Best of France & Spain

This eight-night journey with G Adventures moves from Paris to Madrid, threading through France and Spain’s cities and landmarks with a light pace suited to absorbing local character. The capital opens with a walk around Montmartre and a look over Paris from the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, making clear how the city’s layered stories stack up. In Lyon, city walls and the towering Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière stand over a patchwork of cobbled streets that invite wandering.

The Roman-built Pont du Gard aqueduct offers a reminder of the regions’ ancient ties before the tour crosses to Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, where narrow alleys hum with modern life beside medieval stones. The concluding city, Madrid, thrums with a mixture of history and modern vigour, where broad boulevards like Gran Vía frame the experience. Local guides lend direction, with a CEO at hand to knit the elements together, ensuring a tapestry of transport, sights and meals that moves smoothly without hurrying.

Public transport between places and small family-run hotels base the trip firmly in genuine daily life, making it more a genuine traverse than a rushed checklist.