GPBS - Rome & Camino 2025 Year of Jubilee Pilgrimage

 TRANSPORT TO MET YOU AT HOTEL FOR AN AIRPORT TRANSFER TO YOUR HOTEL

Today you will be meet on arrival at the airport and transferred to the hotel. Remainder of the day is free to relax, explore and get to know your fellow travellers.

HOTEL - Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi

FULL DAY FREE AT LEISURE . 

WELCOME DINNER
                                       

HOTEL -  Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi

MORNING -  YOU WILL BE  MET  AT THE HOTEL FOR A  FULL DAY SIGHTSEEING TOUR WITH GUIDE.

FULL CITY TOUR

 VISIT AVENTINE HILL. 

VISIT BASILICA S. SABINA AND BASILICA S. PRISCA

ENTRANCE TO THE SANTA  DOMITILLA   CATACOMBS  IS INCLUDED.     

The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which Rome was built; early Christian churches there are pre-Catholic but remarkably well preserved.

The ancient church of Santa Sabina was built by Peter of Illyria, a bishop from Dalmatia, during the reign of Pope Celestine I (r. 422-32). The church stands on the site of the Titulus Sabinae, the house-church of a Roman matron by the name of Sabina, who is believed to have been martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138). ​In the early 13th century, Santa Sabina was granted by Pope Honorius III (r. 1216-27) to the newly-created Order of Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum), also known as the Dominicans, to which it still belongs.

The titular church of Santa Prisca is of ancient foundation. The façade, which was designed by Carlo Francesco Lambardi, bears an inscription recording the restoration of the church by Cardinal Giustiniani and the date, 1600. St Prisca was supposedly baptised by St Peter, and this event is depicted in the fine 17th century altarpiece in the sanctuary, the work of Domenico Cresti (1559-1638), better known as Il Passignano. 

 The mithraeum was discovered by chance in 1934 under the Church of Santa Prisca by the Augustinian Fathers; the walls of two buildings were used to construct it: one dating from the late 1st century AD and another, datable to the 2nd century, characterized by two naves, on which the church was later built.  Mithraeum – a place of worship dedicated to the god Mithras. Today only the marble sculpture of Cautes remains, with the torch raised.

Domitilla Catacomb is one of the largest and the most ancient underground cemeteries in Rome, part of a property then belonged to Flavia Domitilla going back to the year 120 A.D. The frescos preserved underground in this Catacomb demonstrate the Faith of the first century Christians in Rome. This is the only Catacomb in Rome which has an underground Basilica dedicated to the Holy Martyrs Nereo and Achilleo, along with Saint Petronilla, daughter of St. Peter. The Divine Word Missionaries (Societas Verbi Divini - SVD), are the custodians of  Domitilla Catacomb.

LUNCH - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

ENTRANCE TO THE VATICAN MUSEUMS INCLUDING SISTINE CHAPEL

Founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century and enlarged by successive pontiffs, the Vatican Museums boast one of the world's greatest art collections. Exhibits, which are displayed along about 7km of halls and corridors, range from Egyptian mummies and Etruscan bronzes to ancient busts, old masters and modern paintings. Highlights include the spectacular collection of classical statuary in the Museo Pio-Clementino, a suite of rooms frescoed by Raphael, and the Michelangelo-painted Sistine Chapel.   As well as providing a showcase for priceless art, the Sistine Chapel also serves an important religious function as the place where the conclave meets to elect a new pope

We will conclude the afternoon with a visit to the magnificent Saint Peter’s Basilica. As a group we will have the opportunity to walk through the Holy Door at the Vatican. Similar opportunities will be possible at the Basilica of St Mary Major and the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls on Day 5.

DINNER - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

HOTEL - Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi

MORNING - YOU WILL BE MET AT HOTEL FOR FULL DAY EXCURSION TO  ASSISI AND SURROUNDS.

Best known as the birthplace of St. Francis, Italy's patron saint, Assisi lies amid Umbria's rolling hills. Religious pilgrims have come here for centuries to visit the Basilica of San Francesco (where St. Francis is buried) and the Basilica of Santa Chiara (to see the tomb of St. Clare). Visit the Eremo delle Carceri to see caves where medieval hermits withdrew from the world.

LUNCH - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

VISIT TO SANTA MARIA DEGLI ANGELI CHURCH,  INCLUDING THE THORNLESS ROSE BUSH AND THE  PORZIUNCOLA CHAPEL WHICH  ARE INSIDE THE CHURCH.

