Mediterranean Breezes

Day 1 – Madrid 

Close your books, forget about stress and enjoy this Mediterranean Breeze with Unitrips! You will start this trip in Madrid, so recharge your batteries, because a great trip with Unitrippers awaits you. Are you ready? You will start the best of trips to Europe at Easter. You can visit the most characteristic sites of the city such as Retiro Park, Puerta de Alcalá, Cibeles, Sol, Plaza Mayor, etc… After an intense day enjoying the city, try the typical tapas and at night you can enjoy the nightlife of Madrid.

Day 2 – Madrid

There is still a lot to see! During the day we recommend you to visit the Retiro Park, known by many as “the Central Park of Madrid”. Nearby is the Atocha Station, inside which you can visit the 11M Monument, a cylindrical structure 11 meters high, dedicated to the victims of the attacks that occurred in Madrid in March 2004.

Within walking distance we also find other very striking monuments such as the Puerta de Alcalá or the Palacio de Comunicaciones, current headquarters of the City Hall and undoubtedly one of the most emblematic buildings of the city.

For this afternoon/evening of this tour, we recommend you to enjoy Madrid in one of the terraces of the Spanish capital. Yes, we know the choice is going to be difficult, which one to choose? We recommend you La Azotea del Círculo de Bellas Artes or the terrace of Ginkgo Sky Bar.

Did you know…

• Madrid is home to the oldest restaurant in the world! Casa Botín, founded in 1725, is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records.
• The Royal Palace has truly amazing dimensions. With an extension of 135,000 square meters, it is the largest royal palace in Western Europe and, therefore, one of the largest in the world.
• In the Puerta del Sol is the km O, the point from which one begins to measure the distances to all corners of Spain.
• In the Retiro Park there is a statue of Satan himself, one of the few representations of the devil in the world and the only one in Spain. It is the Monument of the Fallen Angel and is exactly 666 meters above sea level.

Day 3 – Madrid – Bus

We will continue our trip through Mediterranean Europe in the capital of Spain, Madrid. We can visit Madrid de los Austrias, a large area of the capital of Spain corresponding to the medieval layout of the city where we can find the famous Plaza Mayor, the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza de Oriente along with the Royal Palace, the Sabatini Gardens or the Almudena Cathedral, undoubtedly a set formed by the main attractions of the city.

Afterwards we will head to Barcelona!

Optional: Extra night in Madrid + Fast train to Barcelona the next day.

Day 4 – Bus – Barcelona

We will have an intense day in the best of trips to Europe Easter visiting the Catalan capital where we will contemplate the Sagrada Familia, Paseo de Gracia, Ramblas, Gothic Quarter etc.. You will also have free time to visit the city at your leisure. At night we will go out to party in one of the most fashionable places in the city.

Did you know…

• Gaudi’s construction of the Sagrada Familia is eternal. In the mouth of the builder, it was said that God had all the time in the world to see it finished, so his works have existed all his life and do not have a completion date.
• Barcelona has a city under its feet, it is the sewer system, whose peculiar structure has given rise to film shootings of movies like Rec or El Maquinista.
• There are routes of the city that can be done from the literary point of view of the writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

Day 5 – Barcelona – Nice

After a full day getting to know Barcelona, it’s time to head for France.

Later in our trip through Mediterranean Europe at Easter, we will cross the border into France and drive along the Côte d’Azur. In the middle of the day we will stop for lunch and get strength to continue our way to Nice, one of the most famous cities in France located between the Mediterranean and the mountains.
After a long journey, we will arrive at our destination at sunset and have a panoramic tour in the bus, before arriving at our accommodation for check-in.
After settling into our accommodation, we will have free time to go for dinner, drinks, etc.

Did you know…

• Nice belonged to Italy. It was definitively incorporated into France in the 19th century.
• Every day at noon, you hear a pyrotechnic explosion. This is because in 1861, a retired colonel, tired of his wife being late for lunch, went to the town hall and asked the mayor to install a cannon to detonate it every day at 12:00 noon so that his wife could hear it and arrive on time. The colonel paid for the cannon and paid an employee to detonate it. From that time on every day a cannon was heard every day until the colonel moved and took the cannon with him. The citizens were angry when they did not hear this cannon and at the insistence of the colonel they installed it again since it helped the population to know what time it was. Currently the cannon has been replaced by a pyrotechnic rocket.

Day 6 – Nice – Montecatini

Another new day in the best of travel to Europe Easter awaits us. After breakfast and check-out, we will put our bags on the bus and take a tour of the city. We will visit the most important monuments and areas of Nice and at the end we will head to a new destination: Monaco.

This small coastal state holds the record for population density in the world and seeing that its stadium is built on top of a skyscraper you will understand why. Here we will tour the legendary Formula 1 circuit, passing through its curves at full speed (as far as possible by bus).

After the panoramic tour we will head to our next point on the map: Italy
We will pass another new border and enter the area of Tuscany where we will spend the night, but not before making a stop for lunch on the way.

