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Music in Toledo - Exploring Spain’s rich musical heritage across the centuries
6
days
from
US$5,030
Book today with a deposit from
US$755
16th - 21st October 2027
Festival highlights
- Two of the world's finest vocal ensembles – The Sixteen open the festival in Santo Domingo el Antiguo, where El Greco painted his first Spanish altarpiece, and The Tallis Scholars close it in the cathedral.
- Ex Cathedra bring exuberant Latin American Baroque to San Juan de los Reyes, the flamboyant monastery founded by the Catholic Monarchs who financed Columbus; Nereydas follow the Sephardic diaspora out of Spain and back, in the prayer hall of the Synagogue of El Tránsito; and star harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani plays Scarlatti in the Hospital de Tavera.
- Spanish music of the last two centuries: Judith Jáuregui plays Granados, Albéniz and Falla beneath the carved artesonado ceiling of the Real Colegio de Doncellas Nobles, and guitarist José María Gallardo del Rey joins the Chamber Orchestra of Spain for Rodrigo's 'Concierto de Aranjuez' – on the day we visit the Palace of Aranjuez itself.
- El Greco spent the last 37 years of his life here, and many of his paintings still hang in the churches they were painted for.
- Daily interviews with the musicians in a series of pre-concert talks, and optional walks and visits led by specialists including Dr Xavier Bray on El Greco, Gijs van Hensbergen on Toledo's art and architecture and Giles Tremlett on its history.
Some of the finest Renaissance and Baroque music is Spanish, yet much of it remains unknown. Nowhere makes the case better than Toledo – a city that sits outside the usual circuit of festival destinations, and deserves a place at its centre. As primatial church of Spain, the cathedral maintained a prodigious establishment of singers, organists and wind players (ministriles), and its golden-age chapel masters included Cristóbal de Morales, Bernardino de Ribera and Alonso Lobo. Its Renaissance manuscripts are the richest collection in the country.
Two of the world’s finest vocal ensembles open and close this festival: the Tallis Scholars sing Victoria’s Good Friday Responsories and Allegri’s Miserere in the cathedral itself; The Sixteen bring Vivanco, Morales and Victoria to the Monastery of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, performing music from the time of El Greco before his first major altarpiece.
El Greco lived in Toledo for almost 40 years, revolutionising religious art with a dramatic, visionary style that anticipated modern expressionism. Dr Xavier Bray, Director of the Wallace Collection, leads optional visits focussing on the painter, and experts Giles Tremlett and Gijs van Hensbergen lead walks on Toledo’s exceptionally rich history and gastronomy. The music is illuminated by a series of daily interviews with the musicians.
Known as the ‘City of Three Cultures’, Toledo bears unique testimony to centuries of Christian, Jewish and Muslim life existing side by side. In its honour, ensemble Nereydas presents a programme of Sephardic music in the gorgeously intricate Sinagoga del Tránsito, and the daily schedule allows you to attend the distinctively Iberian Mozarabic Rite in the cathedral, still celebrated here daily nearly a thousand years after it was suppressed almost everywhere else.
The programme’s remaining concerts range as widely as Hispanic music itself. Ex Cathedra performs exuberant Latin American Baroque in San Juan de los Reyes, a 15th-century monastery built by the Catholic Monarchs who financed Columbus. We hear two stars of the keyboard: Mahan Esfahani with Scarlatti sonatas in the Hospital de Tavera, and Judith Jáuregui who performs Postcards from Spain – Granados, Albéniz, Falla – in the Real Colegio de Doncellas Nobles. Finally, the Chamber Orchestra of Spain and guitarist José María Gallardo del Rey perform Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, after an excursion to the exquisite Palace of Aranjuez itself.
Much of the city’s enchantment reveals itself around the concerts. Everything lies within walking distance: days begin with a stroll through lanes too steep and narrow for traffic, and end as the town quietly reclaims itself for the night. The stone holds the warmth; bells carry further than they should; and the ordinary business of a small provincial city carries on beneath centuries of extraordinary art.
Videos
Brochure
Musicians
Programme
Fly from London to Madrid, or make your own way independently. Coach transfer to Toledo.
