcelona the fiercely independent Catalan metropolis — and this eight-day tour makes the case for both. Your group arrives in Madrid and has three full days to take the city's measure before the journey east to Barcelona for three more. That kind of sustained time in each place is rare on a student tour, and it matters: your group isn't just passing through.