International Art Tour Explore the Treasures of Madrid Wednesday 25 - Sunday 29 November 2020 Designed for Watts Gallery Trust
Watts Gallery Trust Treasures of Madrid 25-29 November 2020
Introduction This will be a very special private tour of Madrid and Toledo in the company of expert Gijs van Hensbergen who will offer wonderful insights into Spanish art. You will enjoy private visits to some of Madrid’s finest museums and private collections, including the Museo del Prado, the Sorolla museum and the collection of the Duke of Alba.
Hotel The 5* Hotel Villa Real is ideally situated on Plaza de las Cortes, behind the Royal Palace so only a few minutes’ walk from the Prado and in the heart of the city. This lovely hotel boasts an ancient art collection, with works displayed in the rooms and public spaces. The hotel features a bar, restaurant and gym. We have reserved Superior rooms.
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com Day 1
Wednesday 25 November London - Madrid, Bellas Artes & Private Sorolla
6.35 Check in for British Airways flight BA466 at London Heathrow airport
8.35 Flight departs
12.00 Flight arrives at Madrid airport Depart by private transfer for Hotel Villa Real and have lunch together on arrival. Check in after lunch then enjoy some time at leisure to settle in and rest
PM Depart the hotel on foot
Visit the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando: Madrid’s fine arts museum, housed in an 18th-century building by Churriguera. Highlights include drawings by Raphael and Titian, as well as a superb collection of paintings by Old Masters and the Fray Pedro Machado by Zurburán (pictured). Dalí and Picasso were students of this arts academy
Depart by private transfer
Private evening visit to the Museo Sorolla: dedicated to the ‘John Singer Sergeant of Spain’ and boasting a stunning Moorish Garden. The Spanish impressionist’s collection is just as he left it on his death in 1923
Dinner together at ‘Taberna La Entretenida’
Overnight Hotel Villa Real
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com Day 2
Thursday 26 November Prado & Reina Sofía
AM Depart the hotel on foot
Special early visit to the Museo del Prado: Gijs will take you on a highlights tour of the Prado focusing on Velázquez, Titian and Goya. You will enjoy the museum one hour before it opens to the public, with just a selected number of groups inside
After a coffee, you will have time to explore the museum independently
PM Lunch together at ‘Paradis Madrid’
Depart by private transfer
Visit the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía: Spain’s great museum of 20th-century art, to see Picasso’s Guernica
Return to the hotel by private transfer and rest
Independent dinner
Overnight Hotel Villa Real
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com Day 3
Friday 27 November Palacio de Liria & Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
AM Depart the hotel by private transfer
Private morning visit to the Palacio de Liria: the home and private collection of the Duke of Alba and the top private collection of Old Masters in Spain. It is located in a beautiful palace and garden with a great library. You will see works by Titian among others
Continue by private transfer
Visit the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza: the most important collection of paintings in Spain after the Prado was assembled by the Thyssen-Bornemisza family and installed in the Villahermosa Palace in 1992. The numerous highlights include works by Titian, Goya, Zurbaran, Van Gogh, Picasso, Freud and an important collection of Impressionist paintings
PM Return to the hotel by private transfer
Independent lunch and afternoon at leisure
EVE Dinner at ‘Sobrino de Botín’ for their signature lamb
Overnight Hotel Villa Real
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com Day 4
Saturday 28 November Day Trip to Toledo
AM Depart the hotel by private transfer for Toledo (1 hour)
Private early visit to the Iglesia de Santo Tomé: enjoy access before the crowds to see El Greco’s masterpiece, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz
Continue on foot
Visit the Museo del Greco: the museum was established in the 20th century by an aristocrat who, mistakenly, thought it had been the painter’s house. The museum exhibits a set of apostles by El Greco and works by his son and followers
Coffee break nearby
Continue with a walk into the historic centre. Highlights might include the Cathedral: a wonderful example of Gothic architecture and containing impressive paintings by Velázquez, Goya and El Greco, the Iglesia de San Roman: built in the 13th century in the mudéjar style, and the Monasterio de Santo Domingo: where El Greco is buried
PM Lunch together locally
Visit the Monasterio de San Juan de Los Reyes: commissioned as a burial place for catholic monarchs in the 15th century, it is a wonderful example of the fusion of cultures and architectural styles of the city: Gothic- Flemish-Spanish style with a mudéjar ceiling
Return to Madrid by private transfer
Visit the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida: a Neoclassical chapel decorated with astounding frescoes by Goya and housing the artist’s tomb. The southern of the two small chapels is one of the few places to see Goya’s work in its original setting
Return to the hotel and rest
EVE Dinner at ‘El Rincón de Esteban’
Overnight Hotel Villa Real
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com Day 5
Sunday 29 November Lázaro Galdiano & Return to London
AM Depart the hotel by private transfer (with bags packed)
Visit the Museo Lázaro Galdiano: housed within an early-20th-century Italianate stone mansion, this lovely museum was the home of successful businessman and passionate patron of the arts Don José Lázaro Galdiano (1862–1947), who bequeathed his private collection to the city upon his death
12.00 Depart by private transfer for Madrid airport
12.45 Check in for British Airways flight BA7060 (flight operated by Iberia)
Flight times subject to change when flights are released in January 2020
2.45 Flight departs
4.20 Flight arrives at London Heathrow airport
End of services by Art Tours Ltd.