Depending on the arrival of your flight, there is free time to become acquainted with Toledo.
Settle into your chosen hotel before a drinks reception and dinner.
There is a morning talk on the music, before the first concert.
Santo Domingo el Antiguo is a Cistercian convent, founded in 1085 after Toledo’s recapture from the Moors. But it’s probably much older than that, dating back to the 6th century, when Toledo was the seat of Visigothic kings. The church was rebuilt in the 16th century, and possesses an altarpiece by El Greco. His first major commission in Spain after his arrival from Rome, it’s understandable from its quality why the work brought the Cretan master instant celebrity. El Greco himself was originally buried here.
Concert, 11.00am:
Santo Domingo el Antiguo
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers director
The Music of El Greco’s Toledo
This programme concentrates on Cristóbal de Morales, maestro de capilla at Toledo cathedral, and Sebastián de Vivanco. The range of emotion is staggering: Morales sets out a journey from sadness to great rejoicing in the highly impassioned setting of Jacob’s lament for his two sons (Lamentabatur Jacob) alongside an ebullient motet rejoicing in peace, Iubilate Deo omnis terra. Vivanco’s sumptuous eight-part Magnificat octavi toni, lively and brilliantly scored, and the exotic nine-part Caritas Pater est are testament to his underappreciated talent. We will also hear from Vivanco’s contemporary Tomás Luis de Victoria, with his bittersweet motet Versa est in luctum.
Some free time in the afternoon, or the option of walks and visits with one of our experts.
Dinner is included for everyone before the evening concert.
Austere on the outside, flamboyant within, the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes was founded by the all-conquering ‘Catholic Monarchs’, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, who united Spain in the 15th century and authorised and financed the 1492 expedition of Christopher Columbus. Built to celebrate their defeat of Afonso V of Portugal in 1476, it was originally intended as their mausoleum too, which explains the richness of the decoration and the unusually spacious layout.
Concert, 9.00pm:
Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes
Ex Cathedra Consort & Baroque Ensemble
Jeffrey Skidmore director
Latin American Baroque: Ritual 1631
Singers, harp, guitar, bajón, strings, winds and percussion revel in colourful music sung in Latin, Spanish, Nahuatl and Quechua (the languages of the Aztecs and Incas) for a glorious fusion of musical styles from the Americas and Europe. The seminal Quencha hymn Hanacpachap cussicuinin, the oldest printed polyphony in the Americas, punctuates a grand tour of the continent, from the Mexico of Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla to the Brazilian and Bolivian traditions with Emerico Lobo de Mesquita and Juan de Araujo, via outposts in the Amazonian jungle.
A chance to visit the cathedral to attend the Mozarabic rite precedes the morning talks and interviews.
The audience is split in two today, as our concert venues cannot hold everyone at once. Each group attends both concerts, but at different times of day.
There were once ten synagogues in Toledo – testament to the city’s religious tolerance before the Inquisition. El Tránsito is one of two that remain. It was built c. 1357 by Samuel Ha-Levi Abulafia, treasurer to King Pedro the Cruel, and is a simple galleried hall, made magical by its decoration. The raised stucco frieze bears comparison with the decoration in the Alhambra in Granada, and survived the building’s 400-year stint as a church as well as its years as a barracks during the Peninsular War.
Concert, 11.15am or 7.00pm:
Synagogue of El Tránsito
Nereydas
Javier Ulises Illán director
Voices of Sefarad: From Toledo to the World
Voices of Sepharad: From Toledo to the World traces the journey of Sephardic musical memory from Toledo to the various regions of the diaspora. After 1492, the Jewish communities expelled from Spain carried their language, their stories, their romances and their songs with them to North Africa, Thessaloniki, Izmir, Sarajevo and, centuries later, the Americas.
Nereydas tells this story through the voices that, for generations, have played a decisive role in preserving it: Sephardic mothers, daughters, sisters and grandmothers. Lullabies, songs of love, weddings, separation and remembrance weave a journey in which music travels, changes and endures. This concert, performed in the prayer hall of the Synagogue of El Tránsito, finally brings things full circle: after more than five centuries of diaspora, the voices of Sepharad symbolically return to the heart of Toledo’s old Jewish quarter.