Built on a grandiose scale, the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli is the seventh largest Christian church. Its magnificence may be at odds with the simplicity preached by St Francis himself but the flocks of pilgrims coming to visit the primitive.  The Porziuncola chapel was given to St Francis by the Benedictines, and is important because it was the initial nucleus from which the Franciscan order was born. The Cappella del Transito is the place where the saint died on October 4th 1226.

AFTERNOON - TRANSFER BACK TO ROME.

DINNER - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

HOTEL - Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi

MORNING -  YOU WILL BE MET  AT HOTEL FOR A FULL DAY SIGHTSEEING TOUR WITH GUIDE.

TICKETS TO ATTEND THE PAPAL AUDIENCE INCLUDED.

Papal Audience are held on Wednesdays if the Pope is in Rome, giving pilgrims and visitors the chance to "see the Pope" and receive the Papal Blessing or Apostolic Blessing from the successor of the Apostle Peter during their visit.

The Audience with the Pope consists of small teachings and readings mainly in Italian but also in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and sometimes other languages depending on groups visiting. The Pope will do a greeting in each language and special visiting groups, Choirs etc from various countries will get a mention. At the end of the Audience the Pope will pray together with those attending the Audience,  the Our Father  in Latin.
                                       
 LUNCH - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

 A VISIT TO SAN PAUL'S OUTSIDE THE WALLS CHURCH IS INCLUDED. 

VISIT ST. JOHN'S LATERAN CHURCH. (SAN GIOVANNI IN LATERANO CHURCH).

VISIT TO DOMINE QUO VADIS (SANTA MARIA DELLE  PIANTE CHURCH).  

 Along with the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Paul’s Outside the Walls is one of the four highest ranking churches in the Catholic hierarchy. It was originally erected by Roman Emperor Constantine I, supposedly over the grave of Saint Paul himself. The basilica itself managed to retain its original primitive if ornate architectural design for centuries after its construction. Unfortunately a devastating fire swept through the ancient church nearly destroying the entire site.

However the site was quickly refurbished thanks to multinational donations of building supplies such as alabaster and lapis, which allowed for many of the original ornamentations, both architectural and otherwise to be recreated in a close approximation of the original.

The Basilica of Saint John appearde in the 4th century AD in an area that was known at the time as Horti Laterani, old estate of the Laterani Family. The property was confiscated under the empire of Neron.

Restored to the Laterani by Settimio Severo, the property and the palace that stood there finally reached emperor Constantine when he married in 307 Fausta, daughter of the former emperor Maximian.

In the Basilica of St. Mary Major, wood that is said to be the remains of the Holy Crib of Christ are visible under the altar.  In the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem are two thorns said to be from the crown worn by Jesus at his execution.  In the ArchiBasilica of St. John and in the Sancta Sanctorum are pieces of wood said to be pieces of the table around which the Last Supper was held.  Also in the Sancta Sanctorum is a 28-step staircase said to have led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which would therefore have been walked upon by Jesus. Santa Pudenziana is said to be the house in which Pudente hosted St. Peter, the Carcere Mamertino is the prison in which he was held, and the Basilica of St. John purports to have some remains from his skull above the main altar. Abbazia delle Tre Fontane is held to be where St. Paul was beheaded; the eponymous three fountains are said to have sprung miraculously from the ground at the places where his decapitated head bounced.      

 Santa Maria in Palmis (Italian: Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Piante, Latin: Sanctae Mariae in Palmis), also known as Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis, is a small church southeast of Rome, central Italy. It is located about some 800 m from Porta San Sebastiano, where the Via Ardeatina branches off the Appian Way, on the site where, according to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, Saint Peter met Jesus while the former was fleeing persecution in Rome.  According to the legend, Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, where are you going?"  Jesus answered, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again".

DINNER - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

HOTEL - Antico Palazzo Rospigliosi

YOU WILL BE TRANSFERED TO THE AIRPORT FOR YOUR FLIGHT TO BARCELONA

LOCAL TRANSPORT AND LOCAL  ASSISTANT  TO MEET YOU ON ARRIVAL AT AIRPORT FOR TRANSFER TO  THE HOTEL.

Remainder of the day free.

