Explore Southern Spain in Comfort: Al-Andalus
IRT Society co-owner Eleanor Hardy and I recently returned from a trip on Southern Spain’s luxury train, the Al Andalus.
We were blown away by the train, its staff, the Spanish people and all the attractions, parks and experiences we enjoyed from Madrid to Seville to Granada – and all points in between.
This wasn’t our first, high-class Spanish luxury rail trip . Years ago, we’d led a group of IRT travelers on El Transcantabrico, a narrow-gauge, luxury train that hugs the coast of northern “Green Spain.” Our group had a wonderful experience on the train and off.
We found Al-Andalus equally enjoyable. Al-Andalus is a standard-gauge luxury train offering more room but similar experiences to its northern sister train: comfortable and fully en-suite accommodations, friendly yet professional service, delicious food both on and off the train and incredible off-train visits.
The program includes all meals, drinks (except in the bar car,) excursions, services of an experienced staff and all the guides.
And also like the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE), the Al-Andalus boasts an illustrious history dating to the early days of the 20th century, when elite passengers enjoyed gorgeous, painstakingly built “rolling palaces.” More about this in a moment.
Eleanor and I shared a spacious Deluxe Suite compartment containing a large double bed that folded into a sofa by day. We kept our room in this formation to accommodate well-needed naps at siesta time.
We also enjoyed a full bathroom with shower, large closet, plenty of storage under the bed for our suitcases and — best of all — coffee or tea brought to our bedside each morning. If you’re sharing with a friend or you get up often in the night, we recommend the smaller, twin-bedded cabins called Grand Class.
The train was always set up beautifully for meals, and served by expert, friendly staff.
Dining on board was always a treat.
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Relaxing in Madrid
During our first week after landing in Madrid, we battled jet lag by enjoying walking forays from our hotel, the gorgeous and well-located Palacio de los Duques.
Most pleasurable was strolling Madrid’s pedestrian byways, admiring the soaring architecture and gardens and listening to the street musicians with the backdrop of beautiful sunsets.
Our fellow pedestrians seemed mostly local, young and old taking in the musical performances (rock, folk, classical) by violinists, cellists, trumpet-players and more.
We planned our trip not just to sample the splendors of “touristic Spain,” but also to observe and interact with the Spanish people. They were invariably hospitable and helpful.
And they were well-dressed. High fashion alert: Walk the streets of downtown Madrid, and you’re sure to see the latest in chic, tasteful clothing, especially, but not solely, the women.
We also were also impressed with the Prado, Spain’s incomparable art museum, which houses many of the world’s great paintings, including many by Goya and Velasquez.
Our great Virtuoso partner, Made for Spain & Portugal, arranged all of our sightseeing, and it was remarkable. A favorite tour was our Lifestyle Tour, visiting famous shops — for tapas, chocolate, fans and olive oil. Everywhere we went, doors opened for Mencia, our guide (who is also a gifted fashion designer).
Sarah S., art historian, escorted us into the Prado one morning, well before the museum opened. What a special way to see this famous – and usually crowded – museum! The silence and the guide made all the difference.
There was no better way for me (a student of the Napoleonic era) to contemplate Goya’s “Third of May” — depicting Napoleon’s soldiers murdering defenseless Spanish civilians — than in the eerie silence of the Prado without the crowds.
Eleanor loved “Las Meninas,” the 1656 masterwork by Diego Velazquez and the Prado’s most famous painting, depicting 5-year-old Margaret Theresa, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, and her ladies in waiting.
Our don’t-miss museum list included the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, showcased in a gorgeous restored palace next to the Prado. Another was the Reina Sofia featuring Picasso’s famous famous anti-war painting, “Guernica.”
One of our favorite Madrid tours was the Lifestyle and neighborhoods tour, and Madrid’s famous foods played a big part.
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Gardens of Earthly Delights
If you enjoy gardens and nature, you will love Madrid for its many public gardens, including the city’s most famous, El Retiro Park with its 15,000 trees; it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A short stroll in the Royal Botanical Gardens is also well worth the trip.
We had no trouble getting around, as taxis were everywhere. And while it seems trite to mention, the helpfulness of strangers was pretty much universal.
Meanwhile, we enjoyed our luxury hotel, Madrid’s Palacio de los Duques—especially outdoors at breakfast and lunch and on the hotel’s rooftop and inner courtyard area. We even enjoyed snacks provided by the Palacio on our small, private rooftop patio, which was perfect for viewing the sunset.
We easily could have spent another week in Madrid. But we had a train to catch.
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A Train from the “Belle Epoque”
The train portion of our trip started at the immense Madrid Atocha railway station. Spain is known for its efficient and plentiful high-speed trains, and we looked forward to riding them.
Our three-hour high-speed trip to Malaga, in southern Spain, was seamless, smooth and beguiling. We appreciated the snacks, too.
And as the sun began setting, I saw the rose-tinted outline of an ancient castle-fortress, a great introduction to Andalusia.
Next day, after check-in with the Al-Andalus staff in Malaga, we rode luxury buses through endless fields of olive trees. (Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil; later in the trip, we’d visit a sherry distillery as Spain is number one in this field as well.)
But this wasn’t only an agricultural tour. On this six-night program, we stopped several times to see ancient towns, and, of course, the Alhambra itself, a palace and fortress complex in Granada.
Billed as one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture, it also is one of the best-preserved palaces of the Islamic world. The itinerary offered the best of Andalusia – including Granada, Cordoba, Jerez, Cadiz, Ronda, Baeza and Ubeda. It all finished up in Seville.