Some free time in the afternoon, or the option of walks and visits with one of our experts.
Founded in 1551 by Archbishop Juan Martínez Silíceo, Archbishop of Toledo, the Real Colegio de Doncellas Nobles educated young women of both noble and humble birth – an enlightened social experiment for its age. Its finest surviving interior is the Rector’s Hall: spacious, austere and unmistakably Toledan in its blend of Renaissance proportion and Mudéjar craftsmanship. Overhead, an intricately carved artesonado ceiling of geometric coffering catches the light in shifting patterns of shadow and reflection.
Recital, 11.15am or 7.00pm:
Real Colegio de Doncellas Nobles, Rector’s Hall
Judith Jáuregui piano
Postcards from Spain
Late 19th- and early 20th-century Spanish composers produced some of the most sparkling and evocative works in the piano repertoire. This programme offers a variety of scenes, from Enrique Granados’s soulful danzas españolas and vivid representations of Goya paintings to the Catalan folk songs of Federico Mompou’s Scènes d’enfants. Excerpts from suites by Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albéniz take us on a similar geographical tour, from the Andalusian sounds of Seville and Granada to Aragón in the east and Asturias in the north, all captured with flamenco verve and intensity.
Dinner is independent, unless you choose to attend an optional dinner.
Coaches depart for Aranjuez in the morning, for a visit to the Palace and lunch.
Begun in 1561 under Philip II as a green, spring retreat on the banks of the Tagus, the Palace of Aranjuez was conceived as a softer, more sensuous counterpart to the Escorial’s austerity. Philip V, dreaming of Versailles, revived the stalled project; Ferdinand VI and Charles III, aided by Sabatini, lent it its present Rococo and Neoclassical grace. Its jewel, the Porcelain Room, is sheathed in luminous chinoiserie reliefs by Giuseppe Gricci – a glittering extravagance amid otherwise measured Bourbon taste.
Lunch is included today. Coaches depart in the early afternoon for Chinchón. There is a talk on the music before the concert.
In Chinchón, whose timber-balconied Plaza Mayor ranks among Spain’s most beguiling squares, the small Teatro Lope de Vega rises from the ruins of the Counts’ Palace, destroyed in the War of the Spanish Succession. Built in 1891 by a local society of vintners – fitting, in a town famous for its anís – it keeps an intimate, jewel-box charm, its stage curtain painted by Luis Muriel with allegorical views of the town itself, echoing the square, which has long doubled as stage and bullring.
Concert, 4.15pm:
Chinchón, Teatro Lope de Vega
Chamber Orchestra of Spain
Vicente Cueva director
José María Gallardo del Rey guitar
Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez
This concert takes the Spanish sound further into the twentieth century, beginning with Joaquin Rodrigo’s two Danzas españolas, demonstrating the composer’s lyrical elegance and rhythmic vitality. His Concierto de Aranjuez then summons the glorious past of the eponymous Royal Palace with some of the most famous melodies of all time. José Maria Gallardo del Rey’s Diamantes para Aranjuez is conceived in dialogue with Rodrigo’s concerto, offering new reflections on the same landscape. We finish with Manuel de Falla’s ballet suite El amor brujo, a thrilling evocation of ghostly terror and romance in bright colours and sharp edges.
Return to Toledo by coach. Dinner is independent, unless you choose to attend an optional dinner.
This morning the group divides in two: half attend the concert in the morning, the other half in the early afternoon. For each group, optional walks and visits are offered during the time they are not at the concert.
Coaches transfer everyone the short distance to the concert venue.
The Hospital de Tavera is situated just outside the city walls – a remarkable project, begun in 1541, which embraced many new ideas from Renaissance Italy. This was Castile’s first purely classical building, commissioned by one of its most powerful men – Cardinal Tavera – and it was a tourist attraction even in the 17th century. Most remarkable are its elegant and airy courtyards, but the complex is also home to an exquisite pharmacy, and an altarpiece by El Greco.
