A century before Christ, Romans established a colony on the northeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. They called it "Barcino." Their descendants fortified Barcelona (see hotels), merchants and bluebloods expanded it into a showcase of the Catalan Gothic style, and the Catholic Kings Isabel and Fernando greeted Columbus here, but artists gave it soul and an enduring panache. Among these last were Picasso, Dalí and Miró, as well as the visionary architects Gaudí and Domènech, who left a jaw-dropping heritage of buildings that are surrealism in stone.

Parc Guell in Barcelona

You'll want to have at least three days in Barcelona–seven will barely do it justice–but when it's time to go, have your car delivered to the hotel and head north. In 90 minutes you can be on a promontory hundreds of feet above the crashing surf of the Mediterranean, at the Parador Costa Brava in Aiguablava. The spacious modern inn overlooks the rugged coast, a protected beach far below on one side and craggy bluffs stretching into the mists to the north and south.

This is the region of Catalunya, brushing up against France and the snow-dusted palisades of the Pyrenees. There is much to discover, from the Greco-Roman ruins at seaside Empúries (Ampurias) to the fantastical Dalí Museum in Figueres and the appealing provincial capital of Girona, with its medieval Jewish quarter and Arab bathhouse.

When it's time to move on, travel west to the Parador de Vic, near the town of that name. The inn was built in regional style and stands above a reservoir created in 1963–that's the top of church steeple poking out of the water, the only vestige of the flooded village below.

Parador de Vic

The next day, you are in striking distance of the relatively young Parador Seu d'Urgell, named for the town in which it is located. Seu d'Urgell once controlled an important mountain pass. Now a winding road leads north into the principality of Andorra, coursing with cars full of bargain-hunters eager to check out the tax-free goods on offer in the capital.

After a short drive through stunning alpine scenery, arrive at the Parador Monte Perdido in Bielsa. Constructed in the regional style of pitched tile roofs and granite walls, it stands at the edge of a high plateau contained by jagged peaks. The air is mountain-crisp, scented by pine and wildflowers. Only a few kilometers west is one of Spain's most important national parks, the Parque de Ordesa. A paradise for devoted hikers, the park's four deeply cleft valleys are home to bears, wild boar and the rare ibex.

From the park, it's an impressive drive down to the pleasant provincial capital of Huesca, a logical lunch stop. Take a walk afterward through the main park, where peacocks roam free and the branches of trees bordering the pathways have been trained to grow into each other, forming a natural roof overhead. Continue about 40 miles to Zaragoza (see hotels), Spain's fifth largest city. Its cathedral incorporates every architectural style from the Gothic to Mudejar to flaming Baroque and there is a Moorish palace dating to the 11th Century.

Plaza Mayor in Madrid

Should you want to keep on exploring, a special treat awaits only a couple of hours down the road in Sigüenza, a postcard village largely untouched by the past 200 years. It's the Parador Castillo de Sigüenza, once the lavish 14th-century residence of the local archbishops. Occupying a hilltop above the rooftops, the dining room is large enough for a full-court basketball game. By all means, book one of the corner suites with the king-sized, canopied, four-poster beds.

From Sigüenza, Madrid (see hotels) is a short morning drive away. A cornucopia of art, culture and plain good times awaits. At the top of the list is the Prado Museum, a repository of great artworks of the 17th and 18th centuries, including those by Velázquez, Ribera, El Greco, Rubens and Goya. Then, the Royal Palace, with more than 2,400 art-filled rooms (Buckingham Palace has barely 600), and the Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza, an assembly of mostly 20th-century modernist paintings. There are more than 50 other museums in the capital, but if that seems daunting, consider the roughly 150 discos and dance clubs in which you can literally party past dawn.

Itinerary 1
Barcelona to Madrid: Artistic Catalunya and the Pyrenees

Itinerary 2
Madrid to Lisbon: Across Old Castile to the Ocean

Itinerary 3
Madrid to Santiago: Heroes and Saints on the Way of St. James

Itinerary 4
Madrid to Seville and Granada: The Glories of Andalucía