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com Price & Inclusions
Price: GBP 2,610 per person Single room supplement: GBP 275 per person Price without flights: GBP 2,360 per person
Price Includes:
• Return British Airways flights from London Heathrow to Madrid in economy class • Four nights’ accommodation at the 5* Hotel Villa Real in Superior rooms (including breakfast and taxes) • The services of lecturer and art historian Gijs Van Hensbergen • Private transport with chauffeur as per the itinerary • Private evening visit to the Museo Sorolla • Private morning visit to the Palacio de Liria • Special early visit to the Museo del Prado • All admission fees as per the itinerary • Three dinners (three courses with wine, water and coffee) • Three lunches (two courses with wine, water and coffee) • All tips and taxes • Audio headphones for group listening • Full support from Art Tours Office including personalised itinerary booklets, sightseeing notes, restaurant bookings and an emergency contact number
Price Excludes:
• Any personal expenditure • Dinner on Day 2 and lunch on Day 3
Tour Numbers Tours are subject to a minimum number of participants. While we endeavour to run all tours, if the tour cannot go ahead due to insufficient numbers, or due to other factors beyond our control, then your deposit will be refunded. Please see our website and booking form for our full terms and conditions. So that we may give reasonable notice to clients who have already booked, all bookings must be received and final numbers for the tour must be confirmed by1 May 2020.
How to Book
For enquiries and booking, please contact the Art Tours Team on 0207 449 9707 or by email [email protected] and they will send you a booking form. If you would like to join the tour, please complete and return our Booking Form and send a 20% non-refundable deposit. Booking forms must be returned to us with your signature before you travel and can be returned by email or by post at the following address: Art Tours Ltd., 17 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London, W1S 1BN. Please address all correspondence to ‘Art Tours Ltd’. If you are booking within eight weeks of the departure date, please send the full balance.
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com Payment We accept payments by cheque, bank transfer or by Visa, MasterCard and AMEX. Cheque Payments be made out to ‘Art Tours Ltd’ and posted to our address above. Card Payments are taken in pounds sterling over the phone. Please call the office on 0207 449 9707 with your card details. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm.
Bank Transfers can be made into our GBP account as follows: Our bank account is with: C. Hoare & Co Account number: 02261220 Sort code: 15-99-00 Swift code: HOABGB2L IBAN: GB53HOAB15990002261220.
Please make sure you include the tour reference, in this case ‘Madrid Watts’, with your payment. Please note
• Tours are subject to a minimum number of participants. While we endeavour to run all tours, if the tour cannot go ahead due to insufficient numbers, or due to other factors beyond our control, then your deposit will be refunded. Please see our website and booking form for our full terms and conditions.
• Please note that we cannot refund the cost of flights that you have booked independently.
• We will be delighted to book and/or advise on alternative travel arrangements before, during or after the tour and will help with upgrades, changes or extensions to your itinerary. Please note that the cost of alternative arrangements must be met by you in full and is subject to a service fee.
• You must have a valid passport and take out full travel insurance to cover all aspects of your holiday and it is part of our terms and conditions that you do so. This insurance should be activated from the point of holiday confirmation and should cover all emergency and medical care, cancellation and repatriation costs and ideally your luggage and personal possessions.
• Mobility: Madrid is a city where reasonable mobility is essential. A number of visits have to be done on foot because coaches cannot navigate the city centre and we will be doing a number of walks. There will be some standing in museums and palaces.
ART TOURS LTD Art Tours Ltd is a leading specialist in cultural travel design for museums, art collectors and friends and family coming together for the trip of a lifetime. We create bespoke itineraries sourcing the finest experts, providing exceptional experiences and offering new and thrilling perspectives. Art Tours Ltd is based in London and was founded in 2008 by Oxford graduate and Courtauld trained art historian James McDonaugh. James and his team look after a select group of clients worldwide.
04.02.20 | arttoursltd.com