LUNCH - OWN ARRANGEMENT

EVENING - LOCAL TRANSPORT TO MEET CLIENTS AT HOTEL FOR AN  EVENING TOUR WITH GUIDE

BARCELONA NEIGHBORHOODS AND TAPAS WALKING TOUR  WALKING AROUND THE GOTHIC QUARTER AND BARCELONA   RAMBLAS  INCLUDING 3 TAPAS BAR STOPS.  EACH BAR  OFFERS ASSORTED TAPAS OR PINTXOS AND ONE DRINK  (WINE, SOFT DRNK OR BEER), WITH A SMALL SWEET  TREAT TO FINISH.

Join a walking gourmet and historical guided tour through the El Born and Gothic neighborhoods. Discover the history, enjoy several delicious tapas and exquisite wines in different bars and restaurants.  Spanish tapas are presented on a plate, and they are normally a small version of some of the most typical Spanish dishes. For instance, paella or patatas bravas. Whereas, pintxos are most commonly served on a small bread base with a toothpick spearing some delight on top, like jamón, cheese, mushrooms or chorizo.

HOTEL - Sercotel Ámister Art Hotel

LOCAL TRANSPORT FOR  LUNCH TRANSFER AND A HALF DAY SIGHTSEEING

MONTSERRAT  -  ENTRANCE TO MONTSERRAT MONASTERY IS INCLUDED.
Montserrat is a spectacularly beautiful Benedictine monk mountain retreat about one hour North West from Barcelona by train. Not only is Montserrat Monastery of significant religious importance but the natural beauty surrounding the monastery is simply breathtaking.

 LUNCH AT:  LOCAL RESTAURANT    BARCELONA 

ENTRANCE TO SAGRADA FAMILIA.

Located in Barcelona, Sagrada Familia is an unfinished Roman Catholic church initially designed by Francisco de Paula del Villar, then was subsequently taken over by renowned architect Anton Gaudi. Due to Gaudi's untimely death in 1926 - and the Spanish Civil War 10 years later - the church's development was interrupted. This century-old UNESCO World Heritage Site is still under construction and is expected to be complete in 2026.

DINNER - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

HOTEL - Sercotel Ámister Art Hotel

 EARLY BREAKFAST AT HOTEL                             

MORNING -  LOCAL TRANSPORT TO MEET CLIENTS AT HOTEL FOR TRANSFER TO AIRPORT.

FLIGHT FROM BARCELONA TO SANTIAGO COMPOSTELA 
                                   
Arrive in Santiago Compostela where we will be meet by our Long Distance Touring Coach and transferred to our Lugo  hotel.

Remainder of the day free.

Lugo

Lugo is famous for its Muralla Romana de Lugo, the Roman walls of Lugo that were constructed in the 3rd Century. They are still mostly intact and were added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2000. Another interesting place to visit is the Cathedral of Lugo, with its impressive architectural mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles. Take time to follow the tapas route around the city or, if you want a more substantial feed, there are many restaurants in the main Campo Square that serve a wide range of local cuisine.

EVENING -  DINNER AT LOCAL RESTAURANT - OWN ARRANGEMENTS
                              
HOTEL - Eurostars Gran Hotel Lugo

MORNING:  EARLY BREAKFAST AND MASS AT LOCAL CHAPEL/CHURCH. 

After lunch we start  the Camino, gently and easy to start off the journey.

AFTERNOON:  Camino Primitivo Day 1:    Lugo to O Burgo  10.4 km
Via Seoane 7.3 km

After leaving Lugo through the Porta Mina, the oldest gate of the walls around the city, the Camino heads towards the old Roman Bridge and the quarter of San Lazaro. A couple of kilometres later, it passes Santa de Boveda; a national monument and a museum where the most interesting early mediaeval paintings of the Iberian Peninsula can be seen. The Camino continues through a mix of farmland and forest until O Burgo. We will then arrange a transfer to accommodation back in Lugo.

Transfer back to Lugo Hotel – Eurostars Gran Lugo

Walk  from O Burgo to Cantina Ferreira - 15.8 km
Via San Romao da Retorta  - 8.1 km

This is a short and very easy stage of the  Camino Primitivo. In fact, it is very easy and many pilgrims decide to not stop in San Román da Retorta.  There are not many villages a pilgrim will pass today. Halfway to San Román da Retorta, you will get to San Vicente do Burgo where you can find a bar.

Eight hundred meters before getting to San Roman, you will find another bar and store. In the village, you can see a church from the 12th century. From Lugo to San Román da Retorta the Camino goes through the following villages and towns: Seoane, San Vicente do Burgo, and San Román da Retorta.