Gardeners that we are, Eleanor and I spent several hours marveling at the Alhambra’s floral beauty, not to mention the intricacy of its designs, carvings, ponds and fountains. We loved the gardens of Alhambra. This is one of the most important stops of Al-Andalus.
More gardens of Alhambra. The fountains are important not just for beauty but for essential cooling. And they get water to the gardens, fountains, palaces and baths via a system of canals from a 6-kilometer ancient aqueduct.
And we chose to do what we often do for our guests: arrange a private guide to take us early to the main attraction; in this case, the Alhambra.
Maria Garcia was our fabulous guide; she is so knowledgeable about history, plants, and architecture. We couldn’t have been in better hands. We arrived before the crowds with skip-the-line tickets to the palaces and gardens.
Spanish Traditions: the Art of Flamenco, and the Beauty of the Horses Dancing
Last but by far from least were two treasures difficult to imagine anywhere in the world: the Casa de la Memoria, an intimate performance space dedicated to the passionate art of Flamenco dancing.
Our Al-Andalus tour managers booked the tiny venue exclusively for us. We had the good luck to sit front and center, just a few feet from the dancers and just a few more from the incredible guitarist and singer of this famous academy. We felt as if the room were about to explode with passion. (See below to enjoy an outtake of this terrific performance.)
The other was the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez de la Frontera. made famous by its Lipizzaner horses. Again, the Al-Andalus team got fantastic seats for our group. We had a front-row view, as we watched the horses and riders parade around the indoor field, with music and beauty in equal measure. Some of us cried, it was so beautiful.
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The Al-Andalus
Travelers on the Al-Andalus enjoy railway cars comprising “many decades of history, with a particularly glamorous past, but with a level of comfort that is totally 21st century,” says RENFE, the Spanish government’s division in charge of passenger railways. RENFE owns all the touring trains in Spain.
The Al-Andalus was originally restored by the Spanish government for luxury service in 1985. It ceased operations in 2005 but was restored again and resumed service in 2012.
The train has seven suite (sleeper) coaches, five of which are classic luxury rail cars constructed in the early part of the last century for the Compagnie International de Wagons-Lits, of Orient-Express fame. The train has a total of 15 coaches altogether, including the engine.
The Al-Andalus can accommodate 64 passengers total — 40 in five deluxe coaches, with two passengers in each of the 20 deluxe cabins. The train Deluxe compartments measure 108 square feet. The rest of the passengers are in Grand Class, with twin beds and 86 square feet of space.
Built in France in the late 1920s, the coaches were originally used by the British monarchy when, among other things, they were traveling on holiday from Calais to the Riviera, according to RENFE.
England’s monarchs hardly could do better than enjoy a meal aboard the Al-Andalus.
The dining cars produce a surprising array of local delicacies. My favorite was breakfast, which included a surfeit of delightful pastry, baked fresh on board, as well as local meats, cheeses and fruits. You could order off a menu, but the gorgeous display was plenty for us. Dinners included lots of seafood. Please note that if you don’t like seafood or fish, I would venture to say this is not the trip for you.
Despite its youthful appearance, the staff is well-trained and eager to please. The service was near-perfect, from those who made the beds and cleaned our cabins to the servers to the young chef du train, who directed her equally young staff with graciousness and aplomb.
Meals are served both on and off the train, depending on the day’s itinerary. The lounge cars also hosted a magician, a pianist and comedy act (don’t miss this one. You’ll probably never get another chance!) The train stabled most nights all night. And several days offered so much to see in the region, we stabled more than one night.
The aforementioned Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and the tiny Flamenco venue — with some of the best performers in Spain — were unforgettable. Below are images of the beautiful scenes from our off-train excursions:
Unfortunately, one day we woke up to reality. We had to leave our luxury cocoon and face the real world. We said goodbye to the staff and our fellow travelers.
We’ll be back!
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P.S. One more observation: Quite naturally, most of the passengers on our Al-Andalus trip were Spanish speakers from all over the world. They were gracious, and most of them spoke at least some English, several of them quite well.
But also quite naturally, “birds of a feather flock together.” On the Al Andalus, that means don’t feel insulted if the Spanish-speaking passengers tend to focus their attention on each other. They’re on their holiday, and they want to relax, just as all vacationers do.
(We liked the way the train manager assigned the Spanish speakers to the Spanish-speaking guide, and the English speakers to an English-speaking guide. This is a great improvement on what was done in the past with one multi-lingual guide attempting to manage one large group.)
We were not the only non-Spanish speakers on the train. In addition to ourselves, there were other “foreigners:” four Brits, eight Americans and a journalist from Denmark traveling solo.
When Eleanor saw the Danish woman sitting alone—and Eleanor being Eleanor—she immediately invited her to dine with us.
Turns out she was a freelance writer and retired television anchor who spoke very good English. We bonded immediately and enjoyed her company at many additional meals, both on and off the train. She was writing about the Al-Andalus as well.
We were the richer for her friendship. We “Strangers on a (Spanish) Train” learned that the woman’s husband, also a writer, had just published his book on the possible collusion of the Danish Royal Family with Hitler’s Germany, causing quite a stir back home.
So: Create your own, unforgettable dream on the Al-Andalus. We can’t guarantee you’ll meet a soft-spoken Danish woman whose husband is (soon to be) a famous author. But we can guarantee you will have lots of fun, see miraculous sites, almost certainly make new friends and have memories to store for a lifetime.
Interested in an adventure on the Al-Andalus? Contact The Society of International Railway Travelers at (800) 478-4881. Or email us at tourdesk@irtsociety.com. We will set up a brief conversation to be sure this train experience is perfect for you.
