Food & Wine: Barcelona & Northern Spain with America’s Test Kitchen

Board your overnight flight to Barcelona today.

Welcome to Spain! Meet your Tour Director and fellow travelers at a welcome dinner featuring dishes and wines that are typical of the Catalonia region.

Get to know Catalonia’s capital on a guided sightseeing tour this morning.

• Step inside the towering La Sagrada Família basilica, one of Barcelona’s most famous landmarks and one of the most iconic examples of Antoni Gaudí’s eclectic architectural style.
• Set off on a walking tour along Passeig de Gràcia, passing Gaudí’s famous and colorful Casa Batlló, or House of Bones.
• Stop to enjoy a tasting of vermouth and Catalonian tapas.

This afternoon, travel outside of Barcelona to visit a winery in the Cava region.

• Tour the underground cellars and gardens.
• Enjoy an included Cava tasting, the region’s signature, sparkling wine, paired with local cheeses and meats.

Try your hand at preparing an authentic Spanish meal during a cooking class.

• Tour the Santa Caterina Market in search of fresh ingredients.
• Pass through the Gothic Quarter as you make your way to a culinary school.
• Prepare your own lunch of traditional Spanish dishes with the help of a professional chef, and enjoy your meal with a glass of wine.
• End with an afternoon walk through the Gothic district to Las Ramblas, a tree-lined pedestrian boulevard.

Board a train to Logroño, the capital of Spain’s La Rioja region and a city known for its gastronomy. Upon arrival, follow a local guide on a culinary walking tour of the city.

• Walk along Calle del Laurel, a bustling street lined with tapas bars and the city’s hub for great food.
• Stop at several tapas bars to taste local specialties paired with wine.
• Learn about Spanish cuisine from your expert guide.

Please note: Porterage is not included for the train transfers. Travelers must be comfortable lifting and carrying all luggage over steps, onto platforms, and into luggage storage.

Spend the morning exploring the villages of La Rioja region, then head to a winery for a tasting.

• Drive through the Ebro River Valley and take in views of the beautiful vineyards and landscape.
• Enter the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture in Briones to learn about wine history on a self-guided audio tour.

In the afternoon, enjoy free time in the quaint, hilltop village of Laguardia, which is known for its medieval architecture and city walls. Then, enjoy a wine tasting and lunch in La Rioja wine region.

• Visit the City of Wine complex at the Marqués de Riscal wine cellars.
• Tour the gorgeous vineyards and view the hotel designed by the innovative architect Frank Gehry.
• Taste a variety of Spanish Tempranillo wines and traditional tapas, such as Ibérico ham, Idiazábal cheese, and chorizo ​​riojano during a three-course lunch.

Spend the morning at an olive farm.

• Tour olive groves and an olive oil mill.
• Learn about the olive grove ecosystem and production process.
• Enjoy a tasting of the farm’s olive oils paired with regional tapas and other homemade products.

This evening, head to a Michelin-star restaurant in La Rioja region where you’ll be treated to a three-course dinner featuring local cuisine.

Travel to Bilbao, the largest city and cultural capital of Basque Country. Then, set off on a guided sightseeing tour of the city.

• Enter the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum, a showplace of modern and contemporary art.
• Admire the museum’s unique architecture, including its ship-like shape and shimmering, titanium facade, alongside a local guide.
• Meet a local chef at La Ribera Market in Old Town Bilbao to learn about local ingredients.
• Learn to make pintxos, or Basque-style tapas, alongside a chef during a cooking class.
• Savor your creations, along with wine, for lunch.
• Enjoy free time in Bilbao’s Old Quarter, called Casco Viejo, after lunch.

Continue on to San Sebastián.

Join your local guide for a morning tour of San Sebastián, a culinary capital of Spain where food, wine, history, and coastal scenery meet.

• Walk near Playa de la Concha as you make your way to vibrant Constitution Square, in the city’s Historic Quarter.
• Wander among stalls teeming with fresh fish and seafood at one of the city’s most popular fish markets.
• Hop from one pintxos bar to the next, enjoying the unique food preparations and atmosphere each spot has to offer.
• Try Basque specialties, such as Txakoli, a slightly sparkling, dry white wine, and San Sebastián’s famous cheesecake, along the way.

Begin your day with an introduction to the Basque region’s traditional wine.

• Visit a Txakoli vineyard, where the special, Basque Country sparkling wine is produced.
• Enjoy a tasting of the vineyard’s wines and learn how its grapes grow on terraced hills that overlook the water.

Afterward, head toward the coastal town of Zarautz for an included seafood lunch. Then, continue to the Basque countryside for an afternoon of tasting delicious regional food and wine.

• Join the owners of a local sheep farm for a tour of its grounds and production facilities.
• Learn how Idiazábal cheese, a regional specialty, is made using sheep’s milk during a demonstration.
• Taste a variety of Idiazábal cheeses paired with local wine or cider.

Join a local chef for a cooking class, during which you’ll learn to make San Sebastián cuisine. Enjoy the meal you’ve prepared together as a group.

Later, join your fellow travelers at a traditional cider house for tonight’s farewell dinner. Enjoy unlimited cider, served directly from huge barrels called kupelak, and feast on rustic dishes, such as cider-cooked chorizo, salt cod, and chargrilled T-bone steak.

Transfer to the Bilbao airport for your flight home or continue on to Madrid.