Transfer Back to Hotel -  Eurostars Gran Lugo

Walk  from Cantina Ferreira to  Irago de Arriba - 15.1 km
Via As Seixas - 5.8 km
Via Vilouriz – 5.9 km
Arrive Iraqo de Arriba – 3.1 km

Transfer to Cantina Ferreira from hotel this morning.

This stage is an easier one, passing through rural areas mostly. You can choose to go through the old Roman Way which is 1.4 kilometers shorter than the official way and it is more scenic as well. 

In Ferreira, there will be a small Roman bridge, two shelters, and a bar.

You will pass through Ferreira, As Seixas, Casacamiño, Vilouriz, and Vilamor before reaching the town of  Iraqo de Arriba.

Transfer to Hotel -Hotel Lux Melide

Transfer to Irago de Arriba walk to Boente – 11.2 km
Via Igrexa de Santa María de Melide – 6.3 km
Arrive Boente – 4.9 km

Boente – Church of Santiago, the interior of which has statues of ‘Santiago Peregrino’, ‘Santiago Matamoros’ and St Roch.

DINNER  AT LOCAL RESTAURANT

Transfer back to hotel - Hotel Lux Melide

Transfer to Boente walk to Casa Calzada 14.6 km
Via Fraga Alta – 2.4 km
Via Arzua – 6.0 km
Arrive Casa Calzada – 6.2 km

Transfer from Hotel to stopping point at Casa Calzada (Transfer Luggage to next hotel)

Castaneda – The lime kilns that were used in the building of Santiago Cathedral in the 12th century were situated here. It was traditional for pilgrims to carry a stone here from Cebreiro or Triacastela, on the Camino in eastern Galicia.

Ribadiso do Baixo- The pilgrim refuge by the river (crossed by an ancient bridge), is a former pilgrim hospital.

Arzua – Small town, named in the 12th- century Codex as ‘Villanova de Arzua’. Chapel of La Magdalena and the adjoining pilgrim hospital (now the refuge) are part medieval; on a fountain by the chapel is part of a weathered relief showing St James.

TRANSFER TO HOTEL :   Lar da Mota  Boutique Hotel  (Outside of Arzua)

(Transfer luggage to next hotel)

Transfer to Casa Calzada Walk to O Pedrouzo – 13.4 km
Via A Salceda – 5.4 km
Via A Brea – 2.1 km
Via Santa Irene – 2.5 km
Arrive O Pedrouzo – 3.4 km

Salceda - To the west of the village, built into a drystone wall, is a memorial to Guillermo Watt, a pilgrim who died here on 25 August 1993, aged 69, on his way to Santiago

Santa Irene – Small 18th-century chapel overlooks a stone fountain just after an underpass.

 Arca do Pino/Pedrouzo – Small modern town.

Transfer to Hotel – Gran Hotel Abetos (San Lazaro)

 Transfer to O Pedrouzo walk to San Lazaro – 14.7 km
Via O Amenal – 3.0 km
Via San Paio – 3.7 km
Via Lavacolla – 2.0 km
Arrive Gran Hotel Abetos (San Lazaro) – 6.0 km

Amenal - Between here and Lavacolla, the Camino passes the perimeter fence of Santiago Airport. A large carved sign marks the city’s eastern boundary, close to which is a long fence in which pilgrims have placed small crosses made of twigs.

Lavacolla – Called ‘Lava-mentula’ in the 12th-century Codex, this is where the pilgrims would wash themselves in the Rio Sionlla and put on clean clothes before their final journey into Santiago. The village comprises little more than a square with a bandstand, a modern church and several hotels. On the edge of the village is the former chapel of St Roch.

Arrive at Hotel – Gran Hotel Abetos (San Lazaro)

(Transfer luggage to next hotel)

Walk last leg of the Camino from hotel at San Lazaro to Santiago de Compostela – 6 km
Via Monto do Gozo –  0.6 km
Via Rúa de San Pedro - 3.6 km
Via Parque da Alameda – 1.3 km
Arrive Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela –  0.5 km

Monte del Gozo –Also known as ‘Monxoi’ or ‘Montjoie’, this is where pilgrims got their first glimpse of the cathedral of Santiago, something that is still possible today, despite much modern development in the foreground. The hill is now crowned by a modern sculpture commemorating the visits to Santiago by St Francis of Assisi and Pope John Paul II. On the slope of the hill is  the small chapel of San Marcos. On the way into Santiago is a modern archway with bronze statues of famous pilgrims to Santiago over the past 1000 years.