Did you know…

• Monaco is the second smallest country in the world, with an area of only 2 square kilometers it is only bigger than the Vatican.
• Lavender is the blue flower of Provence. Its wide fields are many of them filled with this aromatic and lilac plant, and this is part of the reason why its coastline is called “the blue coast”.

Day 7 – Montecatini – Cinque Terre* – Pisa

After breakfast, we will have two options: Those who want to do the extra activity of visiting Cinque Terre, will check-out to visit part of the natural park.

Cinque Terre are 5 villages in pure Mediterranean architecture perched on beautiful cliffs. There are houses of all colors, which are located between green mountains and end in the bluest sea you have ever seen!!!. A place where pollution has hardly made a dent. There are few cars and the way to go from one village to another is walking or in a spectacular little train that passes flush with the sea.

Those who do not want to do this activity will have the day free after breakfast.

*Optional Activity:

Excursion to Cinque Terre

At the end of the optional activity, the bus will pick up the rest of the group to go to Pisa, the city with one of the most famous towers in the world, the Tower of Pisa! Here we will spend the afternoon and have time for dinner.

Did you know…

• These are five little villages on the Italian coast made up of ten kilometers of rocky coastline enclosed by two promontories, Punta di Mesco and Punta di Montenero.
• They were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1997.
• It is made up of Monterosso Al Mare, Vernazza, Manarola, Riomaggiore and Corniglia.
• It is a natural park whose blue sea will not leave you indifferent.
  The highlight of Pisa is its leaning tower. Millions of tourists come every year exclusively for it and the typical photo “holding it”.
• The Tower of Pisa is considered, together with the cathedral of which it is part, one of the jewels of Romanesque art, so that the government has requested on several occasions, aid to prevent its collapse.

Do you want to know more?

Do you think you know everything about the tower of Pisa?

Pisa has more than just the tower… discover its secrets here.

Day 8 – Montecatini – Florence – Venice

Breakfast and check out.

We will head to Florence. Here you can visit many works of art of these authors in the Uffizi museum, or if you don’t feel like being in a museum, you can walk through the hills from where you can always see the mythical dome of Brunelleschi, which dominates the whole city. Here you can enjoy its university party in the Santa Croce area.

After admiring this small city with more than 3000 years of history, we will continue our route through Europe and head to another jewel of Italian architecture: Venice.

Venice had the honor of being one of the most powerful, rich and populated cities for many centuries, dominating the Mediterranean and eastern trade routes, and its art reflects the Byzantine and Asian influence that Marco Polo told us about.

Did you know…

• The city of Florence became the capital of Italy between 1865 and 1871.
  The only bridge in the city to survive the Nazi bombings during World War II was the Ponte Vecchio, something similar happened with Big Ben in London. This bridge was the only one that managed to survive the famous flood of Florence in 1966.
• Pisa has one of the oldest universities in the world, the papal seal marks the date 1343!
• The Fontana del Porcellino is famous in Florence for an old popular legend that says that touching the snout of the wild boar brings luck, and you can make a wish by dropping a coin from its snout. If it passes through the grids falling directly into the fountain, the wish will be granted. If not, bad luck.

Day 9 – Venice – Rome

In the morning of this trip through Mediterranean Europe, after breakfast, we will continue to fall in love with this city that could be a museum of extraordinary dimensions. Venice is one of the most photographed places in the world, and we can not be less, take out your camera because bridges, Vaporettos and Gondolas are waiting to be immortalized.

We will enjoy the Byzantine influenced art that characterizes the Basilica of San Marco, you can admire the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge but if you really want to enjoy this city get lost in its narrow streets and be surprised at every corner.

Later, departure to Rome.

Day 10 – Rome

Optional Activity: Free time or entrance to the famous Vatican Museums for those who have paid the Rome Pack.

After having free time for lunch, with the whole group we will visit the city of Rome. Rome is known as the “Eternal City” and everything has its explanation. In this city time seems to have stopped centuries ago due to the multitude of monuments and remains of imposing buildings. This makes walking through its streets becomes a journey back in time, to the era of maximum splendor of the capital.

For those who paid the Rome Pack, you can visit the Roman Colosseum and Roman Forums while the rest take pictures from outside and visit the many alternatives that the city has.

*Optional Activity:

Rome Pack: Sistine Chapel + Musei Vaticani + Colosseum + Roman Forum + Transfers.

Did you know…

• The Vatican State is a sovereign country with only 0.44 km2. It is the smallest country in the world, which is bordered by a country, Italy, that completely surrounds it. Not only that, but the Vatican is home to St. Peter’s Basilica, which is the largest church in the world.
• The only bank in the world that allows users at ATMs to select Latin as their language is located in the Vatican Bank.

Day 11 – Rome

Full day in Rome to explore the city.

Day 12 – Rome

Free day. We will offer you the best optional activities to make the most of your day.

Day 13 – Rome – End

We say goodbye to our travel companions and return home having spent an incredible Easter Week on this tour discovering Mediterranean Europe.

Want to see more of Europe? Check out the Classics of Europe tour.