Start your journey in the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, where narrow pedestrianized lanes lace the Gothic Quarter and Gaudí’s modernista (art nouveau) masterpieces punctuate the avenues of the Eixample neighborhood. The Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona has a perfectly central location in the latter, just outside the Gothic Quarter, as well as a Michelin two-star restaurant and a rooftop lap pool.

TOURING
Get the lay of the land by taking a bicycle tour. Numerous bike tour companies take visitors around Barcelona and specialize in one niche or another. We chose Fat Tire Tours, which offers half-day or evening excursions, tours that concentrate on Gaudí or food or flamenco, and electric bikes to make the riding easy. Setting off in the morning on a four-hour whirlwind tour, we made nine stops, at many of Barcelona’s top sites, taking note of where we’d want to return later.

MARKETS
Barcelona contains many of the best markets in Europe. And they’re terrific places to visit even if you’re not food shopping. Many markets also have restaurants, bars and cafés, which make them ideal for lunch. The most famous is La Boqueria, just off La Rambla, but I prefer those in quieter residential neighborhoods where most tourists do not venture.

GAUDÍ
Many people miss some of the most charming Gaudí buildings, such as the Palau Güell, the residence of Gaudí’s wealthy patron; Torre Bellesguard, a private mansion first opened to the public in 2013; and the Cripta Gaudí, the Tolkien-esque church crypt at the center of Colònia Güell, a utopian planned industrial community just outside Barcelona.

MUSIC
In addition to the usual sites, consider taking in a concert in the spectacular modernista Palau de la Música Catalana. It is one of my favorite modernist buildings in Barcelona, with a sensational stained-glass ceiling created by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. I’ll never forget seeing the Berlin Philharmonic perform Brahms in this joyous space.

RESTAURANTS
Barcelona is one of the world’s great food cities. It is fed by hundreds of small farms located no more than a dozen or so miles from the city center, plus local fishing boats that ply the Mediterranean daily. Here are a few restaurants we recommend. For more listings, visit the Barcelona destination page. 

The high-speed AVE train brings you from Barcelona to Madrid in approximately two and a half hours. The renovated Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid offers a rich history, flawless service and a location across from the Prado. On a balmy day, there are few more delightful places to linger over a leisurely lunch than the terrace at El Jardín del Ritz.

MUSEUMS
For art lovers, Madrid is one of the greatest cities in the world. The Museo Nacional del Prado is renowned for its array of masterpieces by Velázquez and an unrivaled collection of Goyas and El Grecos. Nearby, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía displays works by Miró, Dalí and Picasso, including the latter’s “Guernica.”

Confronted with the Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, many people overlook the smaller Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. This royal academy and museum houses works by Goya, Murillo and de Zurbarán. Also consider the Museo Cerralbo, which offers an intriguing glimpse of aristocratic life in Belle Epoque Madrid.

RESTAURANTS
The creative culinary scene will delight epicures, but even those with traditional tastes in food will doubtless enjoy tapas-bar-hopping. For a full list of our recommendations, visit the Madrid destination page.

A second AVE high-speed train takes less than two hours to reach Córdoba. For three centuries, this Andalusian city was the capital of the western Moorish empire, but its foundations are Roman. The city also has an atmospheric Jewish quarter, the Judería, where the famed Talmudic scholar Maimonides was born in 1138. The neighborhood’s narrow passageways and cobblestone streets remain intact, as does the Synagogue of Córdoba, originally built in 1315.

My favorite hotel in the city, the Hospes Palacio del Bailío, encompasses 16th- and 18th-century mansions surrounding courtyards planted with orange trees. The main patio features a glass floor that displays original Roman ruins 14 feet below ground.

SIGHTSEEING
The Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, an immense former mosque, has extraordinary architectural power. The city also has an atmospheric Jewish quarter, with narrow passageways, cobblestone streets and the 14th-century Synagogue of Córdoba.

On the outskirts of the city lie the partially excavated ruins of the Medina Azahara, a palace-city complex built in the 10th century. Córdoba’s fascinating Museo Arqueológico Nacional is also worth a visit.

RESTAURANT
Try the tapas at Taberna San Miguel “Casa El Pisto,” a family-owned restaurant decorated with 1880s-vintage tile walls and bullfighting paraphernalia.

Andalusia is as close as Europe gets to Africa, and the region’s capital, Seville, embodies Spain’s rich blend of Latin and Moorish traditions. Seville is less than an hour by train from Córdoba, and it is home to the Hotel Alfonso XIII, an ornate grande dame dating from 1929 with accommodations decorated in either Isabelline Gothic, Castilian or Moorish style. It’s a short walk from both the Real Alcázar palace and the Catedral de Seville, the largest Gothic church in the world. The winding lanes of the old center are a joy to explore on foot.

SIGHTSEEING
The remarkable Alcázar was built by the Abbadids (756-1031)  and enlarged by the Almohads (roughly 1146-1228), but much of the extant architecture and décor is mudéjar, a style evolved by Moorish artisans after the Christian reconquest. It’s a 10-minute stroll (or a romantic horse-and-carriage ride) from the palace to the Plaza de España, a colorful confection of tile work, statues, fountains and bridges.

RESTAURANTS
Seville is a fine place to sample the rich variety of Andalusian cuisine. Look for cold vegetable soups, of which gazpacho is only the most famous, and seafood, especially in fried dishes. Here are three restaurants we recommend. Other recommendations can be found on the Seville destination page.

From Seville, you can fly nonstop to Mallorca (95 minutes), the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands. Some parts of the coast are spoiled, but much of the island is wonderfully scenic, notably its interior, bisected by two mountain ranges. Transfer to Belmond’s luxurious La Residencia, created from converted 16th- and 17th-century farmhouses in a striking mountain setting, just outside the historic art colony of Deià. The property’s various panoramic terraces invite relaxation, as do its two splendid pools. It’s hard to imagine a better conclusion to a Spanish journey.