Recital, 11.15am or 3.15pm:
Hospital de Tavera
Mahan Esfahani harpsichord
Scarlatti Sonatas
Much of Domenico Scarlatti’s present-day reputation rests on his huge output of keyboard sonatas, formally and stylistically anticipating essential shifts from the baroque style to the classical. Most of these pieces were written for Princess Maria Barbara of Portugal, who became Queen of Spain in 1746, and Scarlatti followed her from Lisbon to Seville and to Madrid. He poured his extraordinary creative gifts into pieces that not only illustrated the full emotional spectrum that could be achieved on a harpsichord, but which also evoked Spanish sounds of castanets and guitars.
A gala dinner is included for everyone at the Parador hotel, by far the best viewpoint over the historic city.
Built between 1226 and 1493, Toledo’s magnificent cathedral is one of the greatest examples of Gothic architecture in Spain and is overflowing with extraordinary works of art (El Greco, Velázquez, Titian), though none is more striking than the ceiling-high retablo mayor. Festooned with painted sculpture, it constitutes a vast and defiant expression of late-gothic sensibility in the face of the Renaissance, making for a thrilling backdrop to our final concert.
Concert, 9.00pm:
Toledo Cathedral
The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips director
From Shadow to Light: The Spanish Golden Age
A showcase for a generation: this programme takes us through some of the most important sixteenth-century Spanish sacred composers. We start with the grandly spacious Maria magdalene et altera Maria by Francisco Guerrero, and our journey encompasses his teacher Cristóbal de Morales (Regina caeli) along with his assistant Alonso Lobo and the doleful Versa est in luctum. Amongst them is Tomás Luis de Victoria, one of the most successful composers of the Renaissance, with a selection of his lamenting Tenebrae Responsories and sonorous polychoral Magnificat primi toni. The evening is rounded out wi
Coaches take participants to Madrid airport. Fly to London, or leave the festival independently.
Practicalities
The price includes:
— All seven concerts.
— Accommodation for five nights – choose between six hotels.
— Breakfasts, three dinners, one lunch, and interval drinks.
— Daily interviews with the musicians, in a series of pre-concert talks.
— Travel by comfortable private coach.
— The assistance of festival staff and a detailed programme booklet.
Optional extras:
— A choice of pre- and post-festival tours: Lisbon, 21–27 October 2027, Art in Madrid, 21–25 October 2027.
— Arriving a day early in your festival hotel.
— Extra dinners, so that each evening is spent in the company of other participants. Details will be available at a later stage.
— A range of walks and visits led by experts in history, art history and gastronomy.
Hotel Carlos V (3*), price per person:
Arriving 15 October
Two sharing:
Esencia • $5,360
Single occupancy:
Standard • $5,680
Esencia • $5,750
Arriving 16 October
Two sharing:
Esencia • $5,030
Single occupancy:
Standard • $5,330
Esencia • $5,400
San Juan de los Reyes (4*), price per person:
Arriving 15 October
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $5,710
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $6,100
Arriving 16 October
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $5,360
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $5,730
Pintor El Greco (4*), price per person:
Arriving 15 October
Two sharing:
Standard • $5,390
Superior • $5,590
Single occupancy:
Standard • $6,060
Superior • $6,430
Arriving 16 October
Two sharing:
Standard • $5,060
Superior • $5,270
Single occupancy:
Standard • $5,690
Superior • $6,040
Aurea (4*), price per person:
Arriving 15 October
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $6,050
Premium • $6,210
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $6,950
Arriving 16 October
Two sharing:
Deluxe • $5,500
Premium • $5,620
Single occupancy:
Deluxe • $6,530
Parador de Toledo (4*), price per person:
Arriving 15 October
Two sharing:
Standard • $6,150
Superior • $6,470
Junior Suite • $6,950
Single occupancy:
Standard • $6,440
Superior • $7,180
Arriving 16 October
Two sharing:
Standard • $5,780
Superior • $5,990
Junior Suite • $6,320
Single occupancy:
Standard • $6,020
Superior • $6,680
Eugenia de Montijo (4*), price per person:
Arriving 15 October
Two sharing:
Elegance (Standard) • $6,740
Chantily (Superior) • $7,020
Junior Suite • $7,620
Suite • $8,110
Single occupancy:
Elegance (Standard) • $7,810
Chantily (Superior) • $8,280
Arriving 16 October
Two sharing:
Elegance (Standard) • $6,240
Chantily (Superior) • $6,440
Junior Suite • $6,930
Suite • $7,380
Single occupancy:
Elegance (Standard) • $7,260
Chantily (Superior) • $7,660
Flights: if you choose to take one of the offered flight options, there is an additional cost of $250 per person.