San Lazaro - A small (rebuilt) wayside chapel in the suburbs of Santiago recalls another ’lazar house’, beyond which the Camino passes along the Rua de Los Concheiros, where traders  offered scallop shells for sale to pilgrims.

San Pedro – An inner suburb of Santiago, with a church and a cross. From here the Rua San Pedro leads to the Porta do Camino,the site of one of the gates into the medieval city, from where a succession of narrow streets lead via the Praza de Cervantes to the Praza do Inmaculada, on the north side of the Cathedral and down a flight of steps beneath the arch connecting the Archbishop’s Palace to the Cathedral, into the Praza do Obradoiro, in front of the  Cathedral’s west front.

Parque da Alameda - Take a last stroll through the 16th-century park with historical monuments & a garden featuring many ornamental trees & shrubs.

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.  Arrival in time for midday Mass at Cathedral of St James.                                                        

AFTERNOON FREE TO RELAX OR EXPLORE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA.

Hotel – Eurostars Araguaney 

FULL BREAKFAST AT HOTEL

FULL DAY FREE TO EXPLORE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA.

The endpoint of the legendary Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail, Santiago de Compostela is a sprawling urban hub that has been a sacred bastion of Christianity for thousands of years. The major cultural attraction here is the spectacular stone cathedral of the same name, with its elaborate facade, lofty spires and opulent interior. The city’s old town emanates outwards from the cathedral and is home to a smorgasbord of shops, restaurants and sidewalk cafes where you can mingle with Camino pilgrims or simply watch the city life go by.

DINNER :  UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENTS

HOTEL -  Eurostars Araguaney

TRANSPORT FROM HOTEL FOR FULL DAY EXCURSION TO  FISTERRA - INCLUDING LUNCH

From Santiago to the end of the world! Traditionally, pilgrims used to finish their Camino journey in Cape Fisterra, where they burned their clothes and admired the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean.

Discover some of Galicia’s most ruggedly beautiful scenery on this full-day tour from Santiago de Compostela.  Your destination is the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death)—so named because its choppy waters have caused numerous shipwrecks. Visit the charming fishing town of Muros, see the Ézaro Waterfall; explore Cape Finisterre (one of the Iberian Peninsula’s westernmost points), and drop by the coastal village of Muxía.

DINNER :  UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENTS

HOTEL -  Eurostars Araguaney

LOCAL TRANSPORT FROM HOTEL  - TRANSFER TO  STATION.

TRAIN FROM SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA TO MADRID (1ST CLASS)

LUNCH - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT

MADRID           

LOCAL TRANSPORT AND ASSISTANT (ENGLISH SPEAKING) WILL MEET YOU AT STATION 
                                   
DINNER - UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENT                                  

HOTEL - Exe Moncloa

YOU WILL BE  MET  AT HOTEL FOR A HALF DAY TOUR WITH GUIDE            

Marvel at the historic sights of Madrid on this city sightseeing and Royal Palace tour. Learn the story of Madrid through its buildings as you travel from Moorish Madrid to the Habsburg and Bourbon eras of palaces and grand squares such as Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol. Admire the Baroque grandeur of the Royal Palace (Palacio Real) on a tour of the royal collections, and visit Madrid’s newest park, Rio Madrid. This tour shows you the very best of Madrid, and highlights the city’s sumptuous Royal Palace.

Afternoon Free

EVENING : FLAMENCO SHOW & DINNER AT:  CAFE DE CHINITAS                                                                         

Spanish trip is complete without experiencing flamenco in Madrid. Watch the show which includes a traditional Spanish meal.

SHOW & DINNER AT:  FLAMENCO SHOW

HOTEL - Exe Moncloa

YOU WILL BE  MET  AT THE HOTEL FOR A  FULL DAY SIGHTSEEING TOUR WITH GUIDE.

Get out of the city and see one of the most historic towns in Spain during this full-day tour of Toledo from Madrid. Enjoy a guided tour of the UNESCO-listed World Heritage city of Toledo, complete with stops in the Jewish quarter, Alcazar fortress, Gothic cathedral, and the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes. Enjoy a delicious lunch at a traditional Spanish restaurant and spend time on your own exploring the city’s streets. Roundtrip transportation from Madrid is provided.

LUNCH : LOCAL RESTAURANT PROVIDED

DINNER :  UNDER OWN ARRANGEMENTS

HOTEL - Exe Moncloa

MORNING :   LOCAL TRANSPORT TO MET YOU AT HOTEL FOR AN AIRPORT TRANSFER.