Splendors of Spain

In November of 2025, I travelled across the pond to tour some of my favorite small towns and cities in Spain.

The itinerary was crafted by Made for Spain, true experts in local immersion in both Spain and Portugal.  

Madrid

Starting off in Madrid, I stayed at the incomparable Mandarin Ritz Hotel. In the morning I walked out onto the balcony of my room and was greeted by beautiful gold and red fall foliage covering the city center. After soaking in the beauty, we departed the hotel and off we went on our full-day tour of Madrid. We took in the busy streets and many of the iconic sights of Madrid, but one of my favorite stops was at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. It is a small museum, but it is packed with fantastic pieces of art; I could have stayed there all day, strolling from frame to frame. 

Córdoba 

After Madrid, we headed south to Córdoba to meet our fabulous Made for Spain guide, Virginia Vargas, who stayed with us for the rest of our Spanish tour. She brought story and life to each town we visited, starting with Córdoba. The town is picture-perfect with its orange trees laden with fruit everywhere we turned. On our walking tour we strolled beneath balconies with fuchsia-colored flowers tumbling over their edges. Along other streets, blue flowerpots were mounted above our heads in neat lines along the walls. We stopped for lunch at Las Tapas de Casa Pepe de la Juderia, a delicious restaurant with the best tapas. Game of Thrones fans will be happy to hear that from Córdoba we visited Castillo de Almodovar, which fans will recognize from season 7 of the HBO series. The Castillo was originally built in 760 A.D. with major restoration in the early 1900s. For lovers of medieval immersion, the castle hosts fun events like Medieval Days, Combat Training, and Nights of the Black Moon in October for spooky season. The current Princess still lives there but was not at home when we visited.

Carmona & Seville

After Córdoba, we headed southwest into the little town of Carmona. At sunset the town was positively glowing. We meandered through the streets, admiring the architecture. We stopped in a church with an impressive gold-dressed statue and smiled at little kids dancing their hearts out in the plaza. 

After the stop in Carmona, we arrived in Seville. The city boasted huge crowds of tourists and locals gathered to see a goliath-sized light-up nativity scene – it was quite the sight to behold. Thoroughly worn out from our full day, we left the blue and gold nativity lights behind and checked into the lovely Hotel Colon Gran Meliá (a member of The Leading Hotels of the World). I loved the lobby – it displays artifacts and pieces of Seville’s history so guests are immediately dropped into the long-lived culture of Andalucía. My favorite was the flamenco dress worn by Princess Grace on her visit to Seville. 

The next day we walked all through the city of Seville. While walking we saw example after example of intricate tile designs adorning the streets. Notably, much of Jewish and Muslim art was regularly destroyed and replaced with Catholic art during the rocky times of conquest; however, our guide informed us that since the tilework was so beautiful in Seville, much of the art was preserved even when the Catholics arrived. 

For lunch we stopped at a boutique hotel in a residential area: Hospes las Casas del Rey de Baeza. It was intentionally crafted – not overly glitzy – and felt like a cozy home with style. It reminded me of a riad in Morocco. After lunch we visited Setas de Sevilla (or “The Mushrooms”), a popular gathering point for locals and visitors with a market, restaurants, and performance areas. Overall, I adored Seville with its pleasant, winding streets. 

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Next we were off to Sanlúcar de Barrameda on Spain’s southern coast. Here we visited a little town full of charm (and delicious olives!) before we were off to one of the most unique wine regions in the world: Jerez de la Frontera. 

Jerez de la Frontera

I should preface our Bodegas Lustau sherry wine tasting experience by admitting that I have never particularly enjoyed Sherry. But, by the end of the tour and tasting…I actually did! Our tasting guide couldn’t have said it any better: “On the first taste, you’ll want to throw it away. On the second, your tongue is getting used to the flavor. On the third…you’ll love it!” I especially liked one of the dry sherries as well as the sweet dessert sherry served last. A fun part of the tasting that I also enjoyed was that since we couldn’t possibly finish drinking all the sherries we were tasting, we were encouraged to splash the rest of the contents of our glass on the ground instead of into a discard bucket; good, messy fun.

Lebrija

Before we headed back to Seville, we made a final stop in nearby Lebrija. Here we were brought to one of the most famous bakeries in Spain: Domi Vélez. Its fame is made even more impressive by its existence in such a tiny, tiny town. Even though we were all quite full from lunch, we found a way to make space to try some of the delicious treats filling its bakery displays: artisanal breads, cuña de coco and cuña de pistacho (coconut and pistachio cakes straight from the heaven), and all sorts of wonderful pastries. How they got us to leave the bakery, I’ll never know.  

Back in Seville, we spent time in the spectacular Plaza de España before enjoying dinner at the crème de la crème of Seville’s hotels: The Hotel Alfonso XIII. This is often considered THE place to stay in Seville if you love history. It is an impressive hotel, gorgeous with its traditional architecture and tile work. It also has what I call a “proper bar,” the perfect place to enjoy a cocktail surrounded by photos of celebrities who have been guests at the hotel. 

My tour of Spain was magnificent and made all the better by the expertise of Made for Spain. At every stop my guide’s passion for the country was evident and brought so much more detail, context, and joy to the sights than I ever could have unearthed touring on my own. As I always tell my clients: A great guide makes all the difference. I can’t wait to return to Spain – I am already missing the chocolate con churros, the jamon, the cheeses, and all the wonderful Spanish food! 

-Katie Cadar