Arriving 15 October:
Option 1: City
15 October: London City to Madrid (BA3272) departing at 09.50 and arriving at 13.10.
21 October: Madrid to London City (BA3273) departing at 13.55 and arriving at 15.15.
Option 2: Heathrow
15 October: London Heathrow to Madrid (BA7055) departing at 10.50 and arriving at 14.15.
21 October: Madrid to London Heathrow (BA7056) departing at 13.25 and arriving at 14.55.
Arriving 16 October:
Option 3: Gatwick
16 October: London Gatwick to Madrid (UX1014) departing at 10.00 and arriving at 13.30.
21 October: Madrid to London Gatwick (UX1015) departing at 15.00 and arriving at 16.25.
Option 4: Heathrow
16 October: London Heathrow to Madrid (BA7055) departing at 10.50 and arriving at 14.15.
21 October: Madrid to London Heathrow (BA7056) departing at 13.25 and arriving at 14.55.
Please note that no flight schedules have currently been published for October 2027 – these are the most likely times based on similar dates in 2026.
The no-flights option:
If you are not joining our flight options, you are welcome to join our coach transfers if your travel arrangements coincide with any of these options.
Pre- and post-festival tours:
Pre-festival tour participants fly out with their tour group and return to the UK on festival flight option 2 on 21 October.
Post-festival tour participants have a choice of which flight option they fly out on (as there is a choice of arriving a day early or on Day 1) and fly back with their tour group.
For combining arrangements, please see the individual tour details.
We charge for flights, if you are taking them, as part of your pre- or post-festival tour booking. You therefore pay the ‘no-flights’ price for the festival.
Hotel accommodation for five or six nights is included in the price of the festival and there are six hotels to choose from.
The hotel is the sole determinant of the different prices for the festival package. There is also the option of arriving at your hotel a day before the festival begins (15 October).
Location. Five of the hotels are in the historic core of Toledo and within walking distance of all but two of the concert venues. The sixth, the Parador, overlooks the city from across the Tagus. Participants staying here have use of a shuttle to move to and from the centre.
Luggage. Traffic restrictions apply to coaches, so there is a possibility that you will have to carry your own luggage from a nearby set-down point to the hotel. Suitcases with wheels are advised.
Rooms vary. As is inevitable in historic buildings, rooms vary in size and outlook. Toledo has a densely packed, medieval layout, and most hotel rooms do not therefore have good views. External rooms often look out directly onto another building across a narrow street. Historic buildings are often designed to face inwards with rooms overlooking central patios and courtyards rather than outwards onto the street.
Carlos V (3*)
The only 3-star hotel among our selection. Standard rooms are more basic than at other hotels, but the hotel is comfortable and well located in the the Old Town, between the Alcázar and the cathedral, and very close to the nearest coach pick-up point.
There is a breakfast room, lounge, and a bar/restaurant located on the roof terrace, which has wonderful views of the city.
All rooms have air-conditioning, safes, Wifi
and minibars; almost all have baths with shower attachments, a few have showers only.
Room types available:
Standard: Rooms are modern, some with bold, colourful décor and others more minimalist. They are equipped with a queen-size bed or twin beds, and are available for single occupancy only due to their small size. Size: c. 13–16 m².
Esencia: Occupying a converted 18th-century palace adjacent to the main building, these rooms have a more historic character and a simple, rustic décor that highlights the building’s architectural features. They are comparable to rooms at some of the 4-star hotels. They all have double beds and cannot be configured as twins. The size and layout are variable due to the historic nature of the building: c. 15–25m2.
