After breakfast at the hotel, you’ll head right to the Prado Museum to take in the world’s richest and most comprehensive collection of Spanish works from Spanish masters Valázquez, El Greco, Goya and El Bosco. Your early access allows you to skip the line and enter the museum one hour before they open. The museum also houses a vast collection of classical European paintings and sculptures, including the largest collections of Italian art outside of Italy. Next, you’ll head to the famous “El Retiro Park,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site offering a vast green oasis in the heart of the city. Stroll through a variety of gardens with interesting monuments, view a nearly 400-year-old Mexican conifer, sit by the lake or rent a rowing boat, and explore the exhibitions halls, including the Glass Palace, a glass pavilion built in 1887, regarded as one of Spain’s finest examples of cast-iron architecture. After enjoying the park, you’ll have free time to explore and find lunch on your own. In the evening, you’ll be immersed in a unique culinary experience at a boutique cooking school. You’ll learn the art of preparing tapas, then enjoy them along with a chef-prepared entree and two desserts for a 5-course tasting menu served with a bottomless wine pairing of five different Spanish wines.
(Includes breakfast, dinner, early entrance to Prado Museum, cooking class, overnight in Madrid hotel)