San Juan de los Reyes (4*)
A small 4-star hotel (35 rooms) located on the western edge of the Old Town, near the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes and the synagogues of the Jewish Quarter. The building is a former flour mill dating from the early 1900s and retains its handsome façade.
Rooms mostly have twin beds that can be joined together, and décor is modern, with light, neutral tones. Public areas are more traditional.
There is a bar, a good restaurant and a small terrace.
All rooms have air-conditioning, safes, minibars and Wifi; almost all have baths with shower attachments, a few have showers only.
Room type available:
Deluxe: equipped with a double bed or twin beds. Size: c. 20–24 m².
This hotel is also the venue for most of the morning talks. It is also located on the same road at the foot of the Old Town, meaning most venues are reached by walking uphill (though distances are not long). They are our only hotels in the Old Town that can be directly accessed by coach.
Pintor el Greco (4*)
An appealing 4-star hotel (55 rooms) in the Jewish Quarter, and very close to El Greco’s house and museum.
Bedrooms either follow a traditional, Castilian style or have more contemporary décor – both feature exposed brickwork and tiled floors. There is a bar and restaurant.
All rooms have air-conditioning, safes, minibars and Wifi; almost all have baths with shower attachments, a few have showers only.
The hotel occupies several contiguous 17th-century houses. Most rooms overlook internal patios rather than the street.
Room types available:
Standard: Room sizes vary.
Superior: Bigger than standard, though sizes also vary. Nespresso machines and bathrobes included.
This hotel is also located on the same road at the foot of the Old Town, meaning most venues are reached by walking uphill (though distances are not long). They are our only hotels in the Old Town that can be directly accessed by coach.
Áurea (4*)
Opened in 2023, this 4-star hotel in a series of refurbished medieval houses is the newest opening in Toledo’s labyrinthine Old Town. It is located just 50 metres from the cathedral, right in the heart of the city.
While the hotel retains some original architectural features, its 66 rooms are modern and comfortable, if a little small. They are decorated in warm, neutral tones. There is no bar or restaurant, but there are plenty of good dining opportunities nearby. There is a small spa with a steam bath and vitality pool, and a well-equipped gym.
All rooms have air-conditioning, safes, minibars, bathrobes, tea/coffee facilities and Wifi; some have baths with shower attachments, some have showers only.
Room types available:
Deluxe: Size: c. 15–17 m². Compact but comfortable and well equipped, with double bed or twin beds. Most overlook adjacent buildings.
Premium: Size: c. 20 m². Premium rooms offer similar facilities to the Deluxe rooms, but are slightly more spacious.
Parador de Toledo (4*)
Our only hotel situated outside the historic centre, the Parador is dramatically sited on a hill, with fine views of the old town across the Tagus. Bedrooms (78 in total) are spacious and elegant, decorated in traditional style.
Public areas include a bar, restaurant and terrace, all with superb views. The outdoor swimming pool is closed in October.
All rooms have air-conditioning, safes, minibars, tea/coffee facilities and Wifi; most rooms have baths with shower attachments, some have showers only.
Participants staying here have the use of a shuttle bus to move to and from the centre. There may still be walks of up to a few minutes to get from the closest drop-off point to the venues.
If staying here, dinner is included every night, with all but one dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Room types available:
Standard: Size: c. 24 m². Rooms look over the garden or swimming pool, with some partial views over the old town.
Superior: Size: c. 28 m². Almost identical to the standard rooms, but slightly larger and with panoramic views over the city.
Junior Suite: Size: c. 34 m². These rooms also have panoramic views, and an additional seating area, plus a whirlpool bath
Eugenia de Montijo (5*)
An attractive and comfortable hotel installed in a Renaissance palace just 200 metres from the cathedral, part of the Marriott Autograph Collection and the only five-star hotel in the city. The 40 bedrooms are elegantly decorated and furnished in neutral colour schemes. Most overlook an internal atrium rather than the street. Rooms are spacious with high ceilings.
The stylish public areas include a restaurant, a lounge, bar service, and a recently opened spa with a sauna and small indoor pool.
All rooms have air-conditioning, safes, minibars, tea/coffee facilities and Wifi; almost all have showers only.
Room types available:
Standard (Elegance): Size: c. 22–30 m²; with king-size or twin beds.
Superior (Chantilly): Size: c. 35 m²; more spacious with an additional seating area. Bathrobes included; king-size bed.
Junior Suite: Size: c. 53 m²; large room with spacious seating area. Separate bath and shower; king-size bed.
Suite: Size: c. 69 m². Bedroom with king-size bed and a large adjoining living room with comfortable seating.
Toledo possesses one of Spain’s richest artistic and historical legacies. To complement the music, there will be a choice of walks and visits exploring the city’s art, architecture, gastronomy and history, all carefully timed to fit around the concerts and meals. Whether revisiting El Greco’s masterpieces, discovering Toledo’s layered architectural heritage or sampling some of its enduring culinary traditions, these optional excursions are intended to deepen the experience of the festival and of the city itself. These will be led by the following experts.
Dr Xavier Bray. Art historian specialising in Spanish art and sculpture and Director of the Wallace Collection, London. Formerly Chief Curator of Dulwich Picture Gallery and Assistant Curator of 17th- and 18th-century European paintings at the National Gallery. His exhibitions include Murillo & Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship and Goya: The Portraits. He completed his PhD at Trinity College, Dublin.
Gijs van Hensbergen. Art historian and author specialising in Spain. His books include The Sagrada Familia, Gaudí, In the Kitchens of Castile and Guernica, and he has published in The Burlington Magazine. He read languages at Utrecht University and Art History at the Courtauld. He has worked in Spain as an exhibitions organiser and critic, and is a Fellow of the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies at the LSE.
Giles Tremlett. Award-winning journalist and historian. Former Madrid correspondent for the Economist and the Guardian, he has lived in Spain for over 25 years. His books include Ghosts of Spain, Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen, winner of the 2018 Elizabeth Longford Prize, and The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War. His latest book is the biography El Generalísimo: Franco.
Toledo is best explored on foot and the city’s steep, cobbled streets are an essential part of its character. There are several uphill and downhill walks each day, with uneven surfaces, steps and little opportunity to avoid them. Taxis are not always readily available and sometimes cannot get close enough to the hotel or the concert venue to justify their use, and coach travel is impossible in the Old Town. A good level of mobility, balance and stamina is therefore required.
The pace is unhurried and there will be regular opportunities to pause, but participants should be comfortable walking for up to half an hour at a time over challenging historic terrain. Five of the six hotels are located within the centre of Toledo, and the sixth overlooks the city from a nearby hill (this group is transferred into the centre of Toledo by minibus).
Five of the seven concerts take place within the city centre and are reached by foot for those staying in the city centre hotels. Two concert venues are reached by coach by all participants.
We are very happy to talk you through each day’s schedule, as it differs from festival to festival, to identify if it may be necessary to opt out at any point. Please also refer to the general Fitness Guidelines on our website for more information.
If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss these with us before booking – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure.
Private. All the performances are planned and administered by Martin Randall Travel, and the audience consists exclusively of those who have taken the festival package.
Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want.
Audience size. There will be up to 150 participants on the festival. Three of our venues cannot hold this number, so at these, the performance will be repeated.
Acoustics. This festival is more concerned with locale and authenticity than with acoustic perfection. The venues may have idiosyncrasies or reverberations of the sort not found in modern concert halls.
Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues may close for repairs, airlines alter schedules: there are many circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.
Participation in our festivals is a very different experience from conventional group travel.
No repetitive or redundant announcements, no herding by elevated umbrella, no unnecessary roll calls, little hanging around. We work on the assumption that you are adults, and our staff cultivate the virtue of unobtrusiveness.
Though there will be up to 150 participants, you will often find yourself in smaller groups – the audience is divided between six hotels, and into different restaurants for some of the dinners.
For those who are not averse to group activities there are extra meals, walks and visits to sign up to. You choose the level of participation that suits you.
We provide sufficient information to enable you to navigate the festival events without needing to be led. However, festival staff are also stationed around the events to direct you if needed.
Before booking, please refer to Travel.State.Gov to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Combine with
We are happy to advise on combining this itinerary with another tour or event. Please contact us for information about linking accommodation